Excellent.
Europe is sick of lagging behind the USA. It's a pride thing. They'll attack islamo-fascism with unparalled zeal, just to show the world that they are NOT eunuchs.
I'm 38. My first memory of international affairs is of the Iranian hostage crisis and ever since then I've seen islamofascist lunacy and violence all over the planet. I'm absolutely sick of it and want to see it come to a head before I die.
But on the other hand, if it happens it's going to be so terrible...
They will have to fight, within their own countries, and the time is near. What in the big wide world were they thinking when they brought in all those Muslims? Examples abound to show that this is not a good idea.
This is always assumed -- that the editors at Jyllends-Posten are liberal and that their intentions were innocuous -- but frankly this hasn't been proven. Some accounts I've read state (based on CIA Fact Book information) that the paper has a right-wing or center-right-wing political orientation. It's unclear how these labels correlate with how the terms are generally used in the US. I really wish US columnists would focus on the specifics about the paper and its editors rather than use political terms that don't directly translate into American usage, eg, a member of the Liberal Party in England would not have that much in common with an American "liberal."
This is beginning to look like a very familiar scenario we've seen before.
I hope we don't have to spill more American blood to pull socialist Europe's butt out of the fire one more time.
I wish this were true. Europe's 'foundation' is the Christian faith, which they haven't come back to yet. When (and if) they do, Islam is finished in Europe, forever. Socialism and liberalism are no match for islam, but Christianity is.
Great read!
Do the Europeans sense that the more open, free-wheeling and non-judgmental the culture, the more it is hated by the jihadists? If Europe as a whole is more pro-Palestinian than the United States, disapproved of Iraq, and yet is still hated as much, is magnanimity at last exposed as appeasement—earning only contempt from an emboldened enemy?
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Most excellent!
Correct. The motivation there was that the U.S. be humbled in counterpoint to the fall of the Soviet Union, so that the world would return to the sort of balance of power in which states with no investment in military power would enjoy disproportionate political influence without giving up the social benefits that they had managed to gather. The underlying assumption was that the Islamist threat was magnified on the part of Washington for imperialist purposes and was no real threat to Europe. That assumption turned out to be incorrect.
The threat always was real, but it becomes more alarming as Iran pursues nuclear weapons in complete disregard of every internationalist device the Europeans can bring to bear - negotiation, outright bribery, disapprobrium, sanction. Those were the weapons of a civilization enlightened beyond the necessities of crude killing. The enlightenment was incorrect as well.
Unfortunately the reflex of the intellectual culture that still prevails in European politics is first to deny the threat and second to deflect blame to ideological opponents. We have already seen a full measure of this in the European media. It won't do - the Islamists don't need to be a majority of the immigrants, even, they simply need the critical mass that they have already attained. It is too late, I think, for the ones who endlessly temporize and theorize to learn better; it is not yet too late for the ones who already know better to take charge.
Instead, by letting the Europeans take the lead with the Iranian negotiations, and keeping nearly silent about the cartoon hysteria, the United States essentially has told the Europeans, “Here is the sort of restrained sober and judicious global diplomacy that you so welcome.”
Bingo! This guy is tee-rific.
Bump for read
I believe that in the end, the western countries will unite to fight the scourge of Islamofascism. But first, Europe needs to get that sanctimonious and superior smirk slapped right off its face - but not by us.
Cruel as it sounds, this is a necessary step towards uniting against a common foe. If they are constantly shielded by us from the consequences of their own appeasement and enabling of the enemy - they will never grow up.
Hence, Bush's "surprising" reticence on the looney toon rioters is sociopolitical brilliance. When Europe finally comes limping back over from its riots and terrorist attacks (which will inevitably escalate), and after it's got "its mind right", we'll be there to participate with them in building a united front.
Who knows how long it'll take, but I hope they wise up in a hurry.
Mostly, they will fold and wait for the grownups to fix it.
It spells WAR!
Even liberals are getting it!
great article by VDH
Europe will not act as one, but each country has the choice to make: 1) defend yourself or 2) try the appeasement route.
VDH ping to our good friend Tolik.
Let me know if you want in or out.
Links: FR Index of his articles: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=victordavishanson
His website: http://victorhanson.com/ NRO archive: http://www.nationalreview.com/hanson/hanson-archive.asp
Oh ... Victor? That's ten demerits for wandering from reality. ;)
