Oliver North: Of heroes and hatred

Washington Times ^ | July 18, 2005 | Lt. Colonel Oliver North

[RWR8189]

In the midst of one of the greatest challenges we have ever faced, we in the Western World have developed a serious communications problem. In this era of hypersensitivity and political correctness, words no longer have meaning.

The good are too often portrayed as evil; indefensibly wicked acts are made less so by how they are described. Words like "hero" and "hatred" have lost definition. In a struggle for survival, the inability to discern attackers from allies, friends from foes and heroes from cowards can be catastrophic.

Scotland Yard and MI5 -- the British domestic intelligence service -- concluded three of the four young men who killed 52 people with backpack bombs in London on July 7 were home-grown. Law enforcement and security officials suspect plastic explosives used to create the carnage originated in Bosnia and were smuggled into Britain "by a criminal enterprise" after transiting much of the European Union.

Investigators described the perpetrators as "criminals" and characterized the event as "unlawful." The government-subsidized BBC referred to them as "bombers" and the act as "barbaric." But for reasons too arcane for most of us to comprehend, none of these public-safety stewards call the killers what they are -- or their deed what it was. Those who planned and carried out the killings are, of course, radical Islamic fanatics who committed a horrific act of terrorism.

In the Netherlands, Mohammed Bouyeri, confessed murderer of Dutch documentary filmmaker Theo van Gogh went on trial in The Hague last week. Instead of mounting a defense, Bouyeri rose in the court and announced he was proud of what he had done, would have killed more if he could and would do it all again if given the chance.

[Arkie2]

As usual, Ollie nails it.

[Ajnin]

These kinds of stories make me want to whip out the hippie stick and go to town like Conan the Barabarian.