Category Archives: War

Updated Again: Webb Wallops W.

Bush, Iraq, Just War, War

Although “classless behavior” and George Bush are interchangeable (groping the German Chancellor was just one of many Bush vulgarities), the descriptive was applied, oddly enough, to his interlocutor, Sen. Jim Webb (D-VA). A “pathetic story of classless behavior” is how Webb’s recent retort to George Bush has been described by some. Reports the Washington Post:

“At a recent White House reception for freshman members of Congress, Virginia’s newest senator tried to avoid President Bush. Democrat James Webb declined to stand in a presidential receiving line or to have his picture taken with the man he had often criticized on the stump this fall. But it wasn’t long before Bush found him.

‘How’s your boy?’ Bush asked, referring to Webb’s son, a Marine serving in Iraq.

‘I’d like to get them out of Iraq, Mr. President,’ Webb responded, echoing a campaign theme.

‘That’s not what I asked you,’ Bush said. ‘How’s your boy?’

‘That’s between me and my boy, Mr. President,’ Webb said coldly, ending the conversation on the State Floor of the East Wing of the White House.”

Let’s rewind. You’d have to be a dedicated Bush bootlicker to misidentify the ignoble savage in this interaction.

Give Bush the benefit of the doubt and assume that, knowing Webb’s principled opposition to his invasion of Iraq, the president was still sincere in inquiring after Webb’s soldier son. (Bush is known as quite a spiteful and petulant man, so it’s not unreasonable to consider that he may also have been pushing Webb’s buttons.)

Webb then answered in a manner that comported with his convictions, yet still addressed Bush’s query politely (he was careful to call him “Mr. President”). What does the president do in response? He upbraids Webb and speaks down at him.

Append “boy” to end of “That’s not what I asked you,” and you get my drift ‘and Bush’s’ loud and clear.

Update: Here’s a likeminded appraisal of Jim Webb’s worth from Tom DiLorenzo, a man who has had the courage to take on a far more blood thirsty leader than Genghis Bush. My Mother, who doesn’t live on this continent, marveled the other day at how militaristic Americans are. That’s how foreigners experience us. Other American friends I have were aghast to learn that I think that, while Americans are very concerned about the well-being of fetuses, they are callous about the lives of fully formed human beings. Having experienced a couple of cultures during my life, that’s certainly been my abiding impression — there’s a glorification of death for the fatherland in the US. Scary.

Updated Again: It appears I was right. Being the bully he is, Bush was simply pushing Webb’s buttons. So reports ThinkProgress, which obtained its information from Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA):

“Bush was told that Webb’s son had a recent brush with death in Iraq and was warned to be ‘extra sensitive’ when talking to the Sen.-elect. ThinkProgress yesterday spoke with Moran’s office and confirmed the congressman’s statement, first reported by hcc in VA: Not only did Bush know about it, he was specifically briefed on the incident before meeting with Webb, and was cautioned to be extra sensitive in speaking with Webb about his son.”

I’ve always been a good judge of character. I don’t need to look into those beady, dead eyes to see the barren soul. A survey of Bush’s utterances and actions will suffice. Once again, Bush was being Bush.

‘Obsession’ By Muhammad

Islam, War

“‘Obsession’ is a new documentary about ‘Radical Islam’s War against the West.’ The unfortunate title, however, conjures a Calvin Klein fragrance, not a serious examination of the foundations of Jihad. To the faithful, Jihad is not an obsession; it’s a religious obligation. It’s not a ‘compulsive preoccupation’ with an ‘unreasonable idea or emotion,’ to follow the dictionary’s definition of ‘obsession; it’s the sixth pillar of Islam, exhorted to in over a hundred verses in the Qur’an; Jihad isn’t like a scent, picked up and chased in a pheromonal frenzy; it’s what Mohammad described as the Muslim’s highest duty.
That’s the problem with ‘Obsession’: Jihadists cite Mohammad and the Qur’an faithfully; ‘Obsession’ is mum about their muse…”

The excerpt is from my new WorldNetDaily.com column, “‘Obsession’ By Muhammad.” Comments are welcome.

'Obsession' By Muhammad

Islam, War

“‘Obsession’ is a new documentary about ‘Radical Islam’s War against the West.’ The unfortunate title, however, conjures a Calvin Klein fragrance, not a serious examination of the foundations of Jihad. To the faithful, Jihad is not an obsession; it’s a religious obligation. It’s not a ‘compulsive preoccupation’ with an ‘unreasonable idea or emotion,’ to follow the dictionary’s definition of ‘obsession; it’s the sixth pillar of Islam, exhorted to in over a hundred verses in the Qur’an; Jihad isn’t like a scent, picked up and chased in a pheromonal frenzy; it’s what Mohammad described as the Muslim’s highest duty.
That’s the problem with ‘Obsession’: Jihadists cite Mohammad and the Qur’an faithfully; ‘Obsession’ is mum about their muse…”

The excerpt is from my new WorldNetDaily.com column, “‘Obsession’ By Muhammad.” Comments are welcome.

Iraq: The Devil is in the Big Picture, Not the Details

Hillary Clinton, Iraq, Middle East, Republicans, War

Are there any limits to stupidity in politics? Not really.

Hearings on the war in Iraq this week saw Senator John McCain insist on, wait for it…more troops. Gen. John P. Abizaid, top American military commander in the Middle East, disagreed, although his innovation was to suggest that training the Iraqi military be made “more robust.” Yes, that’s right. All the Iraqis need is a bit more of what’s been worse than useless so far.

Lindsey Graham of South Carolina followed McCain’s cues—he always does. And in such undazzling company, the Hildebeest dazzled. “I have heard over and over again, ‘the government must do this, the Iraqi Army must do that’,” warbot Clinton complained to Abizaid. “Can you offer us more than the hope that the Iraqi government and the Iraqi Army will step up to the task?”

When it comes to Iraq, the pols fetishize details, hang hopes on minutia and forfeit a deeper understanding of the place and people. The devil is not in the details—more troops, or better training for Iraqis—but in the big picture. The government of Iraq doesn’t stand apart from the governed; it reflects them.

The divisions that have riven the region for four millenniums are mirrored in the current government, and will continue to hobble every successive government that hunkers down in the Green Zone, where it’ll forever be forced to take cover, incapable of governing Baghdad, much less the rest of the country.