Lando 
Posted on 03/15/2004 8:26:46 AM PST by Lando Lincoln
What happened in Spain’s election was almost enough to make one feel nostalgic for General Franco (who is, unfortunately, still dead). Whatever other flaws he had (and they were both serious and numerous) at least he’d have made sure that Spain dealt harshly with Islamic terrorists and their allies. There is no inherent legitimacy in democratic decisions. A bad decision remains one even if it is taken in such a fashion. The choice of the Spanish people to, in response to the Madrid bombings, opt for the road of cowardice and of the appeasement of terror is such a decision.
The victory of the Socialists over the Popular Party in the Spanish general election is a victory for the terrorists and, indeed, for all the enemies of civilization. It is hard to understate the significance of what has happened here: al-Qaeda has, with the assistance of its confederates within Spain, defeated one of our staunchest allies in the war and created a template for the defeat of other allies. Every Spaniard who cast a Socialist ballot has blood on their hands. Not only the blood of their own countrymen, whose memory they have spit upon and dishonoured, but also those of their fellow Europeans who are now almost certain to die in follow-on assaults.
Ultimately, in this great fight against the terrorists and their allies, America stands alone. Even our staunchest allies can be removed from this fight not by the arms of our enemies buy by the cowardice and immorality of their own people. The terrorists, it would seem, have found the great Achilles’ heel of the West: the waning will of the people. Even if they were to deploy nuclear weapons, al-Qaeda and its ilk lack the force necessary to openly defeat the West on the battlefield. They can win only by breaking the will of the people, by using the threat of death to force them to submit.
From the point of view of al-Qaeda and other groups the point must seem obvious. In nations where the War on Terrorism is already unpopular, the people are far more likely to blame their own government for any attack than they are to blame the terrorists. This, in my opinion, makes it virtually certain that both Britain and Italy will soon be attacked.
Perhaps Britain is still the county it was in 1940 and it would come through an attack today as splendidly as it did then. But I’m not quite so sure. Frankly I think that the energy of that once-great Island race may have been sapped by generations of socialism and the cancer of moral Leftism. For all the good that Thatcherism did, it seems to have failed to arrest the Europeanization of Britain: a fact which makes it likely that, sooner or later, that nation too will head down the road of European cowardice and defeatism. In the event of a major terrorist attack, such as the one we saw in Madrid, I believe that Prime Minister Blair might be forced to resign. Similarly, the position of the present Italian government would also be seriously endangered by an attack. The moral courage of Europeans has evaporated along with the morality of their societies. Their will to resist has been worn away by decades of socialism, nihilism, pacifism, atheism, and sexual perversion. While they are useful to have along when available, relying upon them to remain solid in the long term would be idiotic.
More than anything else what this demonstrates is the folly of relying upon “allies” to wage the war on terrorism. Any war effort which relied entirely upon a “Coalition” could be shattered by just one bomb followed by one election (or vote in Parliament). A “multilateral” war effort requires the consent of everyone. Instead of tailoring a conflict to meet with the approval of one electorate, it would be necessary to seek it of twenty or so.
There is a certain sentiment out there, and it is the one which triumphed in Spain, that holds that if we leave the terrorists alone, then they will leave us alone. Just give us our Gay Weddings, our MTV, and the rest, some say, and we’ll be happy to leave the Islamist to do as he likes elsewhere. The war, in this view, is the fault of those in the West who have been foolish enough to stand up to our enemies. It treats the Islamist as a force of nature, an unstoppable fact. It is the mentality of defeatism.
This is the sort of mentality which underlies all the arguments against the war. After all, if we were simply to throw up our arms and let the terrorists have their way in the Middle East, what would happen to us? The Islamists would be so busy conquering and subduing people overseas that it would be a very long time. Sure, some hot heads would attack us anyways, but most of the terror-masters would be busy for decades. A few thousand would probably die, but such is something that will simply have to be accepted. This, I believe, is their attitude.
Appeasement merely trades the dangers of today for a greater danger tomorrow. Those who believe that Islamists could be satisfied by, for example, a Spanish withdrawal from Iraq, are utterly deluded. Perhaps in the short-term it might buy some time, but in the long term it merely promises a confrontation between Spain and a rising Islam. Islamist propaganda is often riddled with references to Andalusia and Granada, the lost lands of the Moors in Spain. This isn’t idle chatter. They Islamists really want them back: it’s not on the top of the agenda, but it will be as soon as other, more pressing, items are dispensed with.
Opposition to our war against the terrorists is treason against God and all of the decent and moral humans who have ever lived. It is an egregious insult to our forbearers and, indeed, to our civilization as a whole. Support for the policies of appeasement is a morally criminal act.
By responding to this act with cowardice, many Spaniards have done nothing less than commit treason against Western Civilization as a whole. They are making a Devil’s bargain, one where they’ve traded the lives and security of their children (and those of other Westerner’s children) for a little happiness today. They’d rather go about their everyday lives, lay about, and ignore the gathering storm.
We need to remember this. Our war against the terrorists cannot be won in a single day, but it can be lost in one. If John Kerry were to be elected President this November then the terrorists will have won or, at the very least, set us back a decade or more. A vote for John Kerry is an act of moral cowardice, of unbridled stupidity, of wanton immorality, and, indeed, of treason against all that is good and decent in the world.
Spain has fallen to the terrorists. We cannot let it happen here, no matter the cost.
It's shameful to have such vile bitterness on FR for the pure purpose of scoring political points.
Sounds like something straight from the Democratic talking points--attacking the speaker instead of addressing what he said. If you have specific objections to anything that Yoshida said, let's hear them.
So is Yoshida suggesting that we cancel the election? Set up our own Caudillo? Our strength, and that of Spain, is that for better or worse the people get a say in the way we conduct our business. The people of Spain have decided overwhelmingly that they don't want to see their government following the policies that they are following, so they voted them out of office. If Yoshida doesn't like democracy then maybe he would be happier where he didn't have to put up with it?
Lando
Personally, my concern is that history has always, without fail, shown that appeasement of tyrants and terrorists is a mistake. Yet, the "elites" with their understanding of world nuances that only their intellect can grasp, drive the "useful idiot" class to see matters through the liberal lens. This is what is on display in Spain today. Now, most certainly, more blood will spilled directly due to this capitulation. Fanatical entities can not be reasoned with or negotiated with. They want our annihilation. Period. Despite the motivation, the bad guys have been emboldened.
FReegards
Lando
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.