Clicking on banner ads keeps JWR alive
Jewish World Review Oct. 29, 2001 / 12 Mar-Cheshvan, 5762

Debra J. Saunders

Debra J. Saunders
JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Marianne Jennings
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Michelle Malkin
Chris Matthews
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Sam Schulman
Amity Shlaes
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports

Give war a chance

http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com -- IT is too fitting that anti-war types choose to protest U.S. military actions as they carry signs declaring themselves to be "Hate-Free Zones.''

After all, their focus is not on the 5,000-plus dead civilians killed by al Qaeda thugs, or the chilling prospect of militant extremists spreading a swath of death across the globe in a jihad against "infidels.'' It's all about their feelings. Their superior feelings.

All bow because they experience doubt, sadness, revulsion toward the "haters'' -- then manage to throw in a kind word about the Afghan civilians for whom they claim to be champions.

Because they are so special, others should not rain on their orgy of self-congratulation. As columnist Bob Scheer writes, Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Calif., the Berkeley City Council and other peaceniks "should be congratulated, not vilified.''

So, when Berkeley criticizes American policies, it is being patriotic. When others criticize Berkeley, they are -- and I am, according to some e-mailers -- acting in a manner "unAmerican.''

Instead of criticizing the breathtaking idiocy of people who believe you can fight genocidal brutes in a court, right-minded people are supposed to be bowled over by the "courage'' of anti-war types. Scheer writes of the need for dissenters to "gather the courage'' to criticize U.S. policies.

Imagine, 343 New York firefighters and 23 New York cops died in a steel and cement inferno desperately trying to save other lives. Across America, soldiers are suiting up for battle in a faraway place. Their parents, spouses and children are steeling themselves as their reluctant and beloved warriors venture toward battle in order to keep this land free and brave.

Yet, the peaceniks dare call themselves courageous -- for being anti-war in Berkeley.

Shall we have a moment of silence?

The other big crock is the peacenik claim that their protests make America stronger.

Wrong. America is free be cause it protects dissent. Dissent doesn't create freedom, but it is an essential byproduct of freedom.

Today, dissent doesn't make America more free, it only proves something we already knew -- that people are free to express dissenting opinions. And while I defend the free-speech rights of peaceniks to dissent against the war effort, I do so knowing that protests, if anything, may make America seem less inclined to fight back as needed. That only bolsters al Qaeda.

Right now, there are thugs skulking in Afghan mosques and hiding behind women and children. They are united. They are organized. They are not hobbled by protests against killing civilians. To the contrary, it is their mission to kill civilians.

You don't defeat these thugs with more hand-wringing about civilian casualties -- especially when Pentagon brass already tries to avoid killing innocents. You don't defeat these thugs by calling for measures that may hamper the ability of U.S. troops to protect themselves. You don't defeat Terror by telling an already cautious Pentagon to do less damage.

If America wins this war, it will be because of unity and resolve. If we win, it will be thanks to citizens who put aside their sensibilities and their differences to fight a common foe.

Of course, the peaceniks are free to say otherwise, but they should know that theirs is a cheap thrill. While they're on their pedestals, others are doing the dirty work needed to protect their democracy. Safe in the bosom of Berkeley or San Francisco, they can protest, secure in the knowledge that other people -- most likely less educated than they are, if wiser -- will march off to battle and perhaps forfeit their lives to protect this great nation from homicidal fanatics who don't squelch dissenters -- they kill them.


Comment JWR contributor Debra J. Saunders's column by clicking here.


Up


10/26/01Airline bill needs liftoff
10/22/01 The Riordan Principle
10/19/01 Before America gets tired of the war on terrorism
10/17/01 Patriot games
10/15/01 I was a 'McCainiac,' and I have seen the light
10/12/01 University of Censorship's fall semester
10/11/01 Poor little rich boy, Osama
10/07/01 Don't feed Israel to the beast
10/05/01: bin Laden is not our Frankenstein monster
10/04/01: Where no man has gone before
09/26/01: Who's bloodthirsty?
09/26/01: What's to understand?
09/20/01: Barbara Lee's line in the sand
09/14/01: You gotta love this country
09/13/01: ENTER TERROR
09/11/01: You can't clone ethics
09/06/01: NOW's goal: equal rights for women without equal responsibility
08/30/01: What's love got to do with it?
08/24/01: A clean, well-lighted place for junkies
08/20/01: Bush should stand up for justice
08/08/01: Don't give Peace (Dept). a chance
08/03/01: Lose a kid, pass a law
08/01/01: Welcome to France, killers
07/30/01: Why it's easy being green (in Europe)
07/26/01: If disabled means expendable
07/23/01: Condit should not resign
07/18/01: Feinstein should learn her limit
07/16/01: A drought of common sense
07/13/01: The catalog has no clothes
07/05/01: It's Bush against the planet
07/03/01: The man who would be guv
06/29/01: Wheeled, wired and free
06/27/01: O, fearful new world
06/25/01: End HMO horrors
06/21/01: Either they're dishonest or clueless
06/18/01: Freedom is a puff of smoke
06/15/01: In praise of going heavy: Yes, you can take it all
06/13/01: McVeigh: 'Unbowed' maybe, but dead for sure
06/11/01: Gumby strikes back
06/08/01: Los Angeles' last white mayor?
06/07/01: Kids will be kids, media will be media
06/04/01: Draw a line in the sand
05/30/01: Just don't call him a moderate
05/29/01: Operation: Beat up on civil rights
05/24/01: Of puppies, kittens and huge credit-card debts
05/22/01: Bush needs an energy tinkerbell
05/18/01: Divided we stand, united they fall
05/16/01: Big Bench backs might over right
05/15/01: Close SUV loophole
05/11/01: Kill the test, welcome failure
05/09/01: DA mayor's disappointing legacy
05/07/01: If it ain't broken ...
05/03/01: They shoot civilians, don't they?
04/30/01: Executions are not for prime time
04/12/01: White House and the green myth
04/10/01: The perjurer as celeb
04/04/01: Bush bashers don't know squat
04/02/01: Drugging our oldsters
03/30/01: Robert Lee Massie exercises his death wish
03/28/01: Cheney's nuclear reactor
03/26/01: Where California and Mexico meet
03/16/01: Boy's sentence was no accident
03/14/01: Soft money, hard reform
03/12/01: Banks, big credit lines and consumer bankruptcy
03/09/01: Free speech dies in Berkeley
03/02/01: When rats have rights
02/28/01: Move a frog, go to jail?
02/26/01: They knew they'd get away with it
02/20/01: How Dems define tax fairness
02/16/01: The jackpot casino Carmel tribe?
02/14/01: You can fight school success
02/12/01: Hannibal -- with guts this time
02/08/01: A family of jailbirds
02/05/01: Reality's most demeaning TV moments
02/01/01: Justice for the non-Rich
01/26/01: Hail to the chiefs of D.C. opinion
01/24/01: A day of mud and monuments
01/22/01: Diversity, division, de-lovely D.C.
01/19/01: Parties agree: Give back the money
01/17/01: Get tough with the oil companies, or forget pumping more Alaskan crude
01/15/01: Mineta better pray that no attending confirmation senator has ever driven to San Jose during rush hour
01/12/01: Europeans should look in the mirror
01/10/01: Dems' reasons for dissin' Dubya's picks
01/08/01: Jerry, curb your guru
01/03/01: A foe of Hitler and friend of Keating
12/28/00: Nice people think nice thoughts
12/26/00: The Clinton years: Epilogue
12/21/00: 'Tis the season to free nonviolent drug offenders 12/18/00: A golden opportunity is squandered
12/15/00: You can take the 24 years, good son
12/13/00: Court of law vs. court of public opinion
12/08/00: A salvo in the war on the war on drugs
12/06/00: Don't cry, Butterfly: Big trees make great decks
12/04/00: Florida: Don't do as Romans did
11/30/00: Special City's hotel parking ticket
11/27/00: No means yes, yes means more than yes
11/22/00: The bench, the ballot and fairness
11/20/00: Mendocino, how green is your ballot?

© 2000, Creators Syndicate