teisipäev, aprill 20, 2004
Freedom Loving
Bush yesterday:
Freedom frightens people who are terrorists. The worst thing that can happen to a society, if you're a terrorist, is for the society to be free. And it scares them. Remember, I told you they'll strike us because of our love for freedom. Well, they strike out because a free society is emerging in the heart of a region that is desperate for freedom and democracy.
Please tell me he doesn't really believe this. Please. Freedom frightens terrorists? Oh yeah. Those guys who flew into the World Trade Center seemed real scared of the freedom that enabled them to enter our country, take flying lessons, plot to kill thousands of Americans, board airplanes, and not break a single law until they hijacked them. And of course they killed us because of our love of freedom. Not because of our foreign policy that endorses corruption and oppression as long as its good for us and places the interests of Israel above all others. Or our constant efforts to interject ourselves into their society. Or their belief that we're trying to destroy Islam. Or the fact that they're just crazy. Nope. That's got nothing to do with it. It's all about how much we love freedom and how much they hate it.
Shouldn't it concern conservatives that this is the way Bush views terorrism? That he is so oblivious to reality that he really thinks Osama bin Laden hates the idea of freedom? How can we win the war on terror when that's our starting point? When that's the thesis that underlies our strategy? If a country's free, you can't run an obstacle course to train for terrorist attacks? You can't bring people into your basement and teach them about radical Islam? You can't make somebody want to kill Americans in a free country?
There are a lot of radical Muslims in London who would tell you otherwise. There are a lot of right-wing nutjobs right here in the US who would tell you otherwise. I vaguely recall a guy named Timothy McVeigh who blew up a federal building because he wanted more freedom than our democratic government was providing.
They don't strike out at us because we're free. They strike out at us because of the way we express that freedom. They find our culture offensive, not our freedom. They find our policies offensive, not our freedom. If the Middle East does achieve freedom and democracy, they will continue to find out culture and policies offensive. They'll just be free while doing it. Democracy isn't the silver bullet for terrorism. It's a nice idea and it looks good on a bumper sticker, but eventually, we need someone who can think a little deeper than "freedom good, terror bad."
Again, I ask, are there really people out there who are convinced by this crap?
Also, there's this:
We will never show weakness in the face of these people who have no soul.
What the fuck?
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Bush yesterday:
Freedom frightens people who are terrorists. The worst thing that can happen to a society, if you're a terrorist, is for the society to be free. And it scares them. Remember, I told you they'll strike us because of our love for freedom. Well, they strike out because a free society is emerging in the heart of a region that is desperate for freedom and democracy.
Please tell me he doesn't really believe this. Please. Freedom frightens terrorists? Oh yeah. Those guys who flew into the World Trade Center seemed real scared of the freedom that enabled them to enter our country, take flying lessons, plot to kill thousands of Americans, board airplanes, and not break a single law until they hijacked them. And of course they killed us because of our love of freedom. Not because of our foreign policy that endorses corruption and oppression as long as its good for us and places the interests of Israel above all others. Or our constant efforts to interject ourselves into their society. Or their belief that we're trying to destroy Islam. Or the fact that they're just crazy. Nope. That's got nothing to do with it. It's all about how much we love freedom and how much they hate it.
Shouldn't it concern conservatives that this is the way Bush views terorrism? That he is so oblivious to reality that he really thinks Osama bin Laden hates the idea of freedom? How can we win the war on terror when that's our starting point? When that's the thesis that underlies our strategy? If a country's free, you can't run an obstacle course to train for terrorist attacks? You can't bring people into your basement and teach them about radical Islam? You can't make somebody want to kill Americans in a free country?
There are a lot of radical Muslims in London who would tell you otherwise. There are a lot of right-wing nutjobs right here in the US who would tell you otherwise. I vaguely recall a guy named Timothy McVeigh who blew up a federal building because he wanted more freedom than our democratic government was providing.
They don't strike out at us because we're free. They strike out at us because of the way we express that freedom. They find our culture offensive, not our freedom. They find our policies offensive, not our freedom. If the Middle East does achieve freedom and democracy, they will continue to find out culture and policies offensive. They'll just be free while doing it. Democracy isn't the silver bullet for terrorism. It's a nice idea and it looks good on a bumper sticker, but eventually, we need someone who can think a little deeper than "freedom good, terror bad."
Again, I ask, are there really people out there who are convinced by this crap?
Also, there's this:
We will never show weakness in the face of these people who have no soul.
What the fuck?
