Fighting Words

You've got that little smirk on your face and you think you're so clever. I just now found this Jan 5, 1998 Wall Street Journal editorial [Fighting Words] in the sock drawer.  You can see what grabbed my eye in the first paragraph.  ''If the New Year is the time for resolutions, we can't think of one we'd like more than a determination to provide America with a system to protect us from the increasing likelihood of a missile strike, whether from a rogue state like North Korea or a terrorist such as Osama bin Laden. Though Republicans have been asking for one since Ronald Reagan, and though Bill Clinton is in principle on board, the key component remains missing: a commitment to actually test, build and deploy.'' '' ... a rogue state like North Korea or a terrorist such as Osama bin Laden." But, wait!  There's more,  Here are some quotes from  famously regarded experts on national defense, congressional Democrats. In 1990, Rep. John Dingell used a Congressional study to call the Apache helicopter a "disgrace," a "shocking indictment" of Army leadership. The M-1 Abrams tank, dismissed by Rep. Ron Dellums as "vulnerable" and a "questionable buy." Walter Mondale voted to abolish it. Rep. James Traficant said, "It could not even hit a shopping cart at the local Safeway." (Rep. Lee Hamilton, Arguing against the folly of anti-missile funding) "If we were to respond to this blatant aggression," Mr. Hamilton told Congress shortly after the invasion of Kuwait, "the forces we would need at our disposal are not antimissile defenses but ships, troops, helicopters and planes. " Vote