New at Reason

David Weigel | October 20, 2006

In his latest Associated Press IM forum, Nick Gillespie races against time to decode the effect of terror and foreign policy on the upcoming elections.

Comments

PintofStout|10.20.06 @ 4:09PM|#

Who knew the Fonz would be worried about our image!

PintofStout|10.20.06 @ 4:12PM|#

You did good, Nick. You pretty much just shut the conservative fella up and the progressive guy, I think, wasn't on the same planet with the rest of the discussion.

|10.20.06 @ 4:14PM|#

That was the most sensible I've ever heard Special Ed be. Congrats Nick

|10.20.06 @ 4:23PM|#

Nick,
We gotta talk about capitalization of your sentences. Seriously.

Sounded good though, nice to see that you had that USA Today poll at the ready. Not that polls mean much, but still, it shows actual numbers in what should be an objective discussion.

I loved Ed's 'Tiger Repelling Rock' argument.

|10.20.06 @ 4:36PM|#

To expound upon Ed's fallicy, let's look at the five years prior to and post 9/11/2001.

Attacks on American Soil or Americans Abroad (not counting the conflict in Iraq).

1996
June 25, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia: truck bomb exploded outside Khobar Towers military complex, killing 19 American servicemen and injuring hundreds of others. 13 Saudis and a Lebanese, all alleged members of Islamic militant group Hezbollah, were indicted on charges relating to the attack in June 2001.

1998
Aug. 7, Nairobi, Kenya, and Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: truck bombs exploded almost simultaneously near 2 U.S. embassies, killing 224 (213 in Kenya and 11 in Tanzania) and injuring about 4,500. 4 men connected with al-Qaeda 2 of whom had received training at al-Qaeda camps inside Afghanistan, were convicted of the killings in May 2001 and later sentenced to life in prison. A federal grand jury had indicted 22 men in connection with the attacks, including Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, who remained at large.

2000
Oct. 12, Aden, Yemen: U.S. Navy destroyer USS Cole heavily damaged when a small boat loaded with explosives blew up alongside it. 17 sailors killed. Linked to Osama bin Laden, or members of al-Qaeda terrorist network.

2001
Sept. 11, New York City, Arlington, Va., and Shanksville, Pa.: hijackers crashed 2 commercial jets into twin towers of World Trade Center; 2 more hijacked jets were crashed into the Pentagon and a field in rural Pa. Total dead and missing numbered 2,9921: 2,749 in New York City, 184 at the Pentagon, 40 in Pa., and 19 hijackers. Islamic al-Qaeda terrorist group blamed. (See September 11, 2001: Timeline of Terrorism.)

2002
June 14, Karachi, Pakistan: bomb exploded outside American consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, killing 12. Linked to al-Qaeda.

2003
May 12, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: suicide bombers killed 34, including 8 Americans, at housing compounds for Westerners. Al-Qaeda suspected.

2004
May 29-31, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: terrorists attack the offices of a Saudi oil company in Khobar, Saudi Arabia, take foreign oil workers hostage in a nearby residential compound, leaving 22 people dead including one American.
June 11-19, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: terrorists kidnap and execute Paul Johnson Jr., an American, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. 2 other Americans and BBC cameraman killed by gun attacks.
Dec. 6, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia: terrorists storm the U.S. consulate, killing 5 consulate employees. 4 terrorists were killed by Saudi security.

2005
Nov. 9, Amman, Jordan: Suicide bombers hit 3 American hotels, Radisson, Grand Hyatt, and Days Inn, in Amman, Jordan, killing 57. Al-Qaeda claimed responsibility.

Correct me if I am wrong, but it looks like the numbers go 3(I stretched it June to get the Kohbar Towers) before 9/11 and 6(so far) after. Now, this doesn't include terrorist attacks against other western nations like London or Spain, or the nightclub attacks in Indonesia.

Hrrm, on second thought, maybe that rock is working.

|10.20.06 @ 5:13PM|#

Hey, any time you can bring the term "shooting your wad" into a geo political convo, you get points with me

|10.20.06 @ 6:18PM|#

"by ed's reasoning -- that there's been no attack in the past five years -- we were safer right up to the moment before 9/11."

This is the best rejoinder to the tiger-repelling rock argument that I've yet seen.

It's funny that I'm bringing this up, but I think it knocked Ed off his rocked-ribbed talking points when Nick brought up trade barriers in response to the question about our image abroad. That was clearly not the conversation Ed was prepared for.

He sort of stammered an objection to things not going as scripted, but then seemed to turn thoughtful. When was the last time you saw a conservative blogger wax philosophical about needing to consider both sides of an issue?

|10.20.06 @ 11:16PM|#

Nick:

the u.s. pushes a moral image of itself that is routinely at odds with its actual policies regarding, for instance, trade, especially when it comes to agricultural products.

Nick Gillespie for President!

like much of the developed world, we're hypocrites when it comes to subsidizing crops that poorer countries might compete in

Seriously.

i'm with judge andrew napolitano of fox news on this score: this balance is mostly b.s. Constitutional constraints on law enforcement do not preclude getting the sort of info needed to crack terror cells, etc.

The founders of our republic would vote for him!

I don't think "they" hate us for our image -- the 9/11 attacks were far more about specific policy decisions and a continuing presence in a particular part of the globe.

What are we waiting for? He knows the truth and he speaks it well!...Oh yeah, these days that's often an impediment to the attainment of higher office.




.

|10.21.06 @ 1:18PM|#

taining wheels of the axis of evil?

to whom is nick refering japan, south korea and china or north korea?

i don't get it.

|10.23.06 @ 10:42AM|#

Please, folks. Nick Gillespie is one of those educated elites who knows what he's talking about. Don't listen to him!!!