<the game of plausible deniability>
Israel plays this exact same game. They bow to American pressure, and announce a settlement freeze. Then the Israeli government looks the other way while illegal settlements are started. Or they redefine it as "organic" or "natural" growth in existing settlements. Every once in a while, the Israelis send in a bulldozer to knock down an illegal settlement (giving the Americans a "goat"). The settlement is then quickly re-occupied, and then supplied (at government expense) with water, electricity, roads.
<"Any person, organization, or government that supports, protects, or harbors terrorists is complicit in the murder of the innocent, and equally guilty of terrorist crimes. Any outlaw regime that has ties to terrorist groups and seeks or possesses weapons of mass destruction is a grave danger to the civilized world and will be confronted.">
Fine sentiments. If only they weren't so selectively applied.
Any? What about the Mujahedeen Khalq? What about the Israeli use of car bombs, targetted assasinations, and the constant civilian "collateral damage" these tactics cause? What about the group of warlords in Afghanistan we fund and arm, most of whom rule their little fiefdoms by terror, and all without the benefit of elections or any of the "freedoms of expression"? He doesn't really mean "any", not using the dictionary definition of that word.
There is no objective difference, between the methods of Hezbollah, and the Mujahedeen Khalq. Syria doesn't have a tenth of Israel's WMD. If Bush meant those words, why haven't we bombed Dimona? Because he doesn't really mean "any". When he says "any", he just means those who aren't America's friends. By any objective definition of the word "terrorism", the U.S. is now supporting, or at the very least doing nothing to stop, terrorist (groups or governments) in Iraq, and Afghanistan. And Israel.
No, ending terror isn't the program at all. The policy is to achieve a monopoly on the use of terror. Its use will be reserved, for us and our friends. And this is defined as "promoting democracy", and bringing freedom to the Middle East. |
