War Update
In the season of political debates, 30 second attack ads that play fast and loose with the truth, and analytical observations from the self appointed gaurdians of political discourse-the pundit class, it is easy to forget the cold hard truth of the matter: we are at war. Suprisingly, especially for fans of cable news, this war is not between Republicans and Democrats. It is a monumental conflict between those who value freedom and human rights and those who contort the religion of Islam to justify facism, genocide, and terrorism. In case one feels that the terms "facism" "genocide" and "terrorism" overstate the argument, I would direct you to familiarize yourself with the situation in Sudan (which Sec. of State Powell has called "genocide"), the routine discoveries of mass graves in Iraq that were filled with regime dissidents and bodies of women and children or Saddam's childrens prison where Iraqi children whose parents were enemies of the Baath party were imprisoned. In the future I will post links to all these sources, but for now it will have to suffice to say that the most cursory research into any of these subjects will validate my claims and in large part my terminology. The term "facism" shouldn't be used lighty. For example, inarguably, the two most egregious examples of facism in the last century have been Adolf Hitler's rise to power and Michael Bloomberg banning smoking in the bars and restuarants of New York City. Hitler, much like his present counterparts in the Muslim world, oppressed and exterminated people that didn't meet certain criteria. For Hitler, it was all those not of the Aryan race. For the Islamofacists it is those who don't subscribe to a fundamentalist version of Islam or "infidels," as Usama charmingly refers to us. For Michael Bloomberg-it is the smokers. The disturbing images of be-heading from Iraq should serve to deepen our understanding of the enemy we face and shape our perspective on this war on terrorism that we must win. Even those who call for retreat and defeat in Iraq do not advocate abandoning the war on terror on the whole. Often the argument made is that the resources being used in Iraq could've and should've been used to locate bin Laden(assuming that he's not dead) and "finish the job in Afghanistan." Afghan elections went off without major violence to derail them this past week. However, due to erasable ink, 14 of the candidates are challenging the results. The headline shoud've been " Afghan elections: Just Like Palm Beach." The election itself was an encouraging sign but reports that the Taliban, with the help of local warlords, have regained control of certain parts of the country cannot be dismissed. I will offer detailed analysis of both military efforts in the next post. This introductory screed is meant to frame, in general terms, the necessity of an honest debate and exchange of ideas without loosing clarity about this war-which we all own now. It's not Donald Rumsfeld's war. It is our friends who are dying and our tax dollars financing this. I think it's time to pay attention to more than 30 sec. ads.This is a reality to which the vigorous debate of stem cell reseach should understandably take a back seat. Elections should undoubtedly be a referendum on the leadership of the administration in power, the qualifications of the challenger, and the issues of the day( whether they be stem cell research, tax cuts, education, etc.) but they shoudn't erode our national unity or distract us from our mission.