"Peace" Democrats --- Then and Now

It is quite remarkable to compare the words and actions of "Peace" Democrats during the Civil War (called "Copperheads" then) with the Democrats of today prattling about the (misnamed) "war on terror". The arguments used then: "let's negotiate with the South"; the "reasonable" argument of seeing things from the "others'" perspective; blah.. blah are pretty much the same arguments and course of action being touted now on how to deal with the Islamic world. Maybe there is a genetic component to being a Democrat that has not been recognized as yet.

In the Civil War. Union troops escorted one of the more inflammatory Democratic leaders, Clement L. Valladigham, to the Confederate lines and expelled him from Union territory. He eventually ended up in Canada (shades of Vietnam era deserters). If we could only escort the "Peace" Democrats (big, fat Ted, as a start) to Wazirstan now The sight of Pelosi, Boxer and H. Clinton in burqa would be so enjoyable and would do wonders for the morale of US troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. As for Ted, well the Afghans do enjoy a bit of "boy flesh" now and then.

What we must "get out" of Iraq

It is outrageous what the anti-war movement, most especially supposedly "responsible" politicians, are proposing that the US do about Iraq. The visceral hatred of George Bush and everything he does that drives the Democrats is now being abetted by Republicans who are running scared for their political lives (apparently, their political survival is more important to them than the country's interests and its honor).

Stipulations: 1) The Neo-cons who drove the war were incredibly naive, uninformed and incompetent. The war was NOT for Halliburton or "oil" or Israel or any of the other bugaboos of the Left; it was fought to "liberate" people who are incapable of understanding the meaning of liberty or to exercise liberty responsibly (AKA Muslims); 2) The Administration fought the war stupidly and incompetently.

All that said, the US has invested a lot of blood and treasure in Iraq and it would be unconscionable to leave there in defeat and without reward. THAT is what any withdrawal or "re-deployment " would be, no matter how the war opponents may wish to characterize it. As a minimum, our war aims must be:
1. We must not be defeated or even be perceived to be defeated. We can only leave when we SAY we want to leave after completion of our mission, whatever we choose to define the mission to be. The mission must include the installation of an unambiguously friendly regime in the country; at least as friendly as our other Arab "friends" in the region.

2. "Leaving" must include our ability to retain military bases and troops in Iraq to fight any local insurgency we choose to fight and, MOST important, to offer a visible threat to our state enemies in the region, Syria and Iran. They must be able to see that we are within easy striking distance of their territory, with a credible force and with full freedom of action.

To Al Qaida or Not to Al Qaida... That is the question

In classic Liberal fashion, we keep having the endless discussions (hair splitting extravaganzas) about whether there is an "Al Qaida" connection to every outrage that is committed in Iraq, Europe, the US or whatever (and in the dissection of every plot that is uncovered) in the name of Islam. The chorus is especially loud whenever poor George Bush says we are fighting Al Qaida in Iraq or makes any connection, no matter how peripheral, between the war in Iraq and 9/11. Of course, he is paying for his original dissembling after 9/11 about who, or what, the real enemy is. If he had been forthright and called our enemy by its true name, ISLAM itself, rather some nebulous characterization as a "war on terror", the logic of the current fight in Iraq would be self-evident. That is who the enemy is. The only aim of the Liberal (and sadly, some conservative apologists for the Arabs, too) obfuscation is to divert attention from the real enemy, a group "of color" (i.e., any group that is non-Western and not Jewish/Christian), for whom any blame for anything is unacceptable and antithetical to their world view and ideology.

Whether the plotters and perpetrators are "Al Qaida" or "Al Qaeda in Mesopotamia" or "home grown" British Muslims or visiting doctors and engineering students, the common thread is ISLAM. Nothing more and nothing less.

It was Muslims, in the name of ISLAM, who attacked us on 9/11; 7/7l Madrid; Bali Kenya; USS Cole; whatever. Let's stop the hair-splitting and get on with the job of isolating, expelling and, if necessary, extirpating all Muslims from within our midst. Nothing else will give us security and peace of mind.

The Craziness Continues ...and Continues

What is it going to take to finally convince Europe and the USA of the danger in their midst: The vast and growing and "alienated" Muslim population? When are we going to finally wake up and understand that it is Islam in its fundament (not "fundamental" Islam) that is the problem and the rationale for all the violent acts being perpetrated or attempted in our countries?

After every outrage all the "progressives" expound another rationale for the action: downtrodden, alienated, outraged people. Could be anybody really; just happens to be Muslims who are the fashionable downtroddens now. So much easier to explain when the perpetrators are of the "underclass". All the tired old Marxist clichés can be trotted out. But the fact is that the perpetrators can be and ARE of all classes and educational backgrounds: pizza deliverers; taxi drivers; DOCTORS, even. And what is the common denominator for all of them? Islam, of course.

Oh for all the didactics: Wahabis; fundamentalists; extremists; etc. etc... ad nauseum. They are all observers, adherents, "the faithful" to Islam. They all use basic Islamic doctrines ("defense of the faith"; Jihad or whatever) as the motivation and rationale for their actions.

Face the facts: Muslims can never be trustworthy citizens of a western style democracy as long as their first loyalty is to the Umma and not to the interests of their country of citizenship and residence.

It is well past time to rethink policies on immigration, asylum and student visas. Muslims must be excluded from entry into and, most particularly, long-term residence in our countries.