[BCPVP]

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1)Why was Afghanistan acceptable to attack, but Iraq was not?

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I think both were acceptable so I can't answer this.

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2)Are we truly at war?

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With Iraq? I don't know. I don't think Congress has declared war, so if that's the case then no. But this is pretty close to war, I'd say.

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3)Is the Patriot Act a good thing?

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Probably. Most of what I read seemed to be updating the laws to fit the technology available (cell phones, internet, etc). If it can be shown that it is being used to violate peoples' rights then I think the offending section should be removed.

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4)Which is more important: our lives, or our freedom to live them the way we choose?

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Ben probably knows the answer.

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5)Why is Iraq so important?

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I believe it has to do with Middle East stability. Saddam Hussein was not a very stable force in the region and the Duelfer Report shows that he was working to circumvent the sanctions in order to restart his weapons program. I think by removing him and encouraging a democratic gov't, we can help stabilize the area which is in our interests because we benefit from stability through trade and decreased terrorism. We can already see an impact in that Libya has been scared straight (purportedly; we should still keep a close eye on them) and Egypt and Saudi Arabia are moving towards legitimate elections. Whether it works out in the long run time will tell.

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6)What is our goal?

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See above.

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7)Four years later, have we overreacted to 9/11?

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I think it would be difficult to overreact to a terrorist attack that kills 3,000 people. I think our actions so far have been more or less appropriate. But we definitely could do better.

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8)Have the lives we've lost in Iraq been less than the lives we've saved in doing so?

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I think so, but this is pretty much a guess. If Saddam was allowed to restart his weapons program after the sanctions were lifted I'm sure more than 30,000 would be dead.

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9)Is this a temporary state, or a new paradigm of America?

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Probably a new paradigm. Just as the U.S. was different after Pearl Harbor, so too it is different after 9-11.

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10)Are things better?

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Tough to tell. This may be easier to answer in 2011, once we've had more time to look back.