Dear Lurking Woman, [You write] “The inspectors haven't found nuclear bombs over there.” Just because the inspectors have not found any nuclear bombs in Iraq as of yet, does not mean that they are not there. [Lurking woman also writes] “Why didn’t they find those who failed America in the FBI and CIA, get rid of them, and replace them with those who sounded alarm bells but weren't heard? Instead, they set out to destroy the courageous whistle-blowers, and leave the incompetents right where they are, or even promote them. Why wasn’t the polygraph put to use for this purpose, if the pentagon is so convinced that it works?” You raise an excellent point here. You “hit the nail on the head” when you remarked, “why wasn’t the polygraph put to use for this purpose”, that is because the Pentagon knows that the polygraph is unreliable, and susceptible to countermeasures. It might “bluff” a confession from a naive and gullible suspect from time to time; however, the government knows that polygraph testing is not reliable at all. Consider this: if polygraph testing was remotely reliable, as is DNA testing, or finger print evidence directly linking a suspect to a specific crime, then polygraph results would be admissible in the court of law. Personally, I think that’s a hard argument to influence otherwise. What makes the United States so great and unique is not a pledge, a flag, or a song, all of which are more properly labeled culturally transitory trappings of patriotism. The USA is great because of a body of law and the people who have chosen to live under that law. That's why, in the United States when an immigrant takes the oath of citizenship, or when a citizen takes an oath of public office, they swear to uphold, not a flag, not the President, not a god, not an ideology, but the Constitution of the United States of America. Likewise, terrorism as demonstrated by the suicidal murders of 9/11, and the present day fear of an ever-looming potential biological or nuclear attack somewhere within the USA should be stopped, fast and efficiently. However, there is no rapid response blueprint for accomplishing this goal. Things will be missed, suggestions overlooked, from various agents consisting of both the FBI and CIA. Hindsight is always 20/20, and laying blame comes easy from those on the outside looking in. As a free self-ruling democratic society, it is not only our right, but our responsibility to vigorously and openly debate the issues, the use of military force, our foreign policy, civil rights and privacy in a time of war, and so on. America Unites sounds great as a news logo; but unity is no simple concept. We all want our families, our soldiers, and our unions, to be united toward clear, common goals. But is it not dangerous for a democratic population weighing if and how to wage war to value unity above all else? It's all too easy to mandate patriotism, as the New York Board of Education brought back the pledge of allegiance to classrooms, as if that will stop the Osama bin Ladens of the world. Respectfully Triple x
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