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Wednesday, September 13, 2006

And then ...?

I see these kinds of stickers a lot.




They speak volumes, far more than the owner expects, I think. Here's what they say to me.

1. I'm really unclear on the concept. "The war" references American troops in Iraq (or, perhaps, Iraq and Afghanistan). To "stop" it, you simply bring our troops home. I'm not aware that the real war, Islamic Fascism against the civilized world, won't be phased at all by such a move. I'm not thinking beyond the immediate battle going on in one geographical location of the world.

2. I'm really unconcerned about anyone other than the select few. Sure, if we withdrew our troops there would be a bloody civil war in Iraq and Afghanistan, but that's not my concern. Sure, the move would likely embolden anti-American sentiment by demonstrating that we can't be trusted and won't carry through, but that's not my concern. All I care about is getting those troops of ours home, and the rest of the world and its opinion of my country and my people be hanged.

3. I'm not able to think much beyond the immediate. People are dying, so I'm unhappy. The need to defend others, what the world perception would be if we interrupted our course, how the anti-American terrorists would use such a move against us, and the chilling ramifications of pulling out before finishing the task at hand are all irrelevant to me. People are dying, so I'm unhappy. Maybe they'll come later and start killing more of us, believing that we are spineless and unwilling to defend ourselves, but we can deal with that when it happens.

"Stop the War" is a nice sentiment, but extremely short-sighted. Beyond "bring our troops home now", does anyone have a suggestion on how we deal with the ongoing war against our civilization by Islamic fascists? Beyond "bring our troops home now", does anyone have a recommendation as to how to save the Iraqi people from the power hungry factions that would tear the country apart without our presence? Beyond "Get rid of Bush", is there a helpful proposal to retain some respect in the world when we suddenly withdraw and leave struggling nations to fend for themselves and demonstrate to our enemies that we don't have the fortitude to stand for anything? Or is "Stop the War" the best we have?

3 comments:

Susan L. Prince said...

My sentiments exactly. I keep waiting for other solutions because war is hell.

I am very concerned about the Isalmic fascism and the extremists hell bent on destroying the "infidels".

The way to stop the war is to destroy the enemy, because this enemy will not go away otherwise.

Scott Arnold said...

The "war" is not the issue for these folks. If John Kerry were President, and the "war on terror" was prosecuted in the exact fashion that the Bush admininstration has prosecuted it, the argument would be very, very different.

What these bumper stickers really mean, like all of these messages, is "blame Bush." This is the slogan of the far left, and the media is happy to play along. Everything that goes wrong can somehow be traced to Bush:

9/11 - including the rise of Islamic extremism/fascism

N. Korea & Iran - after all, he included them in the "axis of evil" speech

Katrina - including not only the aftermath, but the cause itself...

Global Warming - including the more recent hurricane seasons; and if it begins to cool (as some predict), well that's his fault too

Death of the Crocodile Hunter - OK, I just threw that one in, but I'm certain that they could make an argument for it!

Oh, and anything that goes right? Those things would be in spite of Bush policy, not because of it.

Stan said...

Wait ... you're saying that Steve Irwin's death is NOT because of Bush? Man, you'll buy into ANY propaganda the Republicans put out, won't you?

(For all who wonder, that was said in humor.)