"Andrew Sullivan has a point" (spoken with tongue in cheek)

[BurtWorm]

Took me a while to catch on to this very subtly devastating attack on boneheads like Sullivan who still hold out hope for "democracy-building" alone as the best solution for terrorism:


http://americanfootprints.com/drupal/node/2735


Standing on the Beach...


Eric Martin Aug 11 2006 - 8:38pm Al Qaeda Bush Administration Democracy Iraq Islamism Terrorism

According to http://time.blogs.com/daily_dish/2006/08/the_war_and_the.html">Andrew Sullivan, the Bush/Cheney plan to "create a beach-head for modernity and democracy in Iraq" was preferable to the Democratic Party's vision for combating Islamic extremism through tracking down actual al-Qaeda operatives while relying on soft-power and the appeal of our political system and culture to out-duel radical Islamism in much the same way it defeated radical socialism during the Cold War.

I have to admit, Sullivan has a point. Because if we could create a democracy in Iraq, that would pretty much spell the end for radical Islamist terrorism. Everyone knows that, while Iraq was not a major contributor to al-Qaeda's brand of terrorism prior to the invasion, after a peaceful and democratic Iraq emerged, then Iraq really would not be a major contributor to al-Qaeda's brand of terrorism.

Further, while democracy in nearby places such as Turkey, ongoing democratic works-in-progress in Afghanistan and Indonesia, and liberal democracies in farther away places like Europe and America, might not have been enough to convince radical Muslims of its appeal, once placed in Iraq, the forces of attraction would be irresistible.

Finally, as anyone from London to Madrid could attest, democratic societies do not produce Islamist terrorists. People born in democratic societies just don't grow up to be terrorists. Democracy is simply incompatible with such notions.

Why just look at the citizenship of those involved in the Madrid bombings, the London subway/bus bombings and those apprehended in the recent foiled plot to bomb commerical aircraft departing from Heathrow. A http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/11/world/europe/11cnd-terror.html?hp&ex=1155355200&en=9a447c614b870c43&ei=5094&partner=homepage">closer inspection of the nationalities of those involved in the most recent thwarted attack reveals the immunity granted to democratic societies <emphasis added>:

...the Bank of England identified the 19 suspects by name and age. All were men between 17 and 35, and most seemed to be Muslim Britons of Pakistani descent. At least three of the suspects, though, were converts to Islam, according to residents near their homes; one of the suspects, Don Stewart-Whyte, 21, had traded a western life for an austere devotion to his new faith under the new name of Abdul Waheed.Text

Er...uh...Britons? Converts? Hmmm. Allow me to consult my notes. In the meantime, though, I should point out that at the very least, by fighting the terrorists in Iraq, we insure that we don't have to take them on elsewhere. Actually, let me get back to you on that last point too.

[BurtWorm]

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[BurtWorm]

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