I was trying to think of a better title pun, but I don’t have much time [Excuses, excuses.-ed.] and did want to add my voice to that of others to say how disturbing I found the censorship of Mark Steyn by The Telegraph… and not just because I agreed with Mark’s piece, which does have a witty title (yes, for a grisly event) – The Quality of Mersey. Normally The Telegraph cannot be accused of holding back on matters regarding the WoT and I take this as more of a sign of the deteriorating atmosphere in the UK than of the paper’s own demarche.
Apropos of deteriorating conditions, I just this minute received via email the following dispatch from Ed Koch:
Many members of the New Labor Party in Britain would like to bring down Tony Blair because his philosophy and actions in support of the war in Iraq are in accord with those of President Bush. On this issue, Tony Blair’s opponents are the intellectual descendants of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain, who, until the very end when Hitler marched into Poland, sought to placate the Nazi dictator, foolishly believing that negotiations could achieve peace with Germany, safety for the world, and in Chamberlain’s words, “peace in our time.” Now Chamberlain’s name is a synonym for appeasement.
In Australia, a similar battle for the hearts and minds of Aussies over the war in Iraq and the approach to international terrorism ended with the reelection by a larger majority of Prime Minister John Howard, a fervent supporter of the war in Iraq and an advocate of the Bush Doctrine which targets the terrorists as well as those who harbor them.
If Senator John Kerry is elected, I have no doubt our determination to hunt down terrorists who threaten the security, not only of the U.S., but of our allies, will diminish. Terrorists have had major successes in imposing their demands on nations like Spain, the Philippines and Turkey, all of which have given in to terrorist threats by removing military or civilian personnel from Iraq.
We are in a war with Islamic fanatics willing to sacrifice their lives in a way not seen since Japan sent Kamikaze pilots against the allies in World War II, except that the Kamikazes attacked only military targets. Their stated goal is the revival of the Islamic Caliphate that once ruled a major part of the world. They seek to destroy not only Western civilization, which they despise, but also moderate Muslim governments like those of Egypt, Indonesia, Jordan and even Saudi Arabia, because those countries want to maintain good relations with the U.S.
Senator Kerry continues to suggest that the U.S. could get greater support from European nations if they were given a role in our decision-making. We can be certain the first demand the European Union would make of him would be for the U.S. to abandon Israel and allow the European Union led by France to dictate the terms of a Middle East settlement, including the borders of Israel. Without the U.S. support provided by President Bush, Israel would quickly be devoured by these Europeans whose only interest is to expand their business relations with the Muslim world.
When I make these points to my fellow Democrats living in the battleground states of Pennsylvania, Florida and Ohio (the latter of which I will be visiting this week) they respond, “yes, but we disagree with the president on so many domestic issues.” I, too, disagree with the president on every major domestic issue from taxes to Social Security. Yet I believe those issues are trumped by the overriding need to defeat international terrorism, the biggest threat to our freedom.
What he said.
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