The American Spectator

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(Page 7 of 14)

Thanks to George H. Wittman for exposing, at least to some extent, the absurdity of the "we fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here" claim. We went in and stirred up a hornet's nest in Iraq and are now preoccupied with restoring order to the nest while serpents hide in the grass at our feet. It wasn't any assault from abroad that allowed 9/11 to happen. It was a carefully orchestrated plan, carried out right here at home and "affirmatively overlooked" by our intelligence community despite substantial warnings, that brought down the Twin Towers.

At best, the notion of fighting terrorism abroad is a cover generated so that it will look as if our leaders are doing something in the wake of 9/11, in the absence of any political will to stand against charges of racial or ethnic profiling. It's not enough to body search quotas of grandmas and twenty-something blonde babes while declining to investigate why swarthy fellows in their twenties don't do their homework for take-off and landing classes, or why they've overstayed their visas by such a long stretch. Why not take out a notorious villain who's been thumbing his nose at us since the last time we kicked his butt? He must be harboring other Muslims (or even Islamists!), who wish they could smack us with some terrorist act.

Common sense would seem to demand that we take steps to locate and remove the snakes in our own grass, or perish the thought, keep them out of our grass in the first place. What we get instead is the preposterous spectacle of our leaders campaigning to invite foreigners into our midst wholesale, and to keep them unmolested and comfortable once they get here. We are supposed to be comforted by our leaders' assault on the Bill of Rights by which they can eavesdrop on our private communications without judicial oversight. We should, further, trust that they, in their wisdom and beneficence, will not abuse the usurped powers, contrary to every bit of ancient wisdom I've ever encountered.

I realize that running a country is a complicated and complex business, demanding some sophistication and nuance. Still, common sense (indeed, "Common Sense") was fundamental in the founding and organization of our nation and our government, and I refuse to believe it's no longer relevant. That so many are willing to excuse, and vehemently defend on this page, the absurdities perpetrated by our leaders is very troubling to me.

Let's face it: Al Qaeda, for all their fanaticism, are not out of touch with reality. Does anyone imagine that they expect to topple our government and assume the seats of power? I don't. So what is their goal?

I suggest that they hope to do all they can to undermine the Judeo-Christian, libertarian roots that have allowed us to extend our dominance across the planet. They want to weaken our national fiber so that we become just a big, over-grown third world nation, almost as if we had Muslim roots. What fertile ground for spreading Allah's word might that be? Is it a mere coincidence that Allah's word spreads so efficaciously in prisons?

Every time they get our leaders to launch on the Constitution and the Bill of Rights they must rub their hands with glee. Every time they cause one more person to abdicate responsibility for his or her own daily life to some bureaucratic wonk "for their own safety and protection" (never mind "for the children"!) they win a small victory. Every time the forces of political correctness cause someone to accede in a political absurdity they are empowered. They know that as we become a nation of sheep they are taking down their Judeo-Christian nemesis and doing Allah's work, and they can afford to be patient.

There's an old war movie in which Allied soldiers detonate small charges deep inside a dam. Disappointment and frustration prevail as our heroes see no dramatic results from their efforts. A canny explosives expert calmly loads his pipe and counsels patience as the effects of the small explosions spread slowly throughout the structure and ultimately cause its spectacular collapse.

Al Qaeda knows it lacks the punch to take us out with shock and awe. Instead, it relies on the dynamics of political greed and political correctness to wear inexorably against our strength. They know that, in the end, our blessed freedoms will fall victim to our paranoia, and they will have won.

Our founding documents reflect an appreciation of human nature unequalled in history. They provided for an atmosphere in which our ancestors were given free rein to become great, and they did. They expected of government only that it would defend our shores and protect their freedom. Now, our government refuses to protect our shores and claims that the only way to defend freedom is to destroy it, while tilting at windmills in the Middle East.

Mr. Wittman has exposed the fundamental folly of fighting terrorism in Iraq. Whether we continue that charade or not, with a "troop surge" or otherwise, I hope that a demand will grow that we fight it right here at home, and I don't mean by further trampling of the freedoms that allowed this nation to become great. I mean by seriously restricting our borders, expelling or jailing those here illegally, and monitoring closely those who appear, objectively, to be the sort of guys and gals prone to, or capable of, the type of mischief identified by Mr. Wittman.

topics:
John McCain, Nancy Pelosi, Economics, Business, Religion, Islam, Constitution, Law, Military, Iraq, Iran, Russia, NATO, Conservatism