Krauthammer’s Martian
…on a question of Democratic war strategy, which petulantly insists that Iraq distracts from the real war in Afghanistan.
Thought experiment: Bring in a completely neutral observer — a Martian — and point out to him that the United States is involved in two hot wars against radical Islamic insurgents. One is in Afghanistan, a geographically marginal backwater with no resources and no industrial or technological infrastructure. The other is in Iraq, one of the three principal Arab states, with untold oil wealth, an educated population, an advanced military and technological infrastructure that, though suffering decay in the later years of Saddam Hussein’s rule, could easily be revived if it falls into the right (i.e., wrong) hands. Add to that the fact that its strategic location would give its rulers inordinate influence over the entire Persian Gulf region, including Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Gulf states. Then ask your Martian: Which is the more important battle? He would not even understand why you are asking the question.
Al-Qaeda has provided the answer many times. Osama bin Laden, the one whose presence in Afghanistan (or some cave on the border) presumably makes it the central front in the war on terror, has been explicit that “the most . . . serious issue today for the whole world is this Third World War that is raging in Iraq.” Al-Qaeda’s No. 2, Ayman Zawahiri, has declared that Iraq “is now the place for the greatest battle of Islam in this era.”
And it’s not just what al-Qaeda says, it’s what al-Qaeda does. Where are they funneling the worldwide recruits for jihad? Where do all the deranged suicidists who want to die for Allah gravitate? It’s no longer Afghanistan but Iraq. That’s because they recognize the greater prize.
Topics: Afghanistan, Iraq, pols
Posted by Jules Crittenden at 8:28 am Comments (8) on Friday, March 30, 2007
8 Responses to “Krauthammer’s Martian”
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March 30th, 2007 at 9:36 am
A Martian would look at the Dhim Cong and see it as proof of alien life, not from another planet, but from another dimension where the laws governing this universe must not apply. It is the only explanation for why they seem to understand nothing about the reality in which they now live.
March 30th, 2007 at 12:03 pm
Bonus Question for the Alien “show him all the statements of the Democratic leadership and those of the intlegia of the left” Then ask simply by the statements should they be considered, un-biased nuetral, patriots, enemy supporters?
I would imagine the answer would be a curious look with “are you serious you cannot recognize your enemy? how the hell did your culture achieve what you have without such minimal survival skills?”
March 30th, 2007 at 12:33 pm
2007.03.30 Iraq/Surrendercrat Roundup
Which Is ‘The Real War’? By Charles Krauthammer [H/T: Jules C.] Our bill calls for the redeployment of U.S. troops out of Iraq so that we can focus more fully on the real war on terror, which is in Afghanistan.
March 30th, 2007 at 1:32 pm
It’s worse than that-have the Martian look over other aspects of the the battlefields: for instance-terrain. One nation is mountainous (so that many of your assets-armor for example-are of limited use), landlocked (so that resupply has to cross unstable Pakistan) and of not much strategic value. The other is relatively flat, has a nearby nation (Kuwait) that can be used as a logistical and administrative base, borders several other key sponsors of terrorism and provides for the added advantage of removing a long-time enemy of the U.S. who, at the very least, sheltered one of the 1993 WTC bombers.
I realize it is asking too much that the Dhimmicrats understand METT-TC, but I think most other sentient life would grasp this fairly quickly.
March 30th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
It has long appeared to me that the “Afghanistan not Iraq” argument was merely convenient rhetoric with which to attack the administration. This perception was confirmed when I met a Democratic party candidate for Congress. In public she made the “Afghanistan not Iraq” argument, but when she thought she was among only liberals and leftists she said that we shouldn’t have gone into Afghanistan either. Appease terrorists and lie to the voters. What a lovely combination.
March 30th, 2007 at 4:17 pm
A Martian would probably be speechless with astonishment at a people so committed to self-immolation that they refuse to believe an enemy who says point-blank “I’m going to kill you.”
March 30th, 2007 at 4:34 pm
[...] Jules Crittenden quotes a Washington Post article talking about this very question. The answer will surprise those who want us to pull out of Iraq. [...]
March 30th, 2007 at 5:39 pm
“Krauthammer’s Martian”
The preeminent Dr. Krauthammer knows, alphie?