October 19, 2004

The Enemy Within

This is why George W. Bush is so clear-eyed about Al Qaeda and the Islamic fundamentalist enemy. He believes you have to kill them all. They can't be persuaded, that they're extremists, driven by a dark vision.
These are the words of former Reagan adviser Bruce Bartlett, who added
He understands them, because he's just like them.
There are two kinds of people in America today: those who comprehend that the nature of the enemy is truly evil, which cannot be persuaded but must be destroyed, and those who do not.

I am the former. Bartlett is the latter.

And, sadly, each group is now realizing that, if it is correct, the other group is as much a part of the problem as the terrorists themselves. Bartlett believes the President is as dangerous as the terrorists. I believe Bartlett is as dangerous as the terrorists.

And so we have the enemy within.

Posted by Rip Rowan in Current Affairs & Politics at October 19, 2004 08:37 AM

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Comments

The "September 10 Americans" vs. the "September 11 Americans"?

This is, perhaps, the reason for the unremitting acrimony between the major parties within our political system, and the reason there is so little actual debate.

With regard to the war, we don't simply disagree on facts. For the most part, both sides have the same information informing their decision making. What we we disagree on are fundamental principles. And neither side simply disagrees with its opponents; each holds the other in contempt.

Posted by: David Gaw [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 20, 2004 07:00 AM

Notice how subtly you each frame the division:

There are two kinds of people in America today: those who comprehend that the nature of the enemy is truly evil... and those who do not.

In other word, opposition to -- for want of a better term -- the Bush Doctrine, is tantamount to incomprehension.

The "September 10 Americans" vs. the "September 11 Americans"

Opposition to the BD is equivalent to living in the past... or worse, ignoring the most tragic moment of the past fifty years.

This is the kind of rhetoric that, consciously or unconsciously, ratchets up the acrimony.

I could propose the alternate categorization of "September 11 Americans" (those still frozen in the shock of the moment) and "September 12 Americans" (those who have processed the tragedy and look for realistic solutions)... but that would serve little purpose.

I am, of course, a "September 14 American", but that's for entirely different reasons.

Posted by: Russell Lutz [TypeKey Profile Page] at October 20, 2004 04:29 PM