Let's Cut to the Chase ... Lives are at Stake !!!

The War And the Words

By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, February 9, 2007; Page A19

National Intelligence Estimates are not supposed to be amusing. And the latest NIE on the situation in Iraq was uniformly grim. But the document's determined effort to split the difference on the use of the phrase "civil war" did verge on the comical. One can only imagine the interagency wrangling that produced the classic bureaucratic compromise: "The Intelligence Community judges that the term 'civil war' does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict," but "nonetheless, the term 'civil war' accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict."

In other words: yes, no, maybe. Multiple civil strife, but way too messy to rank with the classics such as America in the 1860s or Spain in the 1930s.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/02/08/AR2007020801678.html

The Shifting Realities of The Middle East ...

Feb. 8, 2007 22:33 Updated Feb. 9, 2007 15:29

The Meaning of Mecca
By DAVID KIMCHE

'You people are talking about yesterday's Middle East, not about the new realities of today and tomorrow," my friend, a respected Jordanian politician, told me when I visited Amman earlier this week. "Your failure in Lebanon last July was a wake-up call not only for you, but for all of us moderate Arabs."

He gave the example of Saudi Arabia, which has become a key player in our region. "Could anyone have dreamt not so long ago that the Saudis would be doing what is happening today in Mecca with the Palestinians?" He went on to answer his own question.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1170359817069&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The Self-Hating West ...

I have always marveled at how so many in the West could attack their own counties with such venom while excluding other countries from equal levels of scrutiny. In America, a portion of the left are basically at war with their own government. It does not matter if a Republician or a Democrat is in office although Republican's make far tastier and inviting targets. Regardless, Johnson, Carter and Clinton were not spared in their day.

Below you will find an interesting article from historian Bruce Thorton that discusses the root causes of this trend of thought.


February 9, 2007

The Truth about Tolerance

How our therapeutic thinkers threaten Western values.
by Bruce Thornton

Private Papers

Acceptance of a double standard has always been a sign of inferiority. To let someone behave according to one set of principles or values while demanding that you be subjected to others is to validate a claim of superiority that justifies the inconsistent and unfair behavior. A double standard can also reflect incoherent thinking, a failure to apply consistently a principle that presumably has universal validity. In the West’s struggle with Islamic jihad, doubts about the superiority of Western values have coupled with a breakdown in ethical reasoning. The result is the appeasement of jihadist aggression and the confirmation of the jihadist estimation of the West’s corruption.

http://victorhanson.com/articles/thornton020907.html

No Such Thing as Allies....

Below you will find an article from the BBC reporting on Russian President Vladimir Putin's recent speech attacking the United States foreign policy in a bold, defiant manner in front of the international community. This is the same Putin that has mass murdered thousands of Chechian Muslims indiscriminately without regard to women and children as well as the same Putin who has stirred the fears of the E.U. with his manipulation of energy assets. In addition, the same man who authorized toxic, nuclear material to poison a man he considered to be an enemy of his regime.

My point here is that as he is currently under tremendous criticism from many corners of the international community, he has no problem pulling the bait and switch act attempting to shift attention to the U.S., knowing the left media will jump all over it and possibly get off his back for a few minutes. . . .

As I've written time and again, there are no allies. It is a WWII myth. There are alliances of convenience that rotate on a constant basis.


Putin attacks 'very dangerous' US
BBC News on 02/10/07

Russian President Vladimir Putin has attacked the United States for what he said was its "almost uncontained" use of force around the world.
America's "very dangerous" approach to global relations was fuelling a nuclear arms race, he told a security summit.

Correspondents say the strident speech may signal a more assertive Russia.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/6349287.stm