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| Terror Networks |
| Wretchard: A Bellyfull of War |
| 2004-03-23 |
| Before this is over the world will have had a bellyful of war. Each morning’s unbearable news will cast the net wider. Neither the man commuting to work in Central Madrid nor the peace marchers in costume on Market Street can escape being combatants. Leftist sympathies, whether in Israel, America or Europe will prove no armor against car bomb fragments. War was Osama Bin Laden’s goal in attacking the United States on September 11. He hoped to force America into fruitless and ineffectual reprisals against the Islamic world, then offer a hudna at intervals while he prepared his next blow. George Bush’s counterstroke, which history will either judge as an act of supreme folly or genius, was to go beyond Afghanistan into Iraq. In a worthy riposte to Osama’s, he escalated the struggle to the point where it was mutually mortal. If the fall of the Twin Towers was a gauntlet in America’s face, the fall of Baghdad was a glove shoved down the Islamist’s throat. Both Bin Laden and Bush have made compromise impossible. If the jihadis believed they could control the tempo of the conflict they were misinformed; American forces in the Arab heartland have forced a zugzwang (German for "compulsion to move", a chess term - ed.) to compel the game to the bitter end. |
| Posted by:mojo |
| #11 I read Wretchard, although not as frequently as I did when he first started. The guy can write and he has a good grasp of the big picture, but he tends to bend the facts to fit his theory. SDB took him to task over this recently. |
| Posted by: phil_b 2004-3-23 6:20:40 PM |
| #10 I've read Wretchard for a while now and have never found him off his game. Always clear and succinct he is Cliff's Notes for USS Clueless. |
| Posted by: whitecollar redneck 2004-3-23 4:23:56 PM |
| #9 Matt wrote: "As for this post, I can imagine the passage that begins "George Bush's counterstroke..." being quoted by historians a long time from now." If the historians ever talk about "Bill Clinton's counterstroke," it will undoubtedly be in a story that has Monica Lewinskow on her knees. |
| Posted by: Tibor 2004-3-23 3:06:28 PM |
| #8 Wretchard is as good as anyone out there, including VDH, especially in terms of relating daily developments to the overall strategic picture. The only problem I have with him is that reading a Wretchard post just about guarantees me a sleepless night. Your own reaction might depend on how you feel about the liberal application of thermonuclear warheads to a certain region of the world. As for this post, I can imagine the passage that begins "George Bush's counterstroke..." being quoted by historians a long time from now. |
| Posted by: Matt 2004-3-23 2:03:21 PM |
| #7 Leftist sympathies, whether in Israel, America or Europe will prove no armor against car bomb fragments. Very succinctly put. It is as I constantly reminded LOML throughout the last couple of years: no matter how hard you protest, the Islamists of this world would still kill you just as soon as me. And all for one very simple reason: we are not them. |
| Posted by: eLarson 2004-3-23 1:57:20 PM |
| #6 A serious hawk indeed, and because he doesn't froth at the mouth he's all the more easy to take seriously. |
| Posted by: Hiryu 2004-3-23 1:33:06 PM |
| #5 [Off-topic or abusive comments deleted] |
| Posted by: Removed 2004-3-23 1:01:44 PM |
| #4 You were right - I took it all wrong. Thanks for pointing me in the right direction. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2004-3-23 12:59:18 PM |
| #3 This is but a fragment of a larger essay, YS. Go read the whole thing; better yet, read EVERYTHING the guy has written. It'll be time well-spent. Helpful hint: Wretchard is a REAL hawk. |
| Posted by: Dave D. 2004-3-23 12:53:42 PM |
| #2 YS - Wha? Unless I've misunderstood your comment, I think you need to read the article again. Wretchard The Cat is one of the most astute and unapologetic pro-WoT bloggers around. His point is clear to me. I'm not sure what you got out of it, but if you read enough of this blog, you'll make him a regular read - I promise. 8-) |
| Posted by: .com 2004-3-23 12:47:46 PM |
| #1 Whats your point? You can't shove your head into the sand and wish this problem away. This is real life in the real world. There are bad people out there who want you and me dead. You can't reason with them or talk about how this war hurts your feelings or offends you. They don't care if you "Respect" them or their culture, they will kill you. Running away to suburbia in your mini-van or SUV won't make it go away. Watching Opra while sipping on a Starbucks Carmel Macchiato won't make this go away. Killing them before they kill us will. |
| Posted by: Yosemite Sam 2004-3-23 12:39:23 PM |