May 12, 2004

Things I'm Tired Of

Here are a few things I'm tired of, all in relation to the Terror Wars:

  • Americans being beheaded by Muslims - whether or not it's filmed
  • Israeli women and their children being murdered by Muslims, with special attention to putting a bullet in her belly if she's pregnant
  • bombs on trains, at night clubs, in pizza parlors, on buses, at police stations and so on
  • Muslims celebrating the above acts
  • the claims of the monsters carrying out the above infamies that they are "in retaliation" for anything - let's just stop fooling ourselves and admit that they are barbarians who don't need a particular event to "avenge"
  • assertions of moral equivalence between humiliating prisoners and the acts mentioned above (which understates barbarism)
  • assertions of moral equivalence between humiliating prisoners and torturing them (which understates torture)
  • the tendency of the Western media to overplay both of those assertions, and thus to underplay barbarism and torture
  • the tendency of the Western media to ignore heroism and good deeds on the part of American and allied soldiers
  • Western guilt over minor crimes trumping in public perception the major crimes of the enemy
  • the war dragging on without a major advance or attack
  • politicians thinking that this whole war means nothing beyond its effect on domestic opinion polls

I'm certainly at the point of more-or-less ignoring the Western media; I don't trust any of the major media any more. I don't trust the instincts, institutional culture, political biases, cultural assumptions and passing fads built into or endemic to the Western media. I don't trust their judgement. Many of the American journalists, I don't trust that they think of themselves as Americans before they think of themselves as journalists. More to the point, I don't think that they by and large either journal events or report events; instead, they craft a story, into which they fit or reject events.

I'm not yet at the point of demonizing Muslims in general, but I can feel myself sliding in that direction. At the least, I would now countenance acts by our side that I would not have during, say, OIF; for example, I would be fine if we flattened Falluja instead of trying to win Fallujans over to our side. And that doesn't make me particularly happy, because it means that my anger is beginning to trump my reason.

Posted by Jeff at May 12, 2004 10:50 AM | Link Cosmos
Comments

Obviously your anger isn't trumping your reason yet. If it was, you wouldn't notice it and remark on it. But I know what you mean; I am sick and tired of all the same things you list. I guess I've become innured somewhat, though. My anger is much more muted than I would expect. I just get more steely and much more cold-hearted inside as events unfold. I turn it all inwards and let it stew and burn. Not very healthy I'm guessing, but maybe it's necessary for the task at hand. I just have an attitude that the ONLY option is victory, and the only way of achieving it is the complete annihilation of this murderous ideology. EVERYTHING else is secondary at this point. I have no time, nor inclination, to worry about the seditious words of Ted Kennedy, nor the lunacy of like-minded individuals. They are a hindrance to ending the barbaric ideology of radical Islam, thus are not worthy of my concern. My only thoughts regarding them is to make sure they never have any power to influence events in any significant way.

I, too, sometimes feel that maybe we should just take them all out, in a very general sense. But unrestrained unleashing of fury, while feeling good, is not helpful in the long run. It's important to remember that what we are seeing are the acts of a minority of Muslims - even if it's a significant minority. We cannot be just another version of brutal killer; we must show those Muslims who want to throw off the yoke of oppression that our's is a better way, that we are better than those murderous thugs.

That being said, I would like to see us ramp things up some. We seem to be operating at half speed right now. But I like Bush, Rumsfeld, Myers, etc. and trust them. I know they are walking a fine line trying to keep the majority of Iraqi's supportive of our actions.

So I'll sit and stew and be angry, but I'll be patient. This is going to take many, many years, and in the meantime we will see more and we will see worse. I fear that we will eventually see a catastrophic act that will make 9/11 seem mild. But I know that there is only one possible course, no matter how long it takes - victory. Radical Islam is doomed; it cannot cheat the inexorable tide that will wash over it. It is destined to the ash-heap of history. Despite the overblown hand-wringing we see by many in the press and on the left, America really does seem to have reached it's breaking point. I do not see American resolve crumbling any time soon. And as long as we are resolved, the forces of radical Islam have NO chance at winning this war they have started.

Posted by: Brian on May 12, 2004 01:48 PM

The Islamists are causing decent people to despise them. Yes, they are trying to provoke a reaction from the west that will bring all muslims into the battle.
That was the idea behind 9/11. The idea was a bad one then, and it is getting worse.
Other than Turkey, muslim countries are cesspools. The people are miserable because their leaders are incompetent, and their religion and ancient customs prevent the people from using their natural abilities to rise above their current misery.
That's why the islamists are trying so hard to drive out the americans from Iraq. If Iraq becomes another muslim success, like Turkey, it will drive muslims away from the radical islamist message. Things might get much worse before they get better.

Posted by: Brigand on May 12, 2004 02:24 PM
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