Gotto Love the Voight
Ever since watching The Odessa File, I’ve liked Hollywood actor Jon Voight as an actor. My admiration for him as a human being probably began when I heard of his contributions to many noble causes, including efforts to commute the life sentence of Jonathan Pollard, and the annual Chabad Telethon.
[Many would also list among his contributions to humanity the fruit of his loins - his daughter Angelina Jolie. But if you get past the superficial, I would contend that she isn't "all that."]
Now he has been interviewed by Radar, and I have even more reason to admire him as a person.
For instance, here’s Jon..
On the troops:
I was deeply impressed by them. Most I spoke to were young people, around 20 years old. And they were really very eloquent, very positive, very respectful. You have to be proud of the children we’re turning out from looking at this group of people. For me, I would much rather hear from these guys than the people who are presenting the news on television on a daily basis.
On the Iraq War:
Here’s what I think: this is a real war, extended beyond the borders of Iraq.
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My view of it is this: they say our president lied to us. Well, he didn’t lie to us, everybody else had the information he had, and they voted for that tactic. And the idea of weapons of mass destruction, whether they were in fact removed to other places, to Lebanon, to Syria, that’s still in play, we don’t know the full answer of where all that stuff went, because they had it, they have the pieces.
On the war on terror:
The war on terror is real. People would have you believe it’s not real. This is not Vietnam. This particular situation is not the same wherein we can walk away and just leave destruction behind us. No, we can’t. Anyone who has paid attention to what [Iranian President] Ahmadinejad is saying, what all the mullahs are saying in this country and in England, and in all of the Arab world, this is serious‚ they’re calling for the destruction of America and all democracy and that’s what’s going on. We could lose this war.
On the Patriot Act:
Yes, I’m a supporter of the Patriot Act. I support protecting us and investigating anyone who indicates they’re going to be dangerous to our country. … I certainly hope we’re paying close attention to all those people crossing our borders who might be dangerous to us. We know for sure there are cells in the United States that are ready to erupt. We know that Hezbollah is here; we know there are cells from different terrorist organization that are here and operational and that there are others waiting too. So listen, it’s a serious business. It’s wartime, guys. .
On Islamic Fundamentalism:
When we look around and see the evidence of what is being done and the preparations that are being made to disrupt our country and to destroy it. This growing cancer of fanaticism, it’s like 1938‚Äîit’s very, very similar….We’re debating things instead of recognizing that the real fundamental aspect is that we’re at war with a very vicious, very clever enemy.…And it’s interesting that we have the same problem facing us now with the Islamic fanatics calling for the destruction of America and all of democracy. It seems there’s always a face of evil putting on a mask of God-like beliefs to destroy true believers of innocence and good…..because of what we’re going through with religious fanaticism and the form it’s taken‚ÄîIslamic fundamentalists… How programming can so distort a person that they strap a bomb onto their back and go onto a bus and kill innocent people. How can that be?
Of course, you can read the whole interview here.
About the Author
An Australian immigrant to Israel, Aussie Dave has been blogging since early 2003.Filed Under: General
awesome AND rational, we like.
Shame his daughter is a complete tool, whats with the rainbow family thing anyway? what happens when they grow up and wonder why their mum is such a complete b*tch.
I agree with the general sentiments behind John Voigt’s opposition to Islamo-Fascist terrorism, but the devil really is in the details. You would have to put a lot more faith in the competence of the Bush administration than I do to go along with John Voigt on this. The Patriot Act gives too much authority to the government over the private lives of its citizens. And the Bush administration’s prosecution of the Iraq War is a disaster. Americans need to elect smarter and more effective leaders to combat this very real threat that Voigt talks about.
Jim, I couldn’t agree more with you. The Patriot Act has indeed lead to a lot of racist and xenophobic behavior, as well as some level of discrimination against Arabs, Pakistanis, Iranians, et al. I have many friends currently studying in the U.S, some of them could not handle it after 9/11. They really abuse the lives of innocent civilians and then claim it’s for the sake of protection. I’m not a fan of the PA and I never will be, for as long as it strips the rights of average civilians away from them for no other reason than “suspicion.” Furthermore, while it’s okay to support the troops in Iraq one cannot dismiss the horrible crimes that took place in America’s name there. From rape to torture to murder in cold blood, it is nothing to be proud of. I don’t think America’s overall services in Iraq have proven to be impressive in any way. The new strategy is just as horrific.
Actually, from what I’ve been told by people on the ground, the surge has done amazing things to parts of Baghdad cleaning up entire districts. I myself am looking forward to seeing the work myself in July.
Gen. Petraeus is an amazing man who knows what he is doing.
While you state that it is only ‘okay’ to support the troops, and whilst you obsess over the acts that some individuals have done you seem to have completely missed one huge point. WE are the only protection these people are getting and WE are the only thing between these people and genocide.
So whilst the insurgents commit those very acts on a daily basis, muppets like you shout from the roof tops how evil our troops are. Get a clue.
The patriot act? It’s average people who happen to commit acts of terrorism, you can’t be punished if you have done nothing wrong so whats the problem?
The things that people complain about like sneak and peek searches and phone tapping have been around a lot longer than the patriot act, quite frankly you should think yourself lucky that you are being told about it.
You speak of such measures as “sneak and peek searches and phone tapping” very lightly and yet you seem to foget that this war will most likely never be won. One simply cannot fight a war against something like religous fundamentalism. Wars bring about disorder and poverty in those distant countries and feeds further hate and destruction. If the United States of America or rather the countiries elite were to give up its pledge for world domination then peace may even be achievable. These young extremists are not really being fought they are simply being put under controlled observation. They will continue their acts violence and the state will use this as pretext for continuing its war, transforming a stuggle of belief into private vandettas for capital. If politicians can in theory be currupted…
ideas can be debated but not destroyed, one cannot truely believe that the invasion of Iraq has really dealt a blow to terror. It has only made the conflict more intense and real for millions of people and has inspired more killings. Washington has reestablish an atmosphere of global war and has given us fear. It truely is a shame that we as men and woman from civilized countries will not even make the effort to question. America ended up supporting more dictators in developing countries during the cold war period than democracies, democratically elected governments in Latin America were overthown under the pretext of presenting a communist threat within the hemisphere not long ago. Most historians would disagree with such accusations as were made. Democries were replaced with currupt dictatorships and civil war. What does this tell you about our democracys, how prestigous are their intentions? We believe too much and now we are being listened to over the telephone, watched by cameras and having our fingerprints taken. The war on terror is waged against us and the freedom that you as Americans believe in. This is not normal… The media portrays it as as much however we are the true victims of this war. Will the threat dissapear? NO! Peace is not the aim of our goverment, war is. Our freedom will soon be lost without hope of recovery and in the not all to distant future you will peer about thinking that this all reminds you of some nightmare science-fiction drama. But then again thats not the real world now is it? Listen to CNN not to your conscience because were are the state and the state will ignore the voice of one person. Independance is beyond reach you will not be able to escape.
[...] Paula Abdul is Jewish, and I have mentioned Jon Voight a number of times [...]