CNN

A war on terror? Let's see....to win that we'd have to kill every member of the terror side and not make more members willing to use terror as a tactic of war.......sure sounds doable to me! Or maybe we could get past the simple rhetoric and actually intelligently address the problem and move on to a solution.

To David in Salinas

Of all in the Democratic field, I find Joe Biden to be the most genuine candidate. Sadly, he most likely won't win the nomination. On his plan for Iraq however, I still don't see it as realistic. Leaving a token force behind at this point would be a huge mistake. Iraq needs the security our forces provide, and at the same time, they need time and assistance to work through the issues confronting them politically. Building a democracy takes years, decades even. The example of a young United States of America tells us that. The problem is, our nation does not have the stomach to do what is necessary long term to build democracy in Iraq. We expect immediate gratification, and that is not possible in this case.

Jon Dempsey said, "If we really want to end terrorism against the U.S., we need to look at our foreign policy, our economic globalization, and the way we behave in the international community."

Unlike Chris, I feel Jon's statement has substance. America needs a new perspective on International Policies and Affairs. I believe there current view of being the World's Super Power bearing the sole responsibly as International Police and Peace Keepers needs more than mere tweaking. If America was willing to see the obvious they would see themselves as the rancorous antagonistic, dictators and ne'er-do-wellers of the world.

I believe it is America's ill conceived belief of omnipotent power that garners them more enemies than allies. And gives them a priority ranking on the Terrorists' list.

Bill of Charleston SC writes:
“Never from anyone in the "Out of Iraq" croud have I heard a realistic plan for bringing the troops home while at the same time providing stability in the middle east.”

Bill, you might want to look at the soft-partition plan put forward by Senator Joe Biden, whose foreign policy credentials are probably better than anyone else in the race. Here’s an excerpt:

“The idea is to maintain a unified Iraq by federalizing it and giving Kurds, Shiites and Sunnis breathing room in their own regions. The central government would be responsible for common interests, like border security and the distribution of oil revenues. The plan would bind the Sunnis – who have no oil - by guaranteeing them a proportionate share of oil revenues. It would convene an international conference to secure support for the power sharing arrangement and produce a regional nonaggression pact, overseen by a Contact Group of major powers. It would call on the U.S. military to withdraw most U.S. troops from Iraq by the summer of 2008, with a residual force to keep Iraqis and their neighbors honest. It would increase economic aid but tie it to the protection of minority rights and the creation of a jobs program and seek funding from the oil-rich Gulf Arab states.”

There’s more on Biden’s web site:

http://www.joebiden.com/home

Journalism at its best:

“it’s time that we had a frank discussion in this country at the highest levels with both parties as to what it’s going to take and the unity we’re going to need” to battle terror.

Note the words to battle terror are not inside the quotes. Those words belong to the reporter to shorten Fred's statement into a nice sound byte. What gets me most about these type of articles is the way the short attention span Americans completely over look subtleties such as this.

Fred describing terrorism as a global threat isn't exactly Earth shattering news. Terrorism from the Middle East goes all the way back to the Nixon Administration. During the Carter Administration Iran extremists took American hostages. During the Reagan Administration I was sitting on a Navy ship off the coast of Beirut Lebanon during the Israeli PLO conflict. All through the Bush Sr. Administration Islamic extremists took hostages like Terry Waite, Jesse Turner, and Alann Steen. A Kuwaiti airliner was hijacked with 122 hostages on board demanding the release of 17 convicted terrorists. This does not take into consideration groups like the IRA or the Red Army either. So yes, terrorism is a global problem and always has been. Maybe it's time this country opens its collective eyes to the reality inwhich we live. Things will never be the same as they were. Get used to it.

A comment Fred Thompson made during his speech, and one you won't see on CNN, is that he is tired of Americans being ashamed of being American. He said in his speech that the United States has shed more blood in the service of other countries to keep them free than all of the nations of the world combined. That is nothing to be ashamed of.

“Ron Paul is one of the outstanding leaders fighting for a stronger national defense. As a former Air Force officer, he knows well the needs of our armed forces, and he always puts them first. We need to keep him fighting for our country.”

Ronald Reagan

Evan Esteves, you're right. Apparently, Fred Thompson has forgotten all about Osama bin Laden, just like George W. Bush has.

Frankly Fred, You need to stay on Law and Order because when you were a Senator, you did absolutely nothing during your term. The inside the beltway joke about you Fred is that you are mentioned as the most inactive Senator in American History! Fred, you need a frank talk to your pal G W Bush about how he screwed up the war on terror when he invaded Iraq. Fred Thompson, America needs someone has a proven leadership, not a throwback to the Nixon years like you. Nice try Freddie see you in the reruns.

That's nice, Fred.

You and Frank go off somewhere and have a nice discussion and leave the rest of us alone.

I think Mr. Thompson is in denial. These old people in the Congress are living in fear of themselves. The mindset of all these so-called Christian Warmongers is so far from the Teachings of Christ, the Bible refers to these people as Hypocrites".

Michael,

You are quite right about the aims of the leaders and those who have already committed to follow them- but you are overlooking the role of US actions in helping them to continually recruit new members. Every society has fanatical crackpots like them in one form or another, but what makes these particular ones dangerous is that they have been able to continually attract new followers as their old ones are killed off (or kill themselves off). Yes we have to keep fighting them, but we had better try to develop some tactics that won't serve as their best recruitment arguments. And to get this back on topic: Fred T, I have to be very frank and say, that in the war on terror we don't need a lazy (as all of Washington says), not-too-smart (as Richard Nixon said), long-time lobbyist as our leader.

We do need a clear and honest conversation on radical fundamentalist Islam, and their chosen tactic in the war waged on those whom they oppose. Unfortunately, we have not had one since 2001 but rather have had RFIslam used as a political tool by the administration and Republican party to secure continued power. The Democrats offered little as well. Now, we have Guiliani adopting the same tactics as the administration–campaigning on a 2002-2004 platform of "scare the crap out of us." Once both parties are able to speak of the threat in something other than slogans, soundbites, and hollow proclamations, the conversation will begin. I haven't faith that it will, though, and thus we will remain in danger until we have the courage to abandon "terrorism" and RFI as political tools, and understand them as real figures on the global stage, figures that will not be subdued with bullets or bombs but rather intelligent policy and inspired diplomacy. Good luck, America.

Never from anyone in the "Out of Iraq" croud have I heard a realistic plan for bringing the troops home while at the same time providing stability in the middle east. The only thing I hear over and over is "we need to get out of Iraq". In other words, we need to come running home with our tail between our legs because this is too hard for us.

That is definitely not the right answer folks. Were mistakes made in the conduct of the war? You betcha. There's never been a war fought without mistakes. We need to get away from our attitude of fighting "sanitized wars" in this country. War means people die. Many times innocent people. That is the nature of warfare, and soldiers understand this very well. The goal of any war is to kill as many of the enemy while minimizing our own casualties. But just because there are casualties on our side does not necessitate our surrender. Iraq is winnable. And it was good policy to invade in the first place. In the end, if we elect a tough president, we will win in Iraq, and we will provide lasting stability in the middle east. If that's hard for you to swallow, look at Korea. We've been there for over 50 years. And there has been great stability in that area of the world because of our presence. Iraq will be no different.

Maybe it's time for this nation to grow a real backbone. The war on terror is real. It should be fought places other than Iraq, but also in Iraq

CFR, enough said, study and be educated. Understadn the nature of the enemy within we face.

RP08

Mike San Diego-
You sir, get it. Best discussion of the real point Ive ever heard..

The problem with some people criticising her is – they think Hillary BELIEVES what she says. There is always a REASON for what she says and it is for affect and seldom true.

Ask the "True" Ronald Reagan Quesiton. Are we better off than you were 8 years ago? And then ask the question, "Why are we not better off?". Republicans and democrats remember, recovery only starts when you realize you have a problem. Abortion, gay marriage, immigration, Alberto Gonzales are all smoking mirrors. I guess divide and conquer still works. Forget the magic show... tell us the truth.

Fred Thompson is just anoother fear mongering neo-con dunce. What the hell does he mean by 'frank sicussion'? There's no place for fear mongering and trying to use terrorism as a tool to win elections. Those days are long gone. The fact of the matter is the terrorists were holed up in the treacherous valleys between the borders of Pakistan and Afganistan and a republican led government thought it prudent to bomb the s**t out of a nation that had nothing to do with terrorism. Now, iraq is a haven, terrorists thrive there. Who is to blame? It's high time someone be held accountable. Americans would be plain stupid to vote for another republican.

I'll vote for this guy if he keeps saying all the right things...like he just did.

Thompson for president!!!

Just curious, don't know where I stand on Fred T. Wonder what you all think will happen if we pull out of Iraq right now?

What scares me is that many people are going to vote for Thompson as the character he played on TV, whatever that is because I have never seen the show. Once he announces his run (his caginess also bothers me), more truth of his olden days in government will come to the forefront. I think we'll see Mitt Romney (Mormonism and all) in the republican spot. People are tired of being manipulated by fear, and Guiliani and Thompson seemed determined to play with the same deck (or lack thereof).

Michael O’Leary, San Diego, CA ... "Practically, the US is their first target because the US is the biggest foreign obstacle to their goals (realistic or otherwise) of establishing an Islamist order in the arab world."

Ummm .... wrong. The US is a target because it MADE itself a target with a history of intrusive Middle Eastern foreign policy decisions since at least the 1950's (google Operation Ajax sometime – which lead to the American hostages being taken by the Iranians in the late 1970's).

Funny how the people who started this war on terror (that Dubya said we COULDN'T win) by masterminding the 911 attacks cite several foreign POLICIES that led to them attacking us, like building American bases on their land, support of Israel, etc. If you need more, let me know.

Here's a hint: You don't go out of your way for DECADES to give people reason after reason to hate you and then say "Well ... umm ... they would have attacked us anyway" to justify your own ignorance.

"our withdrawal from Iraq (though needed at some point) will not satisfy these extremists, modify their views toward us or anything else, nor will it make them go away."

Wrong again! It WILL make them go away .. and by "them" I mean all the (as Ronald Reagan called them) "Freedom Fighters" who are attacking us because we continue to occupy their land to set up 1) a puppet govt to the U.S., 2) that they never asked for, 3) at gunpoint, 4) that will be partial to Israel, 5) so we can privatize THEIR oil.

As Marwan Abu Ubeida, one of many terrorists in training, stated in a June 26th, 2005 posted interview with a TIME reporter "We expected them to bring Saddam down and then leave," he says. "But they stayed and stayed." Abu Ubeida believed there are "hundreds of others" like him, which was supported by the fact that al-Zarqawi's group announced before the interview that it had set up a separate brigade for Iraqi suicide bombers.

While there will always be other that hate us regardless of what we do or don't do ... THOSE people above (a brigades worth of them) WILL be satisfied and WILL go away if we leave.

Thanks for posting and thus allowing me to correct you.

J Fred, you missed your chance to do something honorable by cleaning up the Copper Basin in your great state, but you was busy reading your copy of my pet goat. Now you want to help Hallyburton screw the hose on to the Iraqi pipeline. Forget it Fred, Your fellow Tennesseeans would let you down anyway, just ask James K. Polk Andy Jackson and Al Gore.

How can you have war on a tactic?

I support Mr. Thompson's comments on the necessity have a frank discusion on the subject of terrorism. But I do not agree that Iraq is an important front on that war. Having said that, I would support his candidacy for the presidency of the U.S. He's not an official candidate yet and the democrats are showing just plain fear of him. That only shows that he is a really strong republican candidate. Imperfect, yes. But with a lot more backbone than any democratic candidate so far. ALL of them are NOW against the war in Iraq, but in 2003 they were absolutely silent. For all their tough talk, democrats are just crybabies in the political sense. Always complaining but never offering anything substantial about how to fix any problem. Just like wimps. Former President Jimmy Carter had more guts and character than any of the potencial democrats for the White House. But he was president at the wrong time. Too bad.

Senator Thompson is wrong to say that Terrorism and the Iraq War are one. We began the war in Iraq to have a Regime change & find WMDs. Terrorist have joined the fight in Iraq as one of many different groups because the U.S. is still a target. We need to get out of Iraq and fight the war that really threatens us which is Terrorism.

Good Lord! Not a stereotypical republican platform speech. Sheesh! Thompson should feel ashamed to pull the Fear Card at a time when everyone and their dog knows that Iraq was a stupid mistake by Bush and Company. And its time, NOT to fear the world around us. It's time to work towards a solution. All the while NOT destroying our country's constitution in the process.

Telling it like it is,
Wynter

Fred Thompson for President? Gag me with a spoon! Just more of the same old tired neoconservative dogma. Either it's time for this good ole' boy to announce or go away. He's not a real presidential candidate – he just plays one on TV!

Just what the Republican Party needs! Another hawkish, conservative fanatic who has no concept of what it takes to run a country. I think Fred should continue with his mediocre acting endeavors.

Fred Thompson sure has had alot to say over the last month, Abortion and his would be challenge on Roe vs. Wade, Gay Marriage, and now his views on the terror front. I think we all liked you better as Adam Branch on Law & Order, where you left the script writing to someone else and just delivered the clever lines.

This is the saddest bunch or retread comments i have ever seen:

We're doomed

Scary

It hasn't worked before and it won't work this time. Fred Thompson is an honorable man with a histroy of public service. he is not the boogeyman, though that is how he will be protraited by the same crowd that same the same things about Reagan, Bush41 and Bush43. Keep reading the talking points and drinking the kool-aid folks. Patriotic Americans do not feast on their own and the politics stops at the waters edge.

Fred Thompson’s suggesting that the people are in denial regarding the threat of terrorism seems a prime example of ‘blaming to cover the fault’. It fails to acknowledge that it was the Bush administration that aggressively and belligerently used subterfuge to justify moving the concentration from fighting terrorism to the attacking of Iraq for the sole benefit of a select few and at significant costs to the majority. His position ignores that there has been four years of lives lost, tax payers dollars spent and continual rationalizing and deceptive reporting by our government while the Iraqis, who really are the only hope for resolution, simply abandon their responsibility and consistently compete for sectarian advantage and self-interests. What Mr. Thompson’s rhetoric does demonstrate is that there is full intent to continue with ‘more of the same’, more of the pursuing of a private agenda for substantial benefit to a select few, who in return then provide support, contributions and facilitation, while the average American is subtly given little more than apathy, artifice and the costs. When the ‘smoke’ is put aside it seems easy to recognize that the Iraq War has very little to do with the War on Terrorism and a whole lot to do with financial gain for some very wealthy people and then with political maneuvering by Iraqi factions. I don’t think America can really take ‘more of the same’ with all of it’s shortcomings but it is obvious that the ‘select few’ aren’t going to let go easily.

This Fred Thompson fellow has got to be the biggest joke I've ever seen! Somebody please tell him to close his piehole and quit embarrassing himself! Lol!

You are right Freddy about this country needs to have a frank discussion about terror. About this, let have this administration starts to stop lying , and using the treat emergency level for political gains. let have Juliani stop to use 9/11 dramatic event for political gain.Let have the Bush's administration lying about WMD in Irak, and justifying killing 1/2 million of Irakis. Instead of trying to give us a lecture about trying to have a frank discussion about terror, why don't you talk to your Republican Buddies and tell them to start to tell the true. Then after that you may want to go back to Law and Order TV serie. You just do not sound credeable Freddy. LOL

The terrorists have succeeded in letting America be consumed by fear and record federal spending that has outpaced even more than what we spent during the height of the Cold War.

FDR told us to not be afraid. The Bush Administration and most of the GOP relies on fear as a tactic to impose control and manipulate the public.

We were supose to be united...instead we are more divided than ever and we have let the terrorists control our way of life.

Continuing to preach fear and let our country be intimated should NOT be the answer.

I do agree that we need more frank discussion...but what Fred is talking about is clearly more of the same failed Bush policies.

Michael O'Leary you make great points here. I just want one clarification. We caused the degree of overlap with terrorism and Iraq.

As much as we all despise dictators, at least Sadam had control of the different sanctions in that country. Darfur has much more severe issues and we don't even acknowledge them as a concern at all. Also, I have Palestinian friends who would add to the extremists point of view being our constant support of Israel and disregard of anything Moslem. Yes, extremist Moslems are pushing their views and jihad worldwide, but they have a specific hatred of Americans. One wonders if we would be better off, or if Iraq would be better off if we did pull out. I think we created such a BIG mess over there, that there really isn't going to be a good strategy for leaving. People like Thompson do cause me great angst. The last thing we need is someone elected that is a duplicate of Bush. I fear him, Cheney and Rove much more than I do the terrorists that seem so elusive to me. Having our elected officials make hugh changes to our freedom and constitution and push fear constantly down our throats is very disturbing to me and makes me wonder what the true agenda is.

When will the Republicans get it through their heads that the Iraq War is only hurting our efforts in the War on Terror? Al-Qaeda in Iraq CANNOT attack us. They don't have the means. Al-Qaeda in Afghanistan and Pakistan have regained strength and must be dealt with through some medium or other.

Jon Dempsey said, "If we really want to end terrorism against the U.S., we need to look at our foreign policy, our economic globalization, and the way we behave in the international community."
BULL.
Our foreign policy is in place to protect America, it's citizens, and it's interests. Period.

There was the Hart-Rudman report that Bush and Cheney ignored. There was the 9/11 Commission that never had the full support of this administration. How many opponents to the Bush immigration policy lamented its lack of border security. I don't think it takes a non-candidate to say when we draw a line in the sand we shouldn't do it by burying our heads.

It is about time and different then the usually Republican answer of "do what ever it takes to make sure the terroists win"

The terroist pray every day for another Bush.

I'm a liberal and I wouldn't vote for Thompson in a million years, however I don't see how anyone can be opposed to a frank discussion regarding terrorism.

I'm shocked at how many people flippantly dismiss any discussion of terrorism as "fear-mongering". Terrorism is a real threat to this country and it's incredibly naive to think we can ignore it and life will just return to normal.

I agree that we've brought much of this threat on ourselves but there are a lot of complex religious, social, and political factors going on here and I can guarantee you that no one commenting here today is well-informed enough to know exactly what should be done.

There has not been enough discussion of this issue from the democratic candidates and I would love to see the dems and republicans sit down and discuss this issue frankly and openly.

Fred, at this point, its turned into a religious war.

Do you propose we remain until only one religion is left in Iraq?

Michael in San Diego:

Thank you for reasoned comments. Prior to your posting, this string of talking points is something you would expect to hear on Air America.

Islamic terrorism has been around since well before Bush took office. In fact I distinctly remember Sadaam donating $25000 to families of Palestinian suicide bombers of Israeli civilians back in the late 90's.

we need to recognize that the Atlantic and Pacific are no longer enough to shield us from our enemies. And make no mistake about it, Muslim fundamentalists are our enemy and they are fired up about their chance to destroy our way of life and to impose Islam on the Western world. To deny or ignore this is irresponsible.

It was nice to read some non-emotional and non-partisan remarks for a change.

Has everyone seem to forgotten how we got here. Some bad people who hate me and you simply because we were born in America forcibly took controlof some airplanes and crashed them into a few buildings killing thousands of Americans. As a member of the US Navy I don't always agree with the President of the US, but I have sworn to obey him along with every other member of the Armed Forces. I don't see any of you stepping up.

As Mr. Thompson publicly inflates the threat of terrorism, a simple reality check puts into perspective how shortsighted and naive we have all been in allowing our civil liberties to be eroded to “protect the homeland” following 9/11.

There is no doubt that during the life of the Soviet Union, the world dealt with a genuine global threat. The USSR spread its influence and military presence throughout the world and expanded its boarders into many other countries.
Comparatively speaking, how great a threat is Al Qaeda? Are we to believe that, at most, a few hundred thousand Islamic radicals world wide comprise a global threat on a par with Communism? Does such a small number of Jihadists legitimately warrant the same military buildup and defense spending today that the U.S. put toward fighting decades of Communism?

When the Soviet Union controlled half of Europe and Asia and put nuclear missiles in Cuba, the U.S. government did not respond by asking Americans to give up their freedoms in order to protect the country. Arguing that Americans now need to turn over their freedoms in exchange for safety from what is, by any yardstick, a minuscule threat is the highest form of snake-oil salesmanship. Of course, there is no country anywhere that has lived with terrorism longer than Israel. Surrounded by antagonistic Arab countries and under a constant threat of attack, the government of Israel does not use terrorism to control its citizens, nor have Israelis ever been asked to forfeit their freedoms for security. Americans are the victims of their own ignorance. We have allowed ourselves to be sold a bill of goods, believing that we need to be protected from Al Qaeda, when the greatest threat we face is from our own government.

The "some people" Thompson refers to who wants us to leave Iraq are the vast majority of Americans and the vast majority of Iraqis. This war was a mistake from its inception and Thompson is idiotic to think this kind of talk will make him President

Note to Jon Dempsey and others:

You should read translations of the works of al Qutb and al Maududi, who are the two main sources of doctrinal "inspiration" for modern extremist Islamists.

It is not "the United States we have become" that is their target, it is all the world that does not conform to their beliefs.

Practically, the US is their first target because the US is the biggest foreign obstacle to their goals (realistic or otherwise) of establishing an Islamist order in the arab world.

Iraq has been a poorly executed attempt at a grossly flawed plan, but our withdrawal from Iraq (though needed at some point) will not satisfy these extremists, modify their views toward us or anything else, nor will it make them go away. Dealing with Islamist extremists is an issue that will persist regardless of whatever happens in Iraq.

We had no realistic plan for invasion and created a huge mess. We need a realistic plan for withdrawal that doesn't increase that mess even further. We also need to recognize that we do need to develop a cohesive and comprehensive economic, political, cultural, diplomatic and military strategy to address Islamist extremism wherever it occurs.

Iraq and terrorism are two separate issues with a degree of overlap. So far, I haven't heard any candidate from either party give much more than soundbites.

If Hillary is a Bush Light, Fred is definitely a Bush/Cheney/Rove Heavyweight.

If he talks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck, He's A Duck or in this case, another Bush et al Clone. In my mind there isn't anything more dangerous or unnerving as another Bush at the Helm! Shivers.

Fred has even taken on their monotonous Fear Tactic (Terrorism) and he hasn't even decided if he's in the race yet! Frankly Bush, Cheney, and Rove give me more fear than their supposed terrorists. They are here now and at work. The terrorists are still at large, undefined, undescript, unstrategized.

I'll take my chances with the Terrorists over Bush/Fred and their Boys or any of the other Republic Candidates at present.

I dont' know why but the name Flintstone just came to mind?

Sure thing, Freddy. You can have your frank discussion the moment you start actually running for president

Fred Dubya Thompson, just what we need. Yet another Republican that has nothing to run on but scare tactics. Petrify ignorant little Americans by getting them to believe that they are under imminent threat and unless Thompson (in this case) is elected, they will soon perish in a spectacular world-ending catastrophic terrorist attack that will make 9-11 look like child's play... all cooked up by a bunch of AK-47 wielding men in face masks and turbans on their head. Go Thompson....

Mmmm yeah, that's just what I've been looking for: more fearmongering.

Ok lets have a frank discussion about terror.
I feel genuine terror when I think about our country being led by you.

Wow. 14 comments ahead of me, and I agree with all of them. That NEVER happens!

Maybe there's hope for this country after all.

I'd be ashamed if I were from Mass. as well

He wasted no time playing the abortion card. I wonder what the republicans will do when they run out of cards and have to deal with real substance issues?

Most Americans now realize he Iraqi civil war is not an important front on the war on terrorism. It is a distraction, a quagmire and a recruiting tool for al Qaeda which has cost us half a trillion dollars, thousands of lives and the respect of the world.

Thompson’s position: “I would do essentially what the president's doing.”

You can read more Fred Thompson quotes on the war here:

http://www.ontheissues.org/2008/Fred_Thompson_War_+_Peace.htm

Let me get this straight, Fred Thompson, a man who specifically chose not to serve his country, and can't seem to remember if he lobbied for or against abortion (even with the help of court transcripts), wants to be president and discuss "... at the highest levels with both parties as to what it’s going to take and the unity we’re going to need to battle terror."

God knows we need a forthcoming and truthful discussion on this subject and the current occupant of 1600 Pennsylvania Ave., is not qualified or able to give either. But fer cryin-out-loud, why does Thompson think he is qualified to do this? What else is he besides a mediocre senator and a semi-passible actor with delusions of Reagan-hood?

I don't know if I should take the blue pill or the red pill. Where is Neo when you need him?

How about a 'frank discussion' if you're running or not? How can a voter commit to a person who is not committed at running?

Here we go...abortion, gay marriage, and now fear–the Republican establishment platform.

"Frank discussion" must be code for 7 year old talking points.

"Thompson’s remarks about the war on terror echoed themes frequented by President Bush in defending the war in Iraq at a time when the Republican presidential field is trying to win over the Republican Party’s conservative base."

Just goes to show that Fred Thompson has nothing new to offer this country, we are not trying to creat a carbon copy of the last 8 years, don't waste your time and resources Fred, you can always head back to Law & Order in these your twilight years.

Iraq is only an important front to this war because we made it one. Prior to our invasion, Iraq was a bad dog on a short leash Al Qaeda did not exist there until we invaded it.
Pack your bags and go home Freddy boy, we're not buying your rhetoric here.

Terror is an emotion, how do you have a war on an emotion?

I think that the country is well aware of the consequences of Islamic extremists, and see right through your 'politics of fear', senator!

And Americans know that Iraq is not the 'central front', it is a failed state as a consequence of 'W' failed policy!

When will the leaders in this country learn that terrorists want to attack the America that we have become and not the America that we should be? If we really want to end terrorism against the U.S., we need to look at our foreign policy, our economic globalization, and the way we behave in the international community. Acting like a bully and dominating the world is not going to make friends. The war in Iraq was caused by us, not terrorists. Our continued presence there is making us more unsafe at home. Maybe Fred Thompson and the other Republican candidates should really think about terrorism and why it exists, before touting about how leaving Iraq would be a bad idea. How is being there helping, Fred?

Out of all the republicans, this guy scares me the most – not just the way he looks, but all his political stances. If he gets elected, we're all doomed.

I'll Bet here is something you never knew about ol' Freddy Boy back in his Nixon Aid Days....

The day before Senate Watergate Committee minority counsel Fred Thompson made the inquiry that launched him into the national spotlight - asking an aide to President Nixon whether there was a White House taping system - he telephoned Nixon's lawyer.
Thompson tipped off the White House that the committee knew about the taping system and would be making the information public. In his all-but-forgotten Watergate memoir, "At That Point in Time," Thompson said he acted with "no authority" in divulging the committee's knowledge of the tapes, which provided the evidence that led to Nixon's resignation. It was one of many Thompson leaks to the Nixon team. ...

"Thompson was a mole for the White House ... Fred was working hammer and tong to defeat the investigation of finding out what happened to authorize Watergate and find out what the role of the president was."

Important front on terror???!!! We created the mess in Iraq, how can he ignore this fact. We have increased extremisim because of the invasion of Iraq. Of course, it could still be there, but our troops should not be there in a civil war. Now, the neocons have hijacked the govt and while I should not compromise due to the war being illegal. The war will continue till this President gets out. Now, we should move all the troops (except in Baghdad) to the borders to prevent illegal entry ( to bad we can't do that here in our own country) and let the citizens of Iraq handle their own affairs.

The real front on terror is in the mountains between Pakistan and Afghanistan, that neo conservatives and Hillary backers are criticizing another presidential candidate for wanting to fight on that front. Osama needs to be found and executed...Last I heard he wasn't anywhere near Iraq.