Washington (CNN) - Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich gave a grim assessment on the war on terror last night during a debate with former Vermont Governor Howard Dean, and suggested the situation unfolding in Egypt could pose a threat to the United States.
"Any honest assessment on 9/11 this year, ten years after the attack, I think will have to conclude that we're slowly losing the war," Gingrich said. "We're losing the war because there are madrassahs around the planet teaching hatred. We're losing the war because the network of terrorists is bigger, not smaller."
Gingrich pointed to the unrest in Egypt as posing a potential new threat to American security.
"There's a real possibility in a few weeks, if we're unfortunate, that Egypt will join Iran, and join Lebanon, and join Gaza, and join the things that are happening that are extraordinarily dangerous to us," Gingrich said.
Gingrich, who stopped short of announcing a bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, debated Dean on issues ranging from immigration to the economy.
And when an audience member pressed Gingrich about his stance on gay marriage, the former speaker defended his position.
"I'm quite happy to say that I come out of a tradition that is several thousand years old that says marriage is between a man and a woman," Gingrich said. "And I'm ready to defend that tradition and I happen to believe it. And I think I have as much right to my belief and you have to yours."
From CNN Politics
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Seriously? The Muslim world is falling apart and Grinchboy thinks we're losing? Pretty tenuous grasp of foreign affairs for a "candidate."
Here come the fear monger. If you don't have a plan to get this country back on track just invoke the fear mongering again and again. Newt you are a big fat jobs. You know you can not be Obama on the economy so why not bring back the sky is falling if we don't stop the terriost. We have home terriost we need to be looking at Mr. Fear Monger.
Define the objective of "war" and whom we are fighting with. According to the vitriolic and hate-filled speeches he gives, Newt thinks America is at war with the entire Islamic world. He thinks the Muslims want to overun Europe again and also take over America. Hint = the Islamic world does not want people like Newt insulting them or trying to impose HIS agenda upon their sovereignty. Don't Tread on Me Newt and Don't Tread on sovereign nations that only want to be left alone and not be invaded for oil or fascist agendas.
We're losing the war because Iraq and (to a lesser extent) Afghanistan played straight into Bin Laden's hands. Don't you guys get that he *wanted* this? All he wanted was to return to his glory days of throwing off foreign oppressors, and we gave it to him twice. Meanwhile, Egypt is its own thing, and could very well go either way at this point. The last thing we want to be standing is in the Egyptian people's way.
No ~ we are winning our war on terror – which means you and the rest of the "fear & hate" mob are losing their campaign to terrorize the US and the rest of the world for the purpose of radical neo-con political domination.
Go away you sick bastard, and take the rest of the corporate (fascist) lap dogs with you.
"There's a real possibility in a few weeks, if we're unfortunate, that Egypt will join Iran, and join Lebanon, and join Gaza, and join the things that are happening that are extraordinarily dangerous to us," Gingrich said.
This is nothing but fear mongering and we are sick of you Republicans demonizing everybody that the boggyman is under your bed and if we do not take them all out at once we will be doom. Newt please stop the fear mongering are shut the F UP!
"We're losing the war because there are madrassahs around the planet teaching hatred.
Maybe "Tea Party" and Some GOP should be added to the list for teaching hatred.
Gingrich said. "We're losing the war because there are madrassahs around the planet teaching hatred.
That right and it is coming right from your party the Tea Baggers.
BTW can we hear more from Gingrich about marriage. He said, "...marriage is between a man and a woman," I believe in his case it's "...a woman, then another woman, then another woman!"
Hey Fatboy, what would you do? Lecture youir way through these difficult issues and blame everyone else. Oh, I forgot, you aleady do that. What a buuffoon.
"And I'm ready to defend that tradition and I happen to believe it. And I think I have as much right to my belief and you have to yours."
Heaven forbid, anyone should take away your right to be a bigot, you slimy salamander.
This guy is a self-proclaimed expert on everything ... except humility.
How about we're losing the war on terror becasue it is an un-winnable war? like the war on drugs? I think Nancy Reagen lost that one by a long shot.
If I recall it right, the US military forces, plus the ones from US allies, had cornered Osama Bin Laden and the other heads of the Al Qaeda ina place called Tora-Bora, or Bora Tora or..., in Afghanistan.
what happened? How such an opportunity was wasted?
Now we know. Elect Newt and we will get another long term war. Just the policy we need. More war spend more money.
He's 100% right. The "war on terror" is a war of ideologies, and victory can be achieved ONLY by winning hearts and minds. We've been approaching it primarily through strategies conforming to the GOP's ideology, which have evidenced rank heartlessness and are motivated and undereducated mindset. You do the frickin math. It's arithmetic folks, not differential equations, so if you're having trouble add in the variable of rampant domestic islamaphobia and blatant anti-muslim bigotry sparked and encouraged by the GOP's demagoguery-for-political-advantage tactics. Seriously..."jihad babies"? "Secret shadow jihad takeover of Amurika"? "Ban Sharia law!"?? "Obama's a secret muslim trying to hand us over to them"?? And people buy this crap? Yes, they do...and that's the proof we're losing: Osama bin Ladens promised to destroy America and all he had to do was fly a couple planes into the WTC to convince us to destroy ourselves by abandoning everything we stand for in favor of fear and avarice. That's all it took...one horrifying act of terror in order to convince us to terrorize ourselves.
We sit here and are made to look to the international community like a nation of fools and bigots as a direct result of BS engaged in solely for political leverage...like this flagrant jackhole opposing the right of american citizens to develop their property as they see fit and suggesting abuse of the power of eminent domain to prevent it...or claiming we're "losing the war on terror" in an attempt to blame it on Obama and dogwhistle to the islamaphobes his party carefully cultivated and fertilized. We don't start "winning' until precisely this kind of garbage is not only ignored and stopped, but firmly and forever relegated to ridicule as the abandonment of our core principles as a nation and society...as UNAMERICAN as it gets.
It is just hyper-partisan delusion for Gingrich to put the unrest in Egypt in the terrorist column. What a pathetically hypocritical analysis from the chief neo-tard himself. Mind you, just 3 short years ago, when the very same 'real' status in the fight on terrorism applied, Gingrich labeled it a success in support of his then [R] failure-in-chief. And to top off the hypocrisy, any gains in the number of terorrists can be directly linked to [R] policies HE so proudly supported not so long ago. What a dim-wit - and his supporters are even dimmer.
teatard defeatist...
I've put up with a lot of drivel from Newt on this ticker. This one is over the line.
He will never be a serious contender for President. Why all the coverage?
You do have that right Newt – even as you have trashed the very institution you wish to preserve. He serves his wife divorce papers while she's in the hospital battling cancer (I believe) because he's having an affair with his campaign manager. What a pilar of a man!
Tea Party reminds me of the paid thugs that are stirring up trouble in Egypt now. The tea baggers are paid by Dick Army, the Koch Brothers, Cheney's group, and other scabs.
Yep – with terrorists like that, and Gingrich stirring them up, it is kind of a losing battle.
And no mention of the idea that invading a nation that had nothing to do with it, probably made MORE terrorists?
...oh and I forgot to mention, it is a good campaign talking point...that whole fear thing worked out really well for W.
What did you expect? Be afraid, be very afraid, until he can arrange bombing.
Newt still doesn't understand self-fulfilling-prophesy.
"We're losing the war because there are madrassahs around the planet teaching hatred"
Said a leader of the "Krischun Nashun" "madrassah" known as the GOP, which preaches islamaphobia and suspicion and loathing of muslims EVERY FREEKIN DAY. Do you wonder if he recognizes the irony that his statement encourages the exact kind of reciprocal hatred that perpetuates the problem? Think he does? In fact, I know he does. Gingrich isn't stupid, just a self-serving jack-ss: where there's fear, there's political profit to be mined. Keep on swining that pick, Newtypoo.