Thursday, January 04, 2007

Some Strange Thoughts   [Victor Davis Hanson]

Why, when we are bombarded with cries that our freedoms are being eroded by the Patriot Act or wiretaps, do few civil libertarians complain of two egregious examples of government overreach: the scandalous abuse of prosecutorial power by the Duke "rape" case District Attorney, or the Inspector Javert-like Special Prosecutor who still pursues Scooter Libby, when we know the identity of the real leaker, and Joe Wilson (of "frog marched" fame) is reluctant to testify in a case that grew out of his own lamentations?

Why, when we are giving billions of dollars in aid to autocratic Egypt, does that government allow Al-Qaeda affiliates to broadcast anti-American propaganda on its state-run satellite? This is apparently not the normal Muslim extremism, but overt jihadist cries to kill Americans. Surely can't the US at least smile—and put a hold of a few months on the next hand-out check, Abrams tank, or bushel of wheat?

Unlike many Western anti-war movements—the American anger over the Mexican War or the Philippines counter-insurgency, or the French furor over Algeria—the present anti-war movement (if it is that) is incoherent.

The latest evidence was Donald Trump's creepy claim that "When you're a president who has destroyed the lives of probably a million people, our soldiers and Iraqis who are maimed and killed - you see children going into school in Baghdad with no arms and legs..." His outburst comes in the climate of Saddam Hussein's end, who really did kill a million.

No need to comment on the "no arms and legs" in the context of the United States restoring schools and trying to provide Iraqis reformed education. We have gone from Hezbollah and Dr. Zawahiri referencing Michael Moore and Noam Chomsky to excurses on impeachment from deep thinkers like Bill Maher and Keith Olbermann to Halliburton plots to "no blood for oil" to "the world's greatest terrorist" to novels and movies dreaming of assassinating the President to George Soros's Nazi allusions and now to the ultimate trivialization of the anti-war crowd-that the war is a monumental uncool drag, a has-been distraction from more important things like fighting with Rosie or bucking up a naughty beauty queen or staged "you're fired" poses. Meanwhile somewhere out there tonight there are courageous Marines and Army soldiers who are fighting for a cause they deeply believe in and are assured they can win. They are not cutting off or blowing up anyone's "arms and legs", but have already ensured that Saddam Hussein will never again do such things and are trying to assure that his terrorist successors can't either much longer.

01/04 08:50 AMShare