by Tom Walsh

Created on: May 05, 2010

I received an email the other day which had been forwarded many times and ended with the proviso that I should forward it as well. It reminds me why I do not engage in this type of “chain letter” communication. Furthermore, this particular email began with the following paragraph introducing a premise which was completely unrelated to the subsequent information.

 “Isn’t it strange how Obama and the media are putting everything that is going on now onto the shoulders of George W. Bush when this trickledown effect was started when Jimmy Carter was in office. G.W.B. has kept the terrorist battle out of our country.”

 This paragraph is followed by a statement: “Do you remember 1987?”

 The email then goes on to insert pictures of the World Trade Center pre-9/11, during the tragic explosions, and the aftermath into a partial transcript of Oliver North testifying before a Senate Committee during the Iran-Contra hearings, wherein North identifies Osama Bin Laden as the most evil person alive and would recommend forming an assassin team to eliminate Bin Laden and his men from this earth. (I have no particular argument with this.) It cites an incident in which President Bill Clinton, as part of the 1993 Oslo Agreement, demanded that Israel release Palestinian prisoners, one of whom was Mohammed Matta, one of the suicidal terrorists of 9/11.

However, I want to get back to the introduction paragraph and my reason for questioning the validity of the premise.

 “Isn’t it strange how Obama and the media are putting everything that is going on now onto the shoulders of George W. Bush when this trickledown effect was started when Jimmy Carter was in office. G.W.B. has kept the terrorist battle out of our country.”

 I am not aware that Obama and media are ‘blaming’ George W. Bush for the 9/11 attack, at least no more than what blame is put on all the leaders, Reagan, H.W. Bush, Clinton and W. Bush, based on “the buck stops here” theory. Oliver North served in the Reagan Administration. If he felt so strongly about terrorists, why couldn’t he convince his bosses of the danger? George H.W. Bush had been CIA director before becoming President in 1988, why didn’t he and his intelligence sources prevent the growth of terrorism. Clinton and G.W. Bush had intelligence resources available and still 9/11 happened.

 As for the comment “trickle down,” this applies to economics, not 9/11 and terrorism. And it started with Ronald Reagan, not Jimmy Carter. Carter was the last truly honest president, and perhaps one of only a few since Washington, to serve in the White House. He was so intent on cutting spending and balancing the budget that he lost the support of his own party.

 Finally, the comment, George W. Bush has kept the terrorist battle out of our country is simply not so since it happened eighteen months into his watch. I say this not to lay blame on him specifically, but only to question the validity of the premise.

 If one is going to state a premise the ensuing information should support it. In this case the premise is entirely fictional and the supporting evidence is completely unrelated. This email is an attempt on the part of a fervent partisan to make a “dig” at Obama and the media drawing upon the emotions evoked by 9/11 to make his/her point. We all have a responsibility to disclaim and counter bad arguments.

Learn more about this author, Tom Walsh.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.