Posted on 07/10/2005 10:52:14 PM PDT by nickcarraway
Two features dominate our thinking about terrorism at home. We are, first, complacent. Nothing has happened since 9-11, and we have begun to believe that nothing ever will. Grimly tolerant of what passes for security at airports and train stations, we are -- second -- annoyed at the thought that more and different security measures may be needed. The London bombings last Thursday, the Brits' reaction to them, and the revelations of how the problem has been building there are highly instructive. Or will be if we look at the unvarnished facts.
What happened in London last week could happen here today, and will -- in one form or another -- all too soon. We can, and must, do more to control our borders, but the sad fact is that -- like Britain -- the people who are intent on conducting such attacks are here already, and are allowed too much support from too many quarters in America, as well as abroad. Just like those who struck London, and apparently are still at large to strike again.
The Brit reaction was, on one hand, all stiff upper lip and, on the other, unrestrained irresponsibility. Those whose voices count -- such as Tory MP John Redwood and historian Paul Johnson -- were adamant in condemning the terrorists and compassionate in mourning the dead. Johnson, in particular, almost scoffed at the idea that such small attacks were going to change British policy. Those who have to call the TV bookers to get attention, such as former Labourite Tony Benn, were unrestrained in moral equivalence and "give peace a chance" cant. It was too much for even his BBC interviewer. Benn went so far as to equate the people killed in London with those "innocents" we'd killed in Fallujah. Tell it to the Marines, Mr. Benn.
The surprising element in this was Redwood's reflexive hope that there would be no backlash against the Muslim community. Redwood, who is one of the best thinkers on the Tory side, said it almost in passing. His sentiment is rightly placed. But it masks a real problem that we and Britain face. No one should want to oppress any minority. No one -- here or in Britain -- wants to say that all Muslims are responsible for the acts of the terrorists. That's fine, as far as it goes. But we have to go much farther.
It matters not whether the terrorists are Muslim, Christian, Jewish, Buddhist, or American Indian snake dancers. It is sufficient that they are an identifiable group dedicated to the destruction of our freedom. Religion is a factor in this war only to the extent that it helps us identify and defeat the enemy.
IT'S PROPER TO BE CONCERNED about oppression of minorities, but this concern has so governed British self-defense over the past decade or more that London is now the hottest of terrorist hotbeds in Europe. Tolerance is one hallmark of democracy. But when it is given importance beyond its proper measure, it becomes a recipe for national suicide.
According to a newly leaked Brit intelligence dossier, al Qaeda's recruitment of terrorists is well organized and successful on British campuses. The al-Q recruiters are focused on the affluent Muslims who should be among the best assimilated in British society. But, according to the report, entitled "Young Muslims and Extremism," up to 1% -- some 16,000 British Muslims -- are actively engaged in terrorist activity in Britain and abroad. Couple that with the statement of Lord Stevens, the former London police chief, who said that up to 3,000 British-born or British-based people have passed through bin Laden's terrorist training camps, and you get some idea of how Britain has allowed itself -- by lax immigration policies, political sensitivity, and all the rest in the name of "tolerance" -- to become a terrorist haven.
It's probably not that bad in the United States, but if the al-Q recruiters, the radical imams in mosques and the other terrorist sympathizers here aren't watched and -- when they break the law arrested and imprisoned -- we will have the same problem Britain has. Is this a condemnation of Islam? No. It's only a recognition of reality that should be characteristic of American political speech. Instead, we have the Durbin-Kennedy Deanocrats hammering our soldiers and aiding the enemy.
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, the al Qaeda chief in Iraq, sent a thank you note to the Dick Durbins and Ted Kennedys of Congress in a message to his followers and sympathizers on July 5. According to an unreleased translation read to me by a Defense Department source, Zarqawi's message exhorted his terrorists to greater effort, because, Zarqawi said, it is very clear that America was being defeated in Iraq. Zarqawi's proof? His message said that the proof that America is losing is that some American congressmen are saying just that.
IT IS ESSENTIAL TO THE war that our enemy has no reason to doubt our resolve. Winston Churchill knew that. His ringing speeches, throughout the war, and especially in its darkest hours, were literally the fuel that propelled British courage when everyone, including many of his closest advisers, thought all was lost. When Dick Durbin compared our people at Gitmo to Nazis, Gulag guards and Pol Pot's mass murderers, there was a short burst of outrage, quelled by his phony apology. Senate Republicans never demanded -- or got -- a clear and unequivocal apology from Durbin. By their failure to do so they give credence to Zarqawi's message.
Republicans in the Senate and House are failing in one of their key wartime tasks: to take on the political opposition in the debate. Not to shout people down, but to take them to task. On the floor, we should be hearing one speech after another critical of the irresponsible rhetoric of the left. Why don't we? Because they want comity, to pass laws we don't need, spend money we should save, and give themselves pay raises without voting for them. What they should be doing, instead, is taking on the tough problems they were elected to tackle. Like what do we do about the terrorists who are within our borders, and those who preach violence and hatred to young Muslims here. They should read carefully the newly leaked dossier on recruitment of terrorists in the UK. And they should not allow those who apologize for terrorists scare them out of it.
Good one, added to the London Attacked stack.
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Excellent !!
Our fine troops are out there every day, exposed to more danger than they would be if those obstructionist, leftist creeps weren't trying to sabotage this war.
I despise the lefties and everything they stand for.
" Zarqawi's proof? His message said that the proof that America is losing is that some American congressmen are saying just that."
Unfortunately, it's not just the Democrats who are giving sustenace to the terrorists.
Chuck Hagel ( R- Ha!- Neb ) US News 6/27/05:
" "Things aren't getting better; they're getting worse.
The White House is completely disconnected from reality," he said.
"It's like they're just making it up as they go along.
The reality is, we're losing in Iraq."
The cRATS enjoy being smooched by the terrorists and communists, and happily smooch RAT back.
"Because they want comity, to pass laws we don't need, spend money we should save, and give themselves pay raises without voting for them. What they should be doing, instead, is taking on the tough problems they were elected to tackle. Like what do we do about the terrorists who are within our borders, and those who preach violence and hatred to young Muslims here."
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There's no downside for Muslims helping alQaeda. And there needs to be a "downside".
Mosques should be assessed a higher tax to cover the cost of rebuilding London. Muslim businesses should carry an additional tax. It might not be "fair", but killing innocent Brits isn't "fair" either.
The "community" of Muslims must be held responsible for the acts of it's extreme members.
Westerners must "up the price" for the Muslim community. No more "winks and nods", no more "understanding" of other cultures. No more picking up the damage and letting bygones be bygones.
Muslims are guest in our countries and they need to act like it. If they can't be civilized or control their children, they need to go home. And pay for the damage they've done.
If Muslims want to live in a modern society, with the benefits of modernity, they must give up their dark ages ways.
Students from Arab countries who aren't citizens, should go home. Now. A root cause of terrorism is western educated Muslim elites... We can't afford to educate future bomb makers.
(Denny Crane: "Sometimes you can only look for answers from God and failing that... and Fox News".)
Listen up, John McCain.
Muslim "tolerance" = having a "kill me" sign taped to your back.
The civilized world must win WW IV/the Final Crusade and destroy Jihadism!
All the disturbed lone gunmen in the world, and this Kennedy manages to survive. I think his whole career has been a vast act of revenge against his brother, destroying everything John fought for.
Love the ring of that title.
"WW IV/the Final Crusade"
'Love the ring of that title.'
Please start using it. When more of us start using it, the message will get over to the dark side and those who abet the dark sider.
"I think his whole career has been a vast act of revenge against his brother, destroying everything John fought for."
That is an interesting and excellent way to look at Killer Kenndy's anti American behavior the past 3+ decades.
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