Best of the Web - Winner! Best Media/Journalist Blog
BY JAMES TARANTO
Tuesday, December 16, 2003 12:35 p.m.
The Safety Dance--I
"The capture of Saddam has not made America safer." You can expect to hear that quote a lot next summer and fall if Howard Dean is the Democratic presidential nominee. It's tailor-made for GOP campaign commercials.
Give Dean this: He is, in a certain perverse way, eloquent. It's not easy to cram so much idiocy, mendacity and arrogance into nine little words, but he did it.
Dean's assertion is impossible to support rationally. If you believe, as we do, that liberating Iraq was vital to American national security, then obviously Saddam's capture has made America safer. But for the sake of argument, let's assume that the left-wing critique is correct: Iraq is a "distraction," diverting troops, resources and attention from the war against al Qaeda.
If this is true, then the way to make America safer now that we're in Iraq is to finish the job so that we can free up the men and resources we're currently spending there and put them back to work in Afghanistan or wherever al Qaeda lurks. In other words, even people who thought liberating Iraq was a strategic mistake should be cheering every tactical victory there--if, that is, they really care about our national security.
Saddam's capture was a necessary step, arguably the most important step, toward final victory in Iraq. Does Dean really believe a victorious America will not be safer than a defeated one, or one stuck in a quagmire, would be? Joe Lieberman has a nice line: "Howard Dean has climbed into his own spider hole of denial if he believes that the capture of Saddam Hussein has not made America safer." The question is whether Democratic voters will join him there.
'Ultimately She Thought It Was a Good Thing'
Rob Borsellino, a columnist for the Des Moines Register, relates this telling anecdote:
Back in the summer, a friend admitted that she was actually taking comfort from the terrible news coming out of Iraq and Afghanistan. She'd hear about explosions, ambushes, the killing of U.N. officials, pro-American Iraqis, innocent children, and she was saddened by the deaths. But ultimately she thought it was a good thing. She'd thought that enough bloodshed and disaster would create a movement in this country, a demand to get our people home and save some lives. Maybe enough death would wake folks up to the fact that we have no business running around the globe killing people.
She felt terrible. As an American--someone who genuinely loves this country--she was horrified at her own reaction, embarrassed.
Does it really make sense to describe an American who hopes for her country's defeat at the hands of terrorists and tyrants as "someone who genuinely loves this country"? Doesn't patriotism have to mean something? Orson Scott Card has some pertinent thoughts in an article we reprint today:
Am I saying that critics of the war aren't patriotic?
Not at all--I'm a critic of some aspects of the war. What I'm saying is that those who try to paint the bleakest, most anti-American, and most anti-Bush picture of the war, whose purpose is not criticism but deception in order to gain temporary political advantage, those people are indeed not patriotic. They have placed their own or their party's political gain ahead of the national struggle to destroy the power base of the terrorists who attacked Americans abroad and on American soil.
Patriots place their loyalty to their country in time of war ahead of their personal and party ambitions. And they can wrap themselves in the flag and say they "support our troops" all they like--but it doesn't change the fact that their program is to promote our defeat at the hands of our enemies for their temporary political advantage.
Listening to some of the Democratic candidates, one does get the impression that they are hoping for America to lose, whether out of opportunism or (like Borsellino's friend) a twisted sense of idealism. It's odd, though, that they would think this is likely to be a successful political strategy. Even if the war were to go badly, most Americans would prefer a candidate who wants to win over one who wants to lose.
The Safety Dance--II
Saddam's capture made America safer, and America is returning the favor. The Daily Telegraph describes a confrontation between the prisoner and four members of the Iraqi Governing Council, including torture victim Mowaffak al-Rubaie:
Saddam only appeared genuinely flustered when cornered about his brutal suppression of the Shia following the 1991 Gulf war.
At that point he looked at Mr Bremer and Lt Gen Sanchez, who until then had remained silent. "It was if he was saying, 'Protect me from them,' " said Mr al-Rubaie. "I think he feels safer with the Americans. He's probably right."
Mixed Nuts
Pro-Saddam congressman "Baghdad Jim" McDermott, a Seattle Democrat, is back in the news. On a local radio show yesterday he "questioned the timing of Saddam Hussein's capture, saying, 'I'm sure they could have found him a long time ago if they wanted to,' " reports the Seattle Times:
"I've been surprised they waited, but then I thought, well, politically, it probably doesn't make much sense to find him just yet," he said.
"There's too much by happenstance for it to be just a coincidental thing that it happened on this particular day," he continued.
Later yesterday, the Seattle Democrat said he did not know whether the Pentagon had manufactured the arrest of the Iraqi leader. "I think the fact is that the administration has been desperate to find something (positive), and this came up.
"I don't have any knowledge if they knew about it (Saddam's hideout). I think they (Bush administration) got a Christmas present early."
McDermott is something of a fringe figure even on the Democratic left; last year he famously visited Baghdad, where he vouched for Saddam Hussein's honesty and called the president of the United States a liar. But since their losses in the 2002 congressional elections, the Democrats have been moving in McDermott's direction. As we noted Dec. 2, even presidential front-runner Howard Dean has been trafficking in crackpot conspiracy theories.
Some amusing variations of the "suspicious timing" theory show up in man-on-the-street reaction pieces. The Citizen-Times of Asheville, N.C., quotes one Zane Dasher: "It's no coincidence that it's so close to elections." But isn't it about 10 months early for an October surprise?
University of Iowa sophomore Lizzie Meyer at least has a better sense of the calendar. The Daily Iowan quotes her as saying the capture "seemed like a ploy. It came out right around Christmas, giving Americans something to talk about at the Christmas table." This is another reason to dislike the Angry Left: If they had their way, Christmas dinner would be filled with awkward silences.
What Was That About Alienating Our 'Allies' Again?
"U.S. special envoy James Baker and French President Jacques Chirac agreed at talks Tuesday that their countries must cooperate over efforts to rebuild Iraq," Reuters reports. "It also said the two countries--who have been at odds over the U.S. war in Iraq and over lucrative contracts to rebuild the country--agreed that a deal to ease Iraq's huge debts should be reached in the Paris Club of creditor states in 2004."
Looks as though toughness pays off, even with the French.
Saddam Imitates 'Urinetown'
"You our humble / Audience / You have come to / See / What it's like when / People can't pee / Free"--lyrics from "Urinetown," premiered May 6, 2001
"When asked 'How are you?' said the official, Saddam responded, 'I am sad because my people are in bondage.' When offered a glass of water by his interrogators, Saddam replied, 'If I drink water I will have to go to the bathroom and how can I use the bathroom when my people are in bondage?' "--Time, Dec. 14, 2003
OK, Saddam, Grab a Shovel--and Get Ready for Some Football
"Holiday Sales Snowed Out in Northeast, Saddam May Help"--headline, FoxNews.com, Dec. 15
"Redskins at Home With Cellar Dwellers"--headline, Washington Times, Dec. 16
The World's Smallest Violin
Back in July we noted that hardly anyone had objected to the U.S. decision to release photographs and videotapes of the bodies of Uday and Qusay Hussein, Saddam's satanic sons. Well, someone's finally complaining about it. Author Stanley Weintraub has an op-ed in USA Today in which he complains about the showing of videotape of Saddam after his capture:
Such a disrespectful display in a society that highly values personal dignity may generate sympathy for Saddam and disgust with us, as happened after the grotesque display of the bodies of his sons, Qusay and Uday. . . . When contrasted with the end of his sons, who fought overwhelming coalition forces to the death, how could Saddam, ignominiously captured without a struggle, appear any more weakened than he already was?
"Pre-Christmas spirit notwithstanding, what has happened to our sense of civilized values?" Weintraub wails. "We also have seen accused Iraqi war criminals trivialized by the Defense Department as figures on mock playing cards, as if bringing them to justice were a parlor game."
Oh, the humanity! If this Weintraub guy had his way, war would be no fun at all.
What Would We Do Without Experts?--I
"Capture of Saddam Will Have Little Impact on Hunt for bin Laden: Experts"--headline, Canadian Press, Dec. 15
It's All About Us
"Big Story Kicked Off Long and Chaotic Day for Media Outlets"--headline, USA Today, Dec. 15
Great Minds Think Alike
"Saddam Is Caught--Now What?"--headline, James Pinkerton column, Newsday (Long Island, N.Y.), Dec. 15
"We Got Him . . . Now What?"--headline, Robert Scheer column, Los Angeles Times, Dec. 16
"Saddam Hussein Is Behind Bars, Now What?"--headline, Richard Hottelet column, Christian Science Monitor, Dec. 16
Saddam Countdown
Yesterday we noted a quote from Palestinian moonbat Jihan Ajlouni: "Don't rush to celebrate because there are millions of Saddams in the Arab world." Make that millions minus one. The Associated Press reports that 27-year-old Saddam Hussein of Ramallah is petitioning to change his name to Kais. The name Saddam, he says, has caused him problems over the years:
During the initial days of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq this year, before the collapse of the Iraqi army, Hussein said he was treated like a hero. At one point, a crowd lifted him on their shoulders, chanting "Saddam Hussein."
But when U.S. forces entered Baghdad, things turned ugly again. "They said, 'What happened to you Saddam, you disappointed us. What a scandal. Your name is bad luck,' " he said.
'The Man Who Is Alleged to Have Caused the Deaths'
Wesley Clark, who led the 1999 Kosovo war, testified at The Hague yesterday in Slobodan Milosevic's war-crimes trial. CNN has a quote that helps show why his presidential campaign is going nowhere:
He told reporters after his first day on the witness stand that the trial was particularly significant for the people of the Balkans after years of conflict.
"It's closure with a man who caused the deaths . . . or is alleged to have caused the deaths of hundreds of thousands and the homelessness and refugee burden throughout Europe," Clark told reporters.
"There were murders and rapes and thousands expelled and people imprisoned and bludgeoned and murdered, including the slaughter at Srebrenica. This is the sense of judicial closure, that the world community cares, that it took action, that it brought to justice the alleged perpetrator," Clark said.
All passive voice and "alleged." This guy wants to be the leader of the free world, yet he can't just come out and straightforwardly say what Milosevic did.
What Would We Do Without Experts?--II
"Experts: Eat, Enjoy and Be Merry"--headline, Orange County (Calif.) Register, Dec. 15
Another One Doesn't Bite the Dust
The New York Times has greatly exaggerated reports of another person's death. This correction appears in today's Times:
The What's Doing column in the Travel section on Dec. 7, about Oaxaca, Mexico, referred incorrectly to a weaver in a nearby town, Teotitlán del Valle. Arnulfo Mendoza is not dead; his father, Emiliano, whose weavings are also sold there, died recently.
And Most Common Among Whom?
"Prostate Cancer Second Most Common Among Men"--headline, WHIO-TV Web site (Dayton, Ohio), Dec. 16
Dispatch From the Porn Belt
In Berkeley, Calif. (Alameda County, Gore by 45.23%), former schoolteacher Shannon Williams wants to go back to the classroom. While on sabbatical, Williams was arrested in August and charged with prostitution, but she plea-bargained the charge down to disturbing the peace. "Her lawyer said Williams should legally be able to return to teaching because disturbing the peace is not a crime of 'moral turpitude,' " reports the Contra Costa Times:
Williams, 37, said Thursday that her eight-year prostitution career began when she enrolled at San Francisco State to obtain a teacher's certificate. After a chance conversation with two prostitutes in a bar, "I realized that doing this I could work one or two nights a week and really focus on my studies," she said. . . .
"It pays well, and I like the work. I consider it to be a healing profession, in line with therapy and bodywork, kind of a combination of the two," she said.
The Times quotes Carol-Ann Kock-Weser, head of the county PTA, who's untroubled: "As long as she's not bringing it into the classroom, maybe it's not a problem." These people really aren't like you and me.
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