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February 10, 2012
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Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
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Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
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January 27, 2012
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Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
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Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
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Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
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Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
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Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
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John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Oct. 1, 2007
/ 19 Tishrei 5768
A president at war must lead a country at war
By
Kathryn Lopez
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http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
When the aunt of a military medic serving in Baghdad asked the president whether he had done anything to encourage Americans to volunteer for service, he replied, "No," shortly after having talked at length about the role of the commander in chief. Then he quickly revised his answer: "Well, I guess I have. I supported the advertising budgets of the Army and the Marines. But I have urged people to serve the nation in a variety of ways; urged people to feed the hungry or house the homeless. I thanked people for going to help rebuild homes in New Orleans, praised the Peace Corps."
If a group can collectively cringe, the group around the table in the Roosevelt Room of the White House certainly did. As important as feeding the hungry is, it's not the same as risking your life for your warring country.
I don't think the president meant to equate these things, and I am certain he did not intend to demean military service. He probably hadn't expected the question and might have felt awkward answering it, and the fact that he did not serve in Vietnam has been an issue for him. (It shouldn't be: He did serve in the National Guard.) This may have led him to believe that he couldn't ask men and women to give up their lives as volunteers. But as commander in chief during this war on radical Islam a role he takes dead seriously his office requires he make that request.
A little later, the president remarked to those in the Roosevelt Room: "I haven't specifically said, 'I want you to go in the military.' There are plenty of inducements for young men and women to make that decision. I've been generally I've been kind of on a I haven't been specific about how I asked people to serve. I've just asked them to serve."
Pete Hegseth, the articulate head of Veterans for Freedom folks who know true wartime sacrifice shares my opinion. "I don't understand why he wouldn't call on Americans to serve their country, in uniform, in this extremely important war. President Bush understands the stakes of the fight in Iraq and should call on the best and brightest to serve on the battlefield. That message, to me, seems like a no-brainer."
Buzz Patterson, a retired Air Force lieutenant colonel and vice chairman of the troop-supporting group Move America Forward, echoes Hegseth: "There is no doubt that President Bush should have sent a 'call to arms' to young Americans to step up and serve. ... He should have appealed to the nation for a mobilized posture long ago. I would certainly hope that our next president will."
The president's response to the question of military service does make an American wonder: Would a vet president help? Could it change an American dynamic? Would it make it easier for a wartime president to inspire military service?
And here you can't help but think of John McCain. Scan the cast of characters running for president. Who is more serious when it comes to understanding the stakes of this war on terror? In fact, in some polls he saw a surge of support in the late summer undeniably tied to news from Iraq.
McCain's service to our country is a story of character and heroism. I've heard him say many times that military service many decades ago does not make anyone more qualified than another to make present-day foreign-policy decisions. But it certainly puts him in a better position to say: "Serve. Your country needs you."
I disagree with McCain on many issues, but we're at war, and we need Americans to realize it and feel like they're part of it. Veteran McCain could be the right person to lead.
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