The Stakes are high!!! War creates terrorism.

The RNC has morphed President Johnson's famous 1964 "Daisy" commercial against Barry Goldwater to invoke the threat of a nuclear attack by al Qaeda on American soil. Factcheck.org summarizes (http://factcheck.org/article457.html) that Al Qaeda’s access to suitcase nuclear devises as possible, but not likely.

The add shows accurate quotes from bin Laden and his deputy Ayman Al-Zawahiri about their commitment to mass murder Americans but then offers no mention of their motives even though other Bin Ladin quotes are available that clearly state abusive US foreign policy as one of terrorists primary motivating factors. (It would be great if “Factcheck.org” did a report on Bush’s statement “they hate us for who we are…not what we do” or “we are fighting them there so we don’t have to fight them here”.)

Liberals to their great discredit (and ineffectiveness in generating support from moderates) greatly underestimate the threat of terrorism. Conservatives on the other hand are in profound denial about the absurdity of waging war against a tactic, a response that actually has the impact of throwing gasoline on a fire.

And both sides obsess about nuclear weapons while greatly ignoring the fact that biological weapons are infinitely more affordable, available, transportable and stealth than nuclear weapons AND could mass murder more people than a suitcase nuke or even a limited nuclear exchange.

FACT: Weaponized smallpox could kill tens to hundreds of millions.

FACT: As biotechnology advances so does the capacity to create newer, more lethal and genetically targeted weapons that will outpace any defensive capacity using the same technology. In addition, restricting the use or abuse of this technology is impossible.

To any mind that accepts this biological reality the idea of improving our security through disarmament (including pre-emptive strikes) or superior armament (including shock and awe capacity) becomes undeniably ludicrous.

But the real kicker is the ‘fact’ that the RNC add doesn’t mention why Al Qaeda had and continues to have access to suitcase nukes in the former Soviet Union. GOP leadership on Capital Hill has persistently failed to adequately fund the Nunn-Lugar Threat Reduction Initiative -- a highly effective initiative that would have more effectively prevented the availability of former Soviet or current Russian nuclear or biological weapons (or technology) from spreading.

But most important is the failure of ‘war’ in reducing terrorism. To innocent Muslims losing innocent loved ones as a result of our war machine and military occupation or who are mistakenly imprisoned, painfully interrogated or sexually humiliated under US ‘offensive’ operations, or have children who are sickened or die as a result of a lack of clean water, it becomes painfully clear that terror is more than a tactic. War is terrorizing… and a political party or leader who wages it will not make us safer.