Gingrich says war on terror 'phony'

[JeffWartman]

Gingrich says war on terror 'phony'
Former speaker says energy independence is key

By BOB DEANS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/03/07

Washington — Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich said Thursday the Bush administration is waging a "phony war" on terrorism, warning that the country is losing ground against the kind of Islamic radicals who attacked the country on Sept. 11, 2001.

A more effective approach, said Gingrich, would begin with a national energy strategy aimed at weaning the country from its reliance on imported oil and some of the regimes that petro-dollars support.

"None of you should believe we are winning this war. There is no evidence that we are winning this war," the ex-Georgian told a group of about 300 students attending a conference for collegiate conservatives.

Gingrich, who led the so-called Republican Revolution that won the GOP control of both houses of Congress in 1994 midterm elections, said more must be done to marshal national resources to combat Islamic militants at home and abroad and to prepare the country for future attack. He was unstinting in his criticism of his fellow Republicans, in the White House and on Capitol Hill...

Full story: http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/08/03/newt0803.html

 

[SpidermanTuba]

Full story: http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/2007/08/03/newt0803.html

The chances of me and Newt Gingrich both agreeing on a issue are so infinitesimally small, that when it happens, it has to be because we're right.

 

[roadhouse158]

Newt must be suffering from Dementia....I swear he was just on a talk show last Sunday....I can't remember if it was Meet the Press or whatever, but he said the complete opposite.....Not that I care what Newt thinks about things....Maybe he's just doing like a lot of politicians, and saying what he thinks people want to hear before he decides weather or not to run for President.....Then again.....With Newt being Newt, he may be doing this to see how much press he gets by saying that, to show the comparison to how much coverage he got for applauding the war against "Militant Islam", as he likes to call them.....You can never tell with ole Newt...

 

[jillian]

Or maybe he's actually correct?

 

[Bullypulpit]

Or maybe he's actually correct?

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

 

[jillian]

Even a stopped clock is right twice a day.

True enough! (He's also pretty good at taking the political temperature, as it were).

 

[dilloduck]

True enough! (He's also pretty good at taking the political temperature, as it were).

Doh--name one politician that isn't.

 

[Alpha1]

Of course he's right.....

Listen closely....

http://tinyurl.com/2bhkj9

 

[onedomino]

I agree with Gingrich's assessment. He is especially correct in the suggested petrochemical strategy. The Bush Admin's energy policy has been a massive failure; just like Clinton's and all the other administrations before that. To correct our energy problems is going to take some bitter medicine and no politician has the courage to make the difficult decisions that will be necessary. Because then they will be voted out of office. We need a combination of public investment and tax policy that will force the development of alternative energy sources. Sometimes the unshaped free market reacts too slow and sometimes it is just plain maladaptive. I wish that was not true, but our current addiction to foreign oil is a case in point. Here's the bitter medicine: we need multiple Manhatten size projects to pursue coal gasification, oil shale, oil sands, conventional nuclear power, and the development of commercial fusion power. Moreover, via tax policy we need to raise the price of gas to give urgency to the the creation of infratructure necessary for the distribution of alternative sources. Told you it would be bitter medicine. But if we followed such a cource, in twenty years our dependence on the Middle East would be a thing of the past.