Which is More Dangerous Osama the Man, or His Vision

A question for those who think the recent message from Osama Bin Laden means we're failing in the war on terror because he's still alive: Do you really think that capturing or killing Osama would've ended terrorism? Would Zarqawi have said, "Ooops... better go get a real job now"? And, if you believe Stephen Hayes from the Weekly Standard, it seems Saddam's regime was training a lot of terrorists in Iraq... Would capturing Osama have made all of those guys think it was better to forego the 72 virgins and become entrepreneurs instead? Would capturing Osama have caused Iran to elect (hehehe) a reformer rather than a dangerous nutjob and cause the mullahs there to embrace democracy and social and economic reform?

The "lesson of 9/11" for most Republicans was that we have to take terrorism and Islamofacism seriously and treat the issue like a war, not like a legal action. The perception is that the Democrats would be content to prosecute individual terrorists (after they strike?) and go back to the Clinton method of dealing with them. The comments about Osama verify that perception to those of us who think this issue is far bigger than one man.

Perhaps the difference is that we see the danger in the vision of the world espoused by Osama and other Islamofacists, and see their actions as proof that they are serious about creating an Islamic world in which Western liberal democracy has no place. The vision is beyond one man. It appears to us that the Democrats don't see the danger in that vision, despite the fact that the very freedoms liberals seem to hold dear would be the first things an Islamic Caliphate would crush. Note the self-expression allowed in Islamic states--there is none. Americans argue about gay marriage, while the Islamists hang homosexuals. We wonder if maybe MTV videos are too sexually suggestive for the eyes and ears of kids, while they cover women from head to toe and relegate them to servent status. We have a lively debate about abortion, while they would execute an unwed pregnant woman in an "honor killing". We have a dispute about whether or not the president should have invaded Iraq, while they would jail, torture, and/or execute anyone who spoke against the actions of their government. Etc.

To me, the way the Taliban ran Afghanistan appeared to be the preview of what Osama and his ilk would like to see worldwide. It seems to me, and I think to most Republicans, that that vision and the methodology for attaining it has to be stopped before it goes too far. 9/11 wasn't merely a "get Osama" lesson. It was a "stop the vision and the methodology" lesson.

"It's Like the War on Dandruff..."

I've often wondered how the left views the War on Terror, or, as it is more and more often called, the war on Islamofacism. It's been clear that they don't take it particularly seriously. They seem to think simply capturing Bin Laden would have spelled the end of it. They don't seem to see a correlation between Saddam having WMD (whether on hand, or the ability to make them fresh) and a danger that he might give them to terrorists. They deny any relationship between Iraq and al Queda, despite the fact that Clinton made that tie himself in his indictment of Bin Laden. They see no need to try to intercept communications between known terrorists and operatives inside the U.S.A. In short, they don't seem to think it's real.

So, there I am last night, minding my own business, watching the Lincoln biography on the History Channel. One of the experts being interviewed was Gore Vidal, who wrote, "Lincoln." In a section where they were talking about Lincoln suspending habeas corpus, closing down newspapers, jailing the opposition, and generally being semi-dictatorial, Vidal says something like, "But Lincoln was in a real war. It wasn't like the way some presidents, who I will not mention, try to use a phony war as an excuse for dictatorial behavior..." And then he said, and this is a direct quote: "The war on terror? That's like 'the war on dandruff'. It's a metaphor."

The war on dandruff, my friends. September 11th. The Cole. Khobar Towers. Embassy bombings. The first WTC bombing. Dandruff. Al Queda in Iraq blowing up innocent Iraqis and killing as many American soldiers as possible. Dandruff. Richard Reed. A plot to blow up the bridges leading to New York City. The Y2K plot. Dandruff. Bombing a train in Spain. Bombing the subways in London. Dandruff.

In my opinion, Osama Bin Laden was not kidding when he stated that he wanted to destroy us. I take it seriously when Islamofacists say that they want to establish a Caliphate and that we westerners and non-believers are non-persons worthy of death before Allah in establishing that Caliphate. I understand that there are some crazy bastards in this world who can be convinced to grasp at the straw of a special place in heaven occupied by virgins just awaiting their martyred entrance who would kill all of those I love and care about for that bizarre promise. It's in the news all the time. I hear insane talk coming from the leadership of Iran, and no matter how peace-loving I am in my heart, or how much I'd love to see the poor, oppressed Iranian people have a shot at a better life, I start thinking that bombs need to be dropped.

To me, there is a war happening. And, it's vitally important that we win it. To Gore Vidal, and I assume to other far-left liberals, it's merely "like the war on dandruff. It's a metaphor."

Vidal could understand fighting and winning a war to free the slaves and keep the Union together. He could get behind extreme losses and justify temporary restrictions on civil liberties to support that effort. But, to keep all of us free (including him) from the death or dhimmitude that the Islamofacists would impose, and to preserve Western civilization, he can't even come to grips with the problem, let alone get behind the effort to effectively wage and win the war.

Now I understand the depth of the denial and the rationalization. "It's like the 'the war on dandruff.'"

Well... What Can I Say???

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