Posted on 08/16/2006 7:19:55 AM PDT by presidio9
FIVE weeks have passed since the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers provoked Israel to launch its most unsatisfactory military operation in 58 years. What problem has been solved, or even ameliorated? Hezbollah, often using World War II-vintage rockets, has demonstrated the inadequacy of Israel's policy of unilateral disengagement - from Lebanon, Gaza, much of the West Bank - behind a fence. Hezbollah has willingly suffered (temporary) military diminution in exchange for enormous political enlargement. Hitherto, Hezbollah in Lebanon was a "state within a state." Henceforth, the Lebanese state may be an appendage of Hezbollah. Hezbollah is an army that, having frustrated the regional superpower, suddenly embodies, as no Arab state ever has, Arab valor vindicated in combat with Israel.
The "new Middle East," the "birth pangs" of which we supposedly are witnessing, reflects the region's oldest tradition, the tribalism that preceded nations. The faux and disintegrating nation of Iraq, from which the middle class, the hope of stability, is fleeing, has experienced in these five weeks many more violent deaths than have occurred in Lebanon and Israel. U.S. Gen. George Casey says 60 percent of Iraqis recently killed are victims of Shiite death squads. Some are associated with the Shiite-controlled Interior Ministry, which resembles a terrorist organization.
The London plot against civil aviation confirmed a theme of an illuminating new book, Lawrence Wright's "The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11." The theme is that better law enforcement, which probably could have prevented 9/11, is central to combating terrorism. F-16s are not useful tools against terrorism that issues from places such as Hamburg (where Mohamed Atta lived before dying in
(Excerpt) Read more at nypost.com ...
What's happened to Will? To find out see an article in the 7/3 issue of National Review magazine by R. Ponnuru. Will's recent criticism of social conseratives seems bizarre, to say the least!
He's become a Dr. Henry Jeckyl and a Mr. Hyde. Let's hope he's not headed toward the same end!
EXACTLY!
Fundamentalist Muslims are pathological monkeys whose brains are not wired like YOURS, George! Quit thinking like an elitist AMERICAN. Islamo Fassos - Iran, Syria, and their patho-monkey Gawd Squads - will never appreciate the fact that we've rid the region of the secular assasin Hussein. Pathological Monkeys will never self-examine. They want to kill the infidel, irrespectively of where or how US Policy changes.
George Will is an idiot. A blithering idiot. Where the hell was he for the past 30 years when terrorism was dealt with by law enforcement and intel? They guy needs an MRI with contrast.
Well said. I would add risk-averse. The War in Iraq is part of the reality now. It was conducted by someone (President Bush) who was not risk averse. I don't buy the overwhelmingly negative view of the consequences of flattening Saddam, but I do listen to those who have that view if they present it intelligently.
Anyway, the worst that can happen is to totally hamstring future Presidencies by making it crystal clear the Commander In Chief utterly cannot make a bold move. That's what the Dems have almost succeeded in doing by, at its highest levels, talking of impeachment essentially for over-aggressively protecting America. I lament that George Will gives them more fodder.
Elected democratic govt's in both and both allies of the USA now. Where the HELL have you been?
If you read my comment you will see that I said Bush seems to have lost his fortitude since Iraq. I agree post 911 Bush was awesome. But he seems reconciled to just running out the clock. And what about the Bush Doctrine? You know, if you support terrorists you will be treated as a terrorist, and we will not allow regimes that support terror to acquire WMDs. At the beginning of the year Bush held a press conference and was asked point blank if we would allow Iran to acquire nukes. The old Bush would have hit that high-hanging curve-ball out of the park. It only needed a one word answer--NO! That might have gotten Ahmednutjob's attention. Instead Bush gave an nuanced, diplomatic answer worthy of John Kerry: we are on the right track, working with our European allies who are holding talks with Iran, and if those talks fail we will take the issue to...the UN Security Council and ask for sanctions! Boy, that must have gotten the Mullahs shaking in their boots. No wonder they have since flaunted their nuke program and launched a proxy war against Israel. Bush's only response has been to send Condi to the UN to broker another worthless deal with the French and the Arab League.
I want the old Bush back, the one with the guts.
Well here are some facts for you. Iran has spent the last 20 years working to aquire nuclear weapons. They got plans from A. Khan and technical help from North Korea. It's quite likely they will have working nuclear weapons soon, if they don't already. So what factual statement can you make about what the Bush adminstration is doing to stop them?
I would love to be proved wrong, but I don't see it happening.
George Will needs to consider and parse the consequences of the US writing Iraq off, and letting the "faux ... nation" find its own equilibrium. Absent that, he is not offering any actionable policy. He seems to imply that leaving vicious regimes in place may be OK. The issue then, is when, and when not to. Will has grown intellecually lazy in his prosperity.
I am a moderate and he ticks me off constantly....
BTW, he seems to despise Bush, and most Libertarians do as well.
Besides that, he really annoys me, as most Libertarians do.
George Will went weirdo/lefty quite a while back. He's now absolutely worthless.
I'll go you one better and say that I believe they have one or more in the box already.
I think this is the reason they do not want their enrichment facilities monitored.
i believe that all they need is the enriched bomb grade material and they are on a par with Pakistan's as far as nuclear programs go.
He dumbed his wife for her?
http://www.nndb.com/people/458/000051305/
grrr
dumbed = dumped
Good find. Thanks. Useful.
George Patton said that even a lousy offense is better than the best defense. One cannot win a war on defense. The Frenchies found that out real quick when the "impregnable" Maginot Line was outflanked with hardly a shot. We spent 25 yrs trying to fight a defensive war against terror. The only successes we had in it were when we took the fight to the enemy--bombing Qaddafi and overthrowing the Taliban and Saddam. Everything else was defensive and failed.
Don't forget the thousands of scientists and technicians working on Saddam's bomb. Many were Shiites and more than just a few ended up in Iran.
Lately, most Loonytarians have been sounding off more and more like the Buchannan Brigades.
Yes, I've noticed this too. It seems they are really Buchannon anti-war conservatives who refuse to identify with the party and therefore call themselves Libertarians.
There is a bunch of them, but I doubt the Libertarian party claims them and the reality is that they are small "l"(libertine independents) George Will despises Bush and by connection, the Republican party, in exactly the same way as Buchannon and others.
I think Rush put it well today that he disagrees with some of the Bush program, but when it come to damaging the party in a election cycle, he is not going to participate.
George Will does not have that sort of class and prefers to sell himself as a detractor, even if it helps Democrats.
I don't appreciate his contribution any longer........:-(
Never was a fan of his, something about that bow tie.
George Will Not Shut Up.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.