Striking back against the monsters
I've spent the last couple of hours scanning blogs I consider worthwhile for reaction to the Johnson murder. Just about everyone has a post about it- and naturally, the emotion is the same everywhere. The rage we all feel is expressing itself in an understandable desire to pave Saudi Arabia, the Sunni Triangle, and the entire Middle East. There is an upswing in ethnic slurs toward Arabs among bloggers too bright to be indulging in them.
I share the outrage. I also share the frustration of my fellow Americans with the double game the Saudis have played where al Quaeda is concerned. Wahabi extremism and hatred toward the United States is preached and taught with impunity in a nation which claims to be our friend, and which is hardly under the kind of constraints with respect to dissenting viewpoints we who live in democracies must deal with.
Right now the signals from Ri'yad are mixed. On one hand, there are well-founded fears of the support al Queda has in Saudi Arabia- in no small measure due to the Royal Family's coddling of Wahabi extremism and popular anti-Americanism all these years. On the other hand, there are also reports that the Saudi government is furious, and will be coming down on the al Quaeda cell in question like the proverbial ton of bricks in the next few days. In fact, the Saudi embassy has just announced that a fire-fight is underway in the streets of Ri'yad right now with a group of terrorists who may have been involved in the Johnson murder.
One thing is clear: this is a watershed moment in the relations between the United States and the Kingdom. We will now find out whether the Saudi Royal Family are indeed our friends. Al Quaeda has not only made Saudi Arabia a new battleground, but in the recent past has actually targeted Saudi royals. The courage and resolution- as well as the capacity for survival- of the House of Saud is now being tested.
But what can we do about that rage? Our brains tell us that paving Saudi or the Sunni Triangle isn't the answer, and the fury that wants to lash out at Arabs generally is beneath us.
I think we have a target. As much as the Democrats howl when somebody suggests this, we all know that Osama bin Laden, al Quaeda, and their ilk want George W. Bush defeated, for the same reason the Ayatollah Khomeini wanted Jimmy Carter defeated. It is not to question John Kerry's patriotism (though it certainly is to question how a person who shares our outrage could possibly vote for him, given his wishy-washy record on matters of national security) when I say that he is the candidate the terrorists want to win.
We can work to see that they don't get their wish.
We can strike a decisive blow against these monsters by re-electing the one man in the world who symbolizes resistance to them: President Bush.
Let's each make a few more phone calls, ring a few more doorbells, or contribute a few more bucks. We may not be able to strike back any more directly, but each of us can do that much.
I share the outrage. I also share the frustration of my fellow Americans with the double game the Saudis have played where al Quaeda is concerned. Wahabi extremism and hatred toward the United States is preached and taught with impunity in a nation which claims to be our friend, and which is hardly under the kind of constraints with respect to dissenting viewpoints we who live in democracies must deal with.
Right now the signals from Ri'yad are mixed. On one hand, there are well-founded fears of the support al Queda has in Saudi Arabia- in no small measure due to the Royal Family's coddling of Wahabi extremism and popular anti-Americanism all these years. On the other hand, there are also reports that the Saudi government is furious, and will be coming down on the al Quaeda cell in question like the proverbial ton of bricks in the next few days. In fact, the Saudi embassy has just announced that a fire-fight is underway in the streets of Ri'yad right now with a group of terrorists who may have been involved in the Johnson murder.
One thing is clear: this is a watershed moment in the relations between the United States and the Kingdom. We will now find out whether the Saudi Royal Family are indeed our friends. Al Quaeda has not only made Saudi Arabia a new battleground, but in the recent past has actually targeted Saudi royals. The courage and resolution- as well as the capacity for survival- of the House of Saud is now being tested.
But what can we do about that rage? Our brains tell us that paving Saudi or the Sunni Triangle isn't the answer, and the fury that wants to lash out at Arabs generally is beneath us.
I think we have a target. As much as the Democrats howl when somebody suggests this, we all know that Osama bin Laden, al Quaeda, and their ilk want George W. Bush defeated, for the same reason the Ayatollah Khomeini wanted Jimmy Carter defeated. It is not to question John Kerry's patriotism (though it certainly is to question how a person who shares our outrage could possibly vote for him, given his wishy-washy record on matters of national security) when I say that he is the candidate the terrorists want to win.
We can work to see that they don't get their wish.
We can strike a decisive blow against these monsters by re-electing the one man in the world who symbolizes resistance to them: President Bush.
Let's each make a few more phone calls, ring a few more doorbells, or contribute a few more bucks. We may not be able to strike back any more directly, but each of us can do that much.
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