Since President Bush seems to be in a chatty mood as of late, I was thinking it does not seem fair that Juan Williams of NPR and FOX News Sunday should get all the fun of talking to him. So I have put together my list of 10 questions I’d like to ask our President. Since I am of the liberal side of the aisle, I hope my conservative friends over at Chatterbox Chronicles, Mike’s America, and Midnight Blue will be able to get me in to see him.
- Do you think we will ever see a baseball team from Texas, where football is king, win the World Series? (I know it is not really political, but hey, I’m breaking the ice here.)
- You said in the 2000 campaign that “China is a competitor, not a strategic partner,” do you still believe this, and if so, how is this reflected in your policies?
- Do you think other countries in the world have a higher regard or a lower regard for America since you took office? Could you tell me why you feel this way?
- Paul Bremer has said his biggest mistakes in Iraq were disbanding the Iraqi Army and to pursue a policy of de-Baathification. Do you agree? If not, why then are we currently reconstituting certain elements of that army? If so, do you regret giving Bremer the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
- You and your administration said repeatedly during the 2004 and 2006 campaigns, that Democrats who advocated leaving Iraq did not want to win, helped the terrorists, and were only interested in a cut and run philosophy. Given that there are currently a number of Republicans advocating a reduction of troops, are people like Senators Warner, Brownback, Hagel and others guilty of the undermining our troops and advocating a cut and run philosophy?
- You said in the 2000 campaign that “I'm a uniter, not a divider. I refuse to play the politics of putting people into groups and pitting one group against another.” Can you cite some specific examples where your policies have united our government and America since you took office?
- If you leave clothes laying around in the White House, does Laura pick them up, or do you have a maid? And who does your laundry? (Don’t any of you ever wonder this kind of stuff about the presidency?)
- If you could have a do over on our response to Hurricane Katrina, what, if anything, would you do differently?
- In dealing with immigration, Americans seem to want to secure our southern border. If we desire to do this before any type of guest worker plan, or “amnesty program” as some have labeled it, what steps do feel we should take to control that border?
- One of the reasons cited for going to war in Vietnam was the “Domino Theory,” first proposed by President Eisenhower. After the fall of South Vietnam to the Communist backed regime of North Vietnam, we did not see the rest of Asia fall to Communism as we had thought. How can we be sure that a free Democratic Iraq will be such a shining example that we will have a kind of domino effect in our favor in the Middle East?
- Finally Mr. President, I know this is an extra question, but what is your favorite coffee and how do you take it?
Feel free to chime in with your answers or how you think the president might himself answer any of these. As an equal opportunity offender, next week I’ll have my 10 questions for the Democratic Leadership.
technorati tags: Bush Interview, Juan Williams, NPR |
Comments on "An Interview With George W. Bush"
Interesting set of questions.
On the Vietnam issue, which I know is hardly relevant, I must say that the Domino Theory still held a good deal of water, even after North Vietnam managed to use its Russian-trained and equipped military to destroy a friendless, relatively democratic state. Not only did twenty eventful years pass between American involvement and the collapse of Saigon, years in which the Soviet Union backslid and devolved, but also it is worth noting that American involvement in Southeast Asia must be given some credit for showing the Soviets that the West had finally drawn a line in the sand.
The question still remains, is the domino theory valid? If so, then what we are battling for in Iraq really is control of the political agenda in the Middle East. That is certainly the view of the Neocons. I, however am not convinced.
Also, I might add, that was never part of our stated agenda for entering Iraq. While it may have been a hope of ours, in a by product sort of way, it was never stated as a reason for invasion.
Our primary reason was to remove a dictator or regime, who we believed was, or would continue to be a military threat to the safety of the United States.
Personally, I am thankful our current president was not in office during the Cold War. Can you imagine the results of a "preemptive strike" doctrine during those years?
Just food for thought.
LOL :-) I don't think I have enough influence to get you an interview.
Some of these were valid, some ticked me off and some were just funny. As to question #5 IMHO yes Hagel, Warner and Brownback are undermining our troops and Hagel has reached close to traitor status with me. Brownback had a chance to be the favorite for conservatives for the Republican nomination for president in 08 but I think he's already blown his chance by this stunt.
#6 ticked me off because he has bent over backwards to be a uniter and has only gotten spit in the face by democrats. He had the Kennedys over for a movie in the first months after being elected and let Kennedy help write the education bill. How does Ted repay him? He viciously attacks him and basically spits in his face. You can't force people to unite with you if they are determined to be hostile.
LMC, I thought about the Kennedy thing, that was the "No Child Left Behind Act." So if I give him that, are there others? As to your response to number 5, at least you are willing to say it, which is more than I'll say for most folks. I always admire consistency, or at least an admission of inconsistency.
But about my interview, can't you get me into some kind of meeting when he visits Missouri? Just name the time, I'll be there.
I just got off the phone with "W" and I requested to answer this questionnaire on his behalf..you don't mind, do you Dave?
Do you think we will ever see a baseball team from Texas, where football is king, win the World Series? (I know it is not really political, but hey, I’m breaking the ice here.)
I'm ever the optimist - perhaps that is why I vote Republican! Miracles can happen - look at the Mets for an example.
You said in the 2000 campaign that “China is a competitor, not a strategic partner,” do you still believe this, and if so, how is this reflected in your policies?
With a 8% GDP, China is a competitor - lose sight of that to your peril. There is no doubt that China is a competitor of the United States. How will this competition mature between the two nations? Will it remain more or less a peaceful competition or will it devolve into a more adversarial nature. The Chinese government has recently tested surface missiles aimed at satellites – could you image what damage could be wrought if China had the ability to knock out our satellites? It certainly would galvanize a new arms race. The Bush administration has worked to form long term relations with the nations of India and Japan to counter China’s geopolitical strategy. This the a global game of chess – who will checkmate is undecided at this time.
Do you think other countries in the world have a higher regard or a lower regard for America since you took office? Could you tell me why you feel this way?
The world opinion of America and Americans in general is basically unchanged – they are envious of our influence mixed with a healthy dose of racism and xenophobia.
I have had extraordinary opportunities to travel globally since my days as a University student. What I discovered in my years of travel - prior to 9/11/01 – was an undercurrent of under-the-breath anti-American sentiment. This hatred was always percolating under the surface, especially with Europeans. Pretending to diss the US was an easy way to get them to spill. I came across this pathology all through the 90’s during the Clinton regime and developed a rather cynical mindset when traveling through Europe. Thankfully Australia and Central America proved to be a balm countering my cynicism.
9/11/01 happened. Palestinians celebrated, and Europeans stopped mumbling their anti-American beliefs and started shouting them. The media and liberals were quick to pounce on this, claiming the world opinion of America has lowered due to the actions President Bush.
The truth is world opinion has never favored America, regardless of who occupies the White House.
Paul Bremer has said his biggest mistakes in Iraq were disbanding the Iraqi Army and to pursue a policy of de-Baathification. Do you agree? If not, why then are we currently reconstituting certain elements of that army? If so, do you regret giving Bremer the Presidential Medal of Freedom?
Monday morning quarterbacking never changes the outcome of the game or influences future matches.
What leader has never made a mistake during a war? Disbanding an army previously intent on killing you is a bad idea? Did we really want saddam loyalists watching our back in Iraq? A few years into this campaign, I believe we have a better idea of who in this army we can trust and who ran off to be trained by Iranian agents.
The capture of Saddam is enough to warrant the Presidential Medal of Freedom but there is more, Bremer presided over the first democratic election in the Middle East. I don’t see your objection to the awarding of the Medal of Freedom.
Interview to be continued tommorrow evening.
Re Skye's response to number 3 concerning world opinion. If you look at a relatively objective, "put your money where your mouth is" type measure, look at the slide in the dollar's value compared to every other major world currency.(Which by the way, has been brutal to our foreign missionaries.) Certainly this slide can in part be blamed on our increased dependency on cheap foreign labor which has greatly increased since W took office. We must also look to the world's view of the American economy. President bush was handed a surplus and we now have the biggest deficit in the history of the world. Like dude said, "Show me the money."
Skye, regarding the Medal of Freedom, I tried really hard to be fair in my questions. As you know there will always be a little smuggness leaking out in something like this. When I pose the questions for the Dems, I'll try to have a little reverse dose of that smuggness.
Personally, I think the disbanding of the army, against the counsel of others in the admin, has, by their own admission caused undue problems in Iraq and probably cost American lives. It was a mistake and we are paying for it today. If Bush wanted to give that award to Bremer, he should have waited for some distance to see if his policies would work out. We now know they did not. I am sure you remember that George Tenet also received that award. Again, another case where a rush to judgement hampered our president. The admin knows now the intellegence coming out of the CIA was wrong on Iraq and the Director was forced to resign. Just what did Tenet do to receive this award?
Dave: Skye had my supersecret direct line to President Bush tied up, so I went to the ultimate authority, Laura Bush, for the final word on your questionnaire:
1. Yes... And it will be the Rangers.
2. Yes. China is continuing the strategic competition. You might have noticed their demonstration shooting down a sattelite. That does not mean that we cannot work with them on issues like North Korea. But it does mean we will continue with missile defense systems.
3. Did you see the recent news reports that McDonalds restaurants around the world continue to rack up record sales:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/28/AR2007012801048.html.
Whenever the U.S. takes an aggressive lead in confronting world problems we see large segments of foreign populations who bask in the false security of appeasement objecting to our policy. Frankly, does anyone think that the leadership Europeans provided for world peace in the 20th Century is a model to emulate?
4. Paul Bremer served his nation well at a most difficult time. The job he undertook was one that most men would decline. With hindsight, there are a number of things we might have done differently in Iraq. But we put the best people we had to work on the problem and with our guidance and leadership they did the very best they could do. I won't second guess them now and I do not regret awarding them the honor they earned and deserve.
5. Hagel, is a complete ass and I cannot understand why the same folks who voted for me in such large numbers in Nebraska voted for him. Other than him, the other GOP Senators you mentioned are providing the political cover to demonstrate bipartisanship on this issue. Something we would hope at some point the Democrats would understand. And we do not necessarily agree that the GOP Senator's strategy is the best way to proceed but leading those prima donna Senator's is like herding cats.
6. 9/11.
7. There's quite a nice staff of folks to look after the White House and our daily needs.
8. I would have had Louisiana Governor Blanco arrested and seized control of the state before the hurricane struck and evacuated New Orleans.
9. We have a plan in place. We need to do more.
10. Instead, we saw a bloodbath throughout the region. That's worse.
11. Black with no sugar.
Good stuff Mike, oops, Mrs. Bush. Pretty deferential, except of course for the current GOP whipping boy Hagel. Big sales for McDonald's and other US corporations does not translate into support for or appreciation of America as much as it does a hunger for options, or in this case, Egg McMuffins.
With Bremer, I agree with you that it is always easier with hindsight, that is why I felt we should have waited to see the results over the longterm. Just because these were good men does not necessarily make them worthy of the highest award we give to civilians in the country.
Maybe next time you'll offer some specifics on immigration.
Dave: Personally, Border security is MY priority. But as you asked for the Bush point of view....
As for how we are viewed overseas, it's just about what it was during the Cold War when Reagan put the Pershing 2 missiles into Europe. You might remember the mass protests that occurred at the time.
That phenomenon, opposing whatever strong leadership President Reagan put forward, was more localized to Europe, but today's anti-Americanism is based on the same flawed concept that America's leadership is somehow dangerous or imperiealist.
Somehow, Europeans and others think our efforts to prevent, contain or roll back evil is dangerous. Yet Europe's own record dealing with those issues is not so good. At least 100 million died in the 20th Century because Europe was taking the lead.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
I am so excited. After a number attempts, I have finally been insulted by someone who is anonymous (which I have deleted). What can I say. I've always felt that you can say whatever you want, (within reason) but you need to have the courage to put a name with it. Otherwise you're just a back bench complainer.
Mike, I'd love to do some dialogue with you on the immigration issue. I'll bet that between us, we could bring a number of things to the table.
Sorry for the delay, apparently I am more popular that I realized.
You and your administration said repeatedly during the 2004 and 2006 campaigns, that Democrats who advocated leaving Iraq did not want to win, helped the terrorists, and were only interested in a cut and run philosophy. Given that there are currently a number of Republicans advocating a reduction of troops, are people like Senators Warner, Brownback, Hagel and others guilty of the undermining our troops and advocating a cut and run philosophy?
Our administration– yours and mine, Dave - is committed to winning this fight. What is it the Democrats support? A kind of ‘support’, which calls for this administration to abandon the mission before it is completed, and run away from an enemy who CHOSE this fight? This is not support offered by Democrats - this is abuse.
Warner, Brownback and Hagel are the go-to Senators when the media needs an opposing Republican POV soundbite. They’ve carried on this shtick for years, and don’t reflect the Republican stance.
You said in the 2000 campaign that “I'm a uniter, not a divider. I refuse to play the politics of putting people into groups and pitting one group against another.” Can you cite some specific examples where your policies have united our government and America since you took office?
MidnightBlue – A democrat that supports this administration and conservative values.
The problem never lay with the Republicans, the Democrats have consistently worked to create schisms with the American public every chance they could get – then cried the Republicans weren’t playing nice. Our President, George W. Bush, has lived up to that campaign promise - the Democrats have no intention of 'uniting' people - that is not how they gain political power. Below are a few of the thousands of ways the Dems have worked to erode national unity and scare the living daylights out of the population:
Need I cite all the resolutions put forth in 2006 by the democrats supporting a cut-and-run plan for Iraq?
Senator Kerry labelling the US Troops as terrorist thugs and illiterate victims.
Senator Murtha labeling our troops ‘cold blooded killers’ and advocating the cutting of funds to the war effort and to the Iraqi citizens.
Charlie Rangel and his draft bill.
Dick Durbin and his comments comparing Gitmo to a gulag.
Assemblywomen Joan M. Quigley & Linda Stender called on NJ merchants to ban the sale of Anne Coulter's book 'Godless'
New Jersey Democratic Rep. Rush Holt's questioning of military ballots that are being cast by soldiers in the field.
Mayor Nagin using the term "chocolate city" to descibe New Orleans.
If you leave clothes laying around in the White House, does Laura pick them up, or do you have a maid? And who does your laundry? (Don’t any of you ever wonder this kind of stuff about the presidency?)
The more pressing question is the close association between a past history of substance abuse and a person identifying themselves as liberal. Is a history of substance abuse a right of passage in becoming a fully–fledged liberal?
If you could have a do over on our response to Hurricane Katrina, what, if anything, would you do differently?
Fired then arrested Nagin and Blanco.
In dealing with immigration, Americans seem to want to secure our southern border. If we desire to do this before any type of guest worker plan, or “amnesty program” as some have labeled it, what steps do feel we should take to control that border?
I can’t imagine a greater affront to the generations of immigrants, my relatives included, who filled out all the forms and waited for permission to become American citizens than granting amnesty to illegal aliens residing in this country.
We should not as a nation dismiss punishment for an entire category of lawbreakers. Granting amnesty sends the wrong message about who we are to the millions of people spending years in their native countries awaiting legal permission to come to America. Where is the fairness in that? Why are we awarding lawbreakers and punishing those who follow and respect are laws?
We need to secure the southern border with the National Guard supported with advanced technology like UAV’s, satellite photography and motion detectors. All the states that comprise our southern border should be required to have the National Guard patrol the border.
We also need to enforce the laws against illegal immigration that are already in the book. Every government and private employer should automatically check social security numbers as a matter of policy. An illegal resident that is caught should be given 6 months to relocate to a nation of his or her choice outside the United States. If they go willingly, they will be able to apply for re-admittance – just like all the other applicants. Of course, these illegal residents are not prisoners, so there is no reason their families can’t leave with them. We don’t force people to stay in America against their will.
The immigration process itself needs a serious overhaul – it should not take years for your average law abiding individual to be granted permission into the United States.
Once the border is secure, immigration process streamlined and illegal residents are considered ‘illegal’ then we can discuss some type of ‘guest worker’ program.
One of the reasons cited for going to war in Vietnam was the “Domino Theory,” first proposed by President Eisenhower. After the fall of South Vietnam to the Communist backed regime of North Vietnam, we did not see the rest of Asia fall to Communism as we had thought. How can we be sure that a free Democratic Iraq will be such a shining example that we will have a kind of domino effect in our favor in the Middle East?
Vietnam, the war that liberals won and the South Vietnamese lost, horribly.
We didn’t see the ‘re-education camps’ set up by the North Vietnamese after the fall of Saigon. We did not see the millions of boat-people risking their lives to escape the peacefulness of southeast asia at that time. We did not see the victims filling the killing fields in Cambodia.
There is a lot we did not see after the US abandoned the fledgling democracy of South Vietnam.
A democratic Iraq is the beginning of change in the region. Islamofascists are right to fear a democratic Iraq. The question is: why do liberals and democrats fear a democratic Iraq?
Since Saddam lost power in Iraq in April 2003, there have been several revolutionary steps towards democracy in the ME. Your questioning the effect of a democratic Iraq in regards to the ME resounds with willful ignorance. Let me refresh your memory:
December 2003: Gadhafi decided to abandon Libya’s WMD programs. The world cheers and liberals jeered.
April 2005: Syrian troops leave Lebanon.
May, 2005: Kuwait's parliament passed a law granting women the right to vote and run in elections, for the first time in the pro-Western Gulf Arab state.
September 2005: Egyptians voted in the country’s first multi-candidate presidential election.
Liberals and democrats are convinced that they can undermine the decision to support Saddam’s overthrow that was made on the basis of rational thought, logical argument and over a decade of documentation by screeching, “Bush lied!” Unfortunately for them, I keep asking for some rational basis for that claim, and there isn’t one.
Finally SKYE, I know this is an extra question, but what is your favorite coffee and how do you take it?
I prefer Chai Tea.
Not sure how the opinion of America and Americans oversees drives the value of the Dollar against the Euro..etc.
FYI: The U.S. dollar has risen against the Canadian dollar and not weakened against the Japanese yen, much less against the currencies of such trading partners as China, India and Mexico. Not sure how you came to the conclusion that the US dollar has fallen against 'every major world currency'.
One of the left's continual drumbeats of recent years has been that President Bush's policies are outsourcing all our jobs to countries who provide cheap labor. Ahem....so raising the minimum wage will miraculously make that go away?
By the way, foreign missionaries are brutal to the world.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Re Skye's response to number 3 concerning world opinion. If you look at a relatively objective, "put your money where your mouth is" type measure, look at the slide in the dollar's value compared to every other major world currency.(Which by the way, has been brutal to our foreign missionaries.) Certainly this slide can in part be blamed on our increased dependency on cheap foreign labor which has greatly increased since W took office.
Personally, decades of appeasement policies by our government have killed more American and Iraqi civilians. Have you seen the latest mass-graves that have been unearthed in Iraq? Do liberal even care about 'brown people'?
---------------------------------------------------
Personally, I think the disbanding of the army, against the counsel of others in the admin, has, by their own admission caused undue problems in Iraq and probably cost American lives.
The mistake was waiting till for UN approval. The mistake was ever involving the UN. The mistake was allowing 17 UN resolutions to go unheeded. We have been paying for these mistakes for decades. That time is over.
-------------------------------------------
It was a mistake and we are paying for it today.
Tenent should never have been given this award, this I agree.
Please cite you sources proving all the intelligence on Iraq the CIA had on Iraq was incorrect. If the CIA was incorrect, so was the intelligence on Iraq that the UN, MI5, Germany, Israel, Russia, China and France possessed. Did you not read UNMOVIC's 2003 report on Unresolved Armament Issues - Iraq proscribed weapons program? Saddam himself discussed with his advisors ways to disguise their weapons program and mislead weapon inspectors. We've got it all on tape - if you care to listen.
Another rush to judgement....hmmmm....what is the bar on 'rushing to judgement' - 2 decades or 3 decades? Or simply it is because a Republican is in the White House that there is no acceptable time limit?
--------------------------------------------------------------------
If Bush wanted to give that award to Bremer, he should have waited for some distance to see if his policies would work out. We now know they did not. I am sure you remember that George Tenet also received that award. Again, another case where a rush to judgement hampered our president. The admin knows now the intellegence coming out of the CIA was wrong on Iraq and the Director was forced to resign. Just what did Tenet do to receive this award?
Good comments Skye. None of what you said was necessarily untrue. However, you became partisan. Arguing against the Democratic side and highlighting thier shortcomings instead of dealing with the Republican side. I am not going to defend the Dems here, you know from what I have said before both here and elsewhere, that while I lean to the liberal side of the equation, I am not a party lackey.
It has become standard political strategy to attack the question, or the premise of the question, (see Dick Cheney, "I do not accept the premise of that question.") to avoid answering that question. It is evident on both sides of the aisle.
From where I sit, it is one of the things that turns people off to politics. The innate inability to get a straight answer. It was torture watching Mike Huckabee try to avoid a question on whether he was going to stnad with Bush on the "surge." He isn't, but the question had to be asked three different ways to get the answer.
I take issue with your comment regarding missions work around the globe. I will not defend the type who impose, through fear, strongarm tactics, etc, their beliefs on others. Nor will I support those who go elsewhere without the proper training. But to throw all of it out and label all work as brutal is just plain inaccurate.
Millions of people have the ability to read in the native languages as a result of missionaries. Millions of people worldwide have access to food, life saving medical care, eye care, dental care, clothing, transportation, and a myriad of other needs and services as a result of the work of missionaries. If you think the work of missionaries has been brutal, do you think small villages that can now drink clean water, thus dropping the infant mortality rate, as a result of the work of missionaries would agree? Do you think small girls who have been rescued from the global sex trade by missionaries would agree that the very missions work that saved them was brutal? If so, I invite you to check out the International Justice Mission, based in D.C. They were responsible for ending one of the largest child sex rings in Southeast Asia. Founded by, staffed by, and led by Christian Missionaries. Yes we have made mistakes. But to say our work in the world has been brutal is just inaccurate.
Anyways for the rest of you, check out Skye's site. She's a passionate conservative from Philly and she always has some great photos to enjoy!
Skye what you say about exchange rates just is mostly not true. Based on the web site gocurrency.com, here are exchange rates comparison between January 2nd 2001 and February 1st 2007.
Then it took .668 US Dollars to buy a Canadian Dollar. Now $.849US. Then $.021 for an Indian Rupee. Now $.023. Then $.121 for a Chinese Yuan. Now .129. The Japanese Yen is a different story. in 2001 it took $.0087 to buy a Yen. Now .0072. However during that period the yen has swung wildly compared to the dollar. Reaching almost a penny a Yen in 2005. You are correct concerning the Yen and I stand corrected. I was not thinking of the Mexican Peso as a major currency but the US Dollar is a little stronger right now vs the Peso $.103 then, to $.091 now.
Whether the value of the US Dollar vs the Euro and other major world currencies is a valid measure of world opinion regarding the US is a matter of opinion and not subject to empirical proof. It makes sense to me, but may not to others.
One lump of sugar and 2 jiggers of Bailey's.
Very Funny Timmer, you lush!
You are entitled to you opinion, even if you are the only one.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
Whether the value of the US Dollar vs the Euro and other major world currencies is a valid measure of world opinion regarding the US is a matter of opinion and not subject to empirical proof. It makes sense to me, but may not to others.>
You must admit it is ALL factually correct.
------------------------------------------------
None of what you said was necessarily untrue
Should I mention the abuse of the filibuster senate rule by Democrats during the this President's tenure? How about the closed door 'mock trial' held by Senate Dems that surprisingly found the Bush Administration guilty of war crimes? How about a Democratic Representative traveling to Jordan to facilitate the transfer of funds to alqueda via Code Pink?
There simply is no evidence of democrats actively working in a bipartisan manner with Republican over the past 6 years. This is not partisan - this is fact. Democrats have offered nothing to the American public other than opposition to President Bush. This is an egregious abuse of power by the democrats. No honest democrat can morally or rationally support the current Democrat party.
--------------------------------------------------------
However, you became partisan. Arguing against the Democratic side and highlighting thier shortcomings instead of dealing with the Republican side.
Nice glossover of the deliberate eradication of indigenous cultures worldwide and the establishment of cyclical victimization and impoverishment of these cultures.
---------------------------------------------------------------------
I will not defend the type who impose, through fear, strongarm tactics, etc, their beliefs on others. Nor will I support those who go elsewhere without the proper training.
Why do these poor indigenous people need access to food? Has their culture ALWAYS suffered as they do now? What disruption of their culture caused such devastation and dependence on missionaries to provide for their every need? What is the payment for this life saving gift - the sacrifice of their native culture and religious beliefs?
No worries though, the missionaries are there to save the day and continue the cycle of victimization.
Dave, give it up - we will NEVER agree on this topic.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Millions of people worldwide have access to food, life saving medical care, eye care, dental care, clothing, transportation, and a myriad of other needs and services as a result of the work of missionaries. If you think the work of missionaries has been brutal, do you think small villages that can now drink clean water, thus dropping the infant mortality rate, as a result of the work of missionaries would agree? Do you think small girls who have been rescued from the global sex trade by missionaries would agree that the very missions work that saved them was brutal? If so, I invite you to check out the International Justice Mission, based in D.C. They were responsible for ending one of the largest child sex rings in Southeast Asia.