I love the Daily Show. They analyze dubya's speeches so I don't have to waste hours of my life reading them. In a speech he gave about a month ago, he actually used the phrase "America is safer" about 18 times. Jon Stewart remarked, "Apparently the Bush administration's newest tactical strategy in the war on terror is......repetition."

That phrase is complete bull. America, or any other nation terrorists choose to target, is not any safer than it was before 9/11. The only difference is that we're now aware of the extent that it exists. In fact, I'd argue that America is less safe now since we've drawn such negative attention to ourselves over the past couple years. There all coming out of the woodwork now, and right or wrong, you can't deny their anger, faith, or conviction.

This week's Newsweek has an article by Fareed Zakaria, one of my favorite Newsweek writers. I'd like to repeat a few quotes from the article:

"Islamic fundamentalists with armed militias - our deepest enemies in the war on terror - now run several cities in Iraq. Moqtada al-Sadr has just emerged from a clash against the United States with his militia unharmed and his reputation enhanced. Support for the United States, which was around 70 percent at the start of the occupation, is now under 5 percent. President Bush mocked press reports detailing the problems in Iraq, comparing them to gloomy accounts of Germany in 1946. If the president really thinks that Iraq today looks like Germany in 1946 - an advanced industrial country with a long liberal tradition, centuries of experience with capitalism, the rule of law and a defeated population that fully cooperated with American occupation—then he's in for a rude surprise."

"The Republican convention had two alternating approaches toward foreigners. On the one hand, it repeatedly ridiculed them. The cheapest applause lines in New York last week were ones that ended in "the French," "Paris," or, worst of all, "the United Nations," which was probably meant to conjure up images of envious Third Worlders plotting against America. On the other hand, Republicans constantly declared they were going to deliver the blessings of liberty to the far corners of the world. This is the party's dilemma—it wishes to spread liberty to people whom it doesn't really like."

Read the whole article here for better context:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/5915512/site/newsweek/