[…] it seems to me that the far left anti-war message, misguided before the war, is close to obscene today, and tells us something about what we’re up against. Before the war, these people claimed they weren’t pro-Saddam; they were just pro-peace. But now that the Iraqi people have the first chance in living memory to have a decent, pluralist and democratic country, these demonstrators want to abandon them to chaos, terror, civil war and a possible new dictatorship. The only connective thread in this movement is hatred of the United States. (Oh, and Israel. Some posters openly called for the eradication of the Jewish state.) They assail one of the biggest humanitarian efforts in recent history while Iranian Qaeda surrogates are busy locating synagogues in Britain for terrorist attacks; and while Iran itself may be preparing to become the nuclear-armed vanguard of Islamo-fascism. They march under these banners when polling suggests most Iraqis want to construct a viable democracy; and when even the New York Times concedes that Iraqis view their present as far preferable to their past. It’s now that we can see what really lay behind the activist core of the “peace movement”: not peace but hatred of the West; not democracy, but alliance with dictators, terrorists and Islamo-fascism. Here’s a prediction: the fledgling links now forged between left-wing anti-war campaigners and Islamo-fascism will get stronger in the years ahead. The anti-globalization far left has nowhere else to go. Fanatical political Islam provides them with an over-arching structure for the loathing of the West. Now that Marxism is dead and post-modernism has shown itself inept as a basis for a real political movement, Islam will fill the void.
UPDATE: Harry responds with the theory that the nihilists descendants of the Left will co-opt the Caliphascists. I guess we’ll know how the Germans felt in the 20’s and 30’s watching the Communists and the National Socialists use and abuse each other. I’m betting on the Caliphascists because that side won the last time and it has the money from the Saudi Entity.
One of the things I’d feel humiliated about if I lived in the Arab world is that almost all the forms of expression of my anti-Westernism are themselves Western in origin. Pan-Arabism was old-school 19th century nationalism of the type that eventually unified the various German and Italian statelets. Nasserism was transplanted European socialism, Baathism a local anachronistic variant on ‘tween-wars Fascist movements. The Arabs even swiped Jew hatred from the Europeans. Though there was certainly friction between Jews and Muslims before the 20th century, it took the Europeans to package a disorganized, free-lance dislike of Jews into a big-time ideology with the Protocols of the Elders of Zion, Mein Kampf and all the rest.
Even Islamic fundamentalism, though ostensibly a rare example of a homegrown toxin, has, as a practical matter, more in common with European revolutionary movements than with traditional expressions of Islam — an essentially political project piggybacking on an ancient religion to create the ideology of choice for the world’s troublemakers.
There’s something pathetic about a culture so ignorant even its pathologies have to be imported.
Light posting this weekend because I was fiddling with the website instead of posting. But check it out - the year in review. There’s a version for 2002 as well but it’s kind of boring. Be sure to notice the hover text on each of the date links. You won’t find that kind of attention to detail anywhere else! Now you can see the majestic sweep of this weblog in one handy page. That’s quality, mister. Delivering real value to our customers!
P.S. You can find these links under “Archives”.
A good photo essay on the anti-liberty protests at the Washington D.C. Mall. Some quotes from protestor signs:
The Destruction of the U.S.A. is a necessary condition for Peace
There certainly sounds non-violent.
Bush Kills U.N. Heals
A slight mispelling but still a good idea.
God loves us all, you stupid asses
Reminds me of “Jesus Love You – The rest of us think you’re a jerk”.
The anti-Israel bias of the wire services seems to be getting worse—something I wouldn’t have thought possible. Get a load of the headline on this article, written by an Arab stringer for the Associated Press: Israeli Military Kills Palestinian. You have to read seven paragraphs down to find out that this “Palestinian” who was “killed” was on a mission of murder:I guess AP’s fantastic investigative machinery has yet to uncover a reason Israelis might react with hostility to an armed Palestinian approaching an Israeli settlement. Also note that it’s a Jewish settlement, not an Israeli one.… a Palestinian, armed with a rifle and hand grenades, approached an army outpost guarding a Jewish settlement bloc, the military said. An army guard saw the gunman and alerted a nearby force. A fierce gunbattle erupted and the Palestinian was killed, the military said.