If you were President of the US...

[fustercluck]

I understand that this is a potentially caustic topic. Let's try to remain civilized and avoid personal offenses.


I was thinking about the position the US is in relative to the war on terror and the two continuous conflicts in which it finds itself. Though we have the advantage of hindsight and our individual shortsightedness/ignorance would be inconsequential being that we are insulated by powerlessness, I would like to know what each of those reading this thread would do if he/she were President starting Sept 12 2001.

How would each of you have proceeded and in which direction? Why would you or why would you not have followed the course we are exploring right now? Please take your time and try to explain the consequences of your leadership as you believe it would develop. Maybe a compare and contrast with current events would be a useful exercise

I have my own course, but it is yet underdeveloped, so I'll recuse myself until later.

As a matter of council, though the entire spectrum of political thought is welcome, please know that any invocation of current leadership in a disrespectful manner will likely decay the value of the ideas I expect from a thoughtful crowd. As such, I may delete them if I see the thread diving into the Godwin's Law scenario.

Please be prepared to answer questions that others may have by revisiting this thread often.

This ought to be fun....

Edit: this is purely exploratory braistorming so THERE ARE NO STUPID SCENARIOS!!!

[Texas Jim]

I first off would read every detailed report on terror and try to understand what the real threat is. Next, I would surround myself with confident people(not of the typical Washington crowd) Bipartisan, common people with since of honor and respect for my fellow American. People with intelligence and not some sort of hidden agenda.

I would follow the Constitution to the letter and not treat it as some dish rag that doesn't apply to me. I would first work on our borders, and get them shored up.
I would try to get some sort of immigration going with Mexico that would be advantageous to The US as well as to Mexico. I also would work out protecting our borders to the north.

I would also remind the American people that many Nationalities were killed in the selfless act of terror. People from all over the world. I would see to it that each and every person that lost someone in the attack were well taken care of for their loss, and let them know we care about them.

I would promise all that the evil doers of this deed will be tracked down and found and dealt with in a manner that will leave all who consider doing something of this nature knowing that you will never be able to do this again. Their is no place on this planet that they or their family will be able to hide, feel safe, or their families to feel safe again!!

This is only the beginning, more to come later. TJ

[slosurfer]

If I was President of the U.S., I would get blamed for everything wrong. :flipoff:

[Ric]

woow, where to start :headscratch:
Id probley start by getting all Illegals out, and I mean "ALL" and procecute the onwers of the companies that hired them.
Id do my best to get our troops home, put them on the boarders. :D
Id have to do something about healthcare, them people in congress would get a pay cut, to help pay for it, no more "perks" that are stupid.
Inmates would not beable to sue the state or prison.
Im going to stop for now :D

[calrockx]

I'd "give all the idiots a brand new religion"...

[Texas Jim]

I was thinking about the position the US is in relative to the war on terror and the two continuous conflicts in which it finds itself. Though we have the advantage of hindsight and our individual shortsightedness/ignorance would be inconsequential being that we are insulated by powerlessness, I would like to know what each of those reading this thread would do if he/she were President starting Sept., 12 2001 The day after 9/11!!

How would each of you have proceeded and in which direction? Why would you or why would you not have followed the course we are exploring right now? Please take your time and try to explain the consequences of your leadership as you believe it would develop. Maybe a compare and contrast with current events would be a useful exercise

I have my own course, but it is yet underdeveloped, so I'll recuse myself until later.

As a matter of council, though the entire spectrum of political thought is welcome, please know that any invocation of current leadership in a disrespectful manner will likely decay the value of the ideas I expect from a thoughtful crowd. As such, I may delete them if I see the thread diving into the Godwin's Law scenario.

Please be prepared to answer questions that others may have by revisiting this thread often.

This ought to be fun....

Edit: this is purely exploratory brainstorming so THERE ARE NO STUPID SCENARIOS!!!




OK!! Everyone needs to re-read what Fuster said!! I have underlined it so hopefully you can understand what he is asking!!! TJ

[fustercluck]

I'm still considering this, but I'll start by mentioning that I'd first review where our weaknesses were. Whatever position I'd take would of course have to pass constitutional examination. TJ indicated closer scrutiny of the borders and those who enter them. I think that is wise.

I'd also focus attention on becoming energy independent. I'll add to this later. I'm going out for dinner now :D

[ecchamberlin]

I'd also focus attention on becoming energy independent. I'll add to this later. I'm going out for dinner now :D


I think it is interesting that you mentioned this because the other day I was thinking about if even 1/10th of the money that has been spent since 9/11 for the GWOT could have accomplished if directed towards alternate fuel research.

I am no scientist but I have to imagine that if our best and brightest had those monetary resources to focus towards research and engineering it would have gone along way toward improving the situation.

I think this would be at the top of my list. Alternate fuel research. Kind of like Kennedy setting in motion the lofty goal of a man on the moon. How crazy and risky was that?

Even as addicted to our fosil fuel use as we are if you rally the country with the thought of not relying on outside sources for our transpertation, I think enough people would back it that it could be pulled off. I know if there was a way to convert my 4Runner to an alt fuel source, I would.

Is it idealistic? Yes. But so was the idea of that man on the moon thing and we all know how that turned out with lots of smart people working together with a huge budget.

[fustercluck]

I'd also focus attention on becoming energy independent. I'll add to this later. I'm going out for dinner now :D


I think it is interesting that you mentioned this because the other day I was thinking about if even 1/Th of the money that has been spent since 9/11 for the GOT could have accomplished if directed to wards alternate fuel research.

I am no scientist but I have to imagine that if our best and brightest had those monetary resources to focus to wards research and engineering it would have gone along way toward improving the situation.

I think this would be at the top of my list. Alternate fuel research. Kind of like Kennedy setting in motion the lofty goal of a man on the moon. How crazy and risky was that?

Even as addicted to our fossil fuel use as we are if you rally the country with the thought of not relying on outside sources for our transportation, I think enough people would back it that it could be pulled off. I know if there was a way to convert my runner to an alt fuel source, I would.

Is it idealistic? Yes. But so was the idea of that man on the moon thing and we all know how that turned out with lots of smart people working together with a huge budget.


Hehe. I knew I should have waited to post until after my steak dinner :D The above thoughts run parallel to mine. Our greatest vulnerability is imported energy. Without energy, our society collapses into chaos and anarchy. While the more adventurous among us among our number may welcome it, social collapse would get tiresome and deadly within a week.

Here's what I would do: I'd quietly begin using our own resources wherever they be and dump whichever incentives necessary into the exploration of clean renewable fuels like hydrogen cells etc. As our friend ecchamberlin opines, this is a colossally daunting effort, but my plan hinges on it.

[fustercluck]

While my energy cabinet worked on that and immigration worked on the physical security of our borders, I would satisfy the cry for blood (justice for the murdered victims) by doing exactly what we did in Afghanistan. The only difference would be that I would do it without the bravado and chest thumping that occurred. I would talk softly and swing the big stick. I would unleash the military to run it's campaign without being handcuffed by political machinations. The goal would be to extract the taliban/al queda and Bin Laden with ferocity and at any cost.

While doing what any reasonable person could see as just reciprocity, I would reach the hand of powerful diplomacy out to the rest of the middle east and respectfully, politely lay down the law.....mess with the bull and get the horns; No games, no kidding. The choice would be to work together for peace and prosperity, ignore each other or tangle with the big boys. We will not turn the other cheek while I am president. What happened in Afghanistan will happen to you if we find you are complicit in terror overtly or through inaction; no games, no kidding. This goes for us and our allies. Should terror occur on your watch or from your nation, the onus is on you to diligently produce the perps or facilitate our agents to find them. No compliance gets the horns.

As to the Iraq conflict, I would go into Iraq if and only if we had concrete and verifiable evidence (not simply eyewitnesses) that events were culminating which jeopardized our immediate security. I maintain that the move into Iraq was strategically wise if we could have proven that. With our overwhelming presence in Iraq and Afghanistan and at least tacit cooperation with Turkey, Azerbaijan and Turkmenistan, we have Iran surrounded and divided from the other major troublemaker Syria. This is Prolly what the current admin was after, but relied too much on the momentum of 9/11 reciprocity and not enough on solid facts...or at least the case to go was sloppily compiled. These are not politically charged criticisms, but personal observations given my admittedly sparse knowledge of the players at the time.

There is more, like changing the tax code, but I am sleepy.

Please feel free to critique or add or challenge the wisdom of any of this. I am open like never before.

[Texas Jim]

I am open like never before.


Now, I have to say that is one loaded line you put out there Fuster, and I just going to let it hang there..... :poke: :tease:

But to expand on what you have already said, I must do. With the technology that is in our current military system today and the ability to place a lethal and deadly strike on any one in a moments notice. I frankly feel that conventional war as we have known it to not be totally necessary. Our country has the resources as well as the personal to do just what the terrorist have done to us!!

That of which terror is solely about. To bring fear and exploit the vulnerability of the innocent of the world. It is a cowardly act toward the innocent!!

To get the attention of those who feel that they can lawlessly run around and inflect their type of fear into me, my loved ones, or the peaceful loving people of this country! I would simply react with their own brand of war. Use stealth air craft, all of the special forces to go in and be devastatingly as effective against them as they were to us. I would carry on a secretively ran, as well as involving our allies, an operation to help out tracking down these kind of animals and their innocent families. Much in the same way that they have tried to instill fear into the good people of this country or of any of our allies.

Get my intelligence organizations up and running at a rate to watch the worlds money flowing and to make sure it is understood as to what and why it still moving. (These kind of people can not operate without money.) I would also go after the countries that harbor these kind of people. With sanctions so severe that they wouldn't even receive any basice humanitarian aid till it was well established, that there is no place on this planet where those who choose to engage in terror will never feel safe on this planet again, as well as their families.

Make these countries find out that we will live in a peaceful manner. We will not condone or tolerate any attacks of terror apron anyone from our country, or our allies. I would have the whole Bin Lauden family either in my custody or already eliminated with extreme prejudice.

If you are a family member or retaliative of a known terrorist's, you will be used as examples to let the chosen terrorest know what it is like to attack innocents and feel the pain that they have inflected on others.

This would be handled on an individual basis. No one would find out about it till it is completely over. To protect our men and women who risk their lives carring out such missions for the US government or it's allies.

The walk softly and carry a big stick would be the current American policy!! You can hide but you cannot run forever!! TJ

[fustercluck]

I am open like never before.


Now, I have to say that is one loaded line you put out there Fuster, and I just going to let it hang there..... :poke: :tease:




:lol: :lol: :lol:

[Paul H.]

Me, I would have gone into Afganistan not with the small contingent that we had be with an all out force. Sealed off the borders so no one could escape and sent well over 200k military members to put the Taliban down once and for all. Would have put good military men, not yes men, incharge and told them to get Bin Laden at all cost.
I would have never invaded another country unless they attacked first or harbored attackers of us. And I would make sure that all leaders of other countries know what would happen to them if they did.
I would also pour billions into alternative fuel sources, not corn based, but real alternative sources, thus getting us out of being oil dependant.
I would put stricter control on polluters and require them to clean up their act. This is the only world we have, we need to help it.
That is all for now.