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February 10, 2012
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David G. Savage: Why activists may not be in a hurry to have High Court rule on alternative marriage
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Kimberly Palmer: How to actually enjoy -- relaxing, financially -- your vacation
February 8, 2012
Warren Richey: Why momentous Prop. 8 ruling might not satisfy gay-rights groups
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The Kosher Gourmet byDana Velden: Going to the bother of making soup? You know it better be good. This CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP certainly is! And it's a cinch to make, too (Includes techinques and serving secrets)
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February 6, 2012
Jonathan Tobin: Iran Threatens Israel With Destruction, But the New York Times Doesn't Hear It
Jeffrey Fleishman: In newly democratic Egypt, tens of democracy activists jailed, to stand trial; their groups are 'threatening the stability of the homeland'
Julie Deardorff : Researchers say antioxidants may not be that effective and could do more harm than good
Mark Clayton: How did Anonymous hackers eavesdrop on FBI and Scotland Yard?
February 3, 2012
Edmund Sanders : Israeli official says Iran is creating missile that could reach East Coast of US
Victoria Kim: Immigrant-smuggling ring used black drivers to avoid racial profiling
February 2, 2012
Jim Carney: Wrong number call may have saved her life
Reza Kahlili : Ex-CIA spy in Iran's Revolutionary Guard: What Obama doesn't grasp about striking deals with Tehran
Tina Susman: For woodchuck rescuer, every day is Groundhog Day
February 1, 2012
Brian Bennett: US officials see increasing threat of domestic attack from Iran
Emily Brandon: How to Take Advantage of New 401(k) Fee Disclosures
January 31, 2012
January 30, 2012
Paul Richter and Ramin Mostaghim: Misreading Teheran's limits -- deadly and economically devastating as they may be -- is a risk administration, Europe seem willing to take
Suzanne Bohan: Warning: Nap-deprived tots missing more than sleep, study finds
Meg Handley: Banks Revamping Rewards Programs to Woo Customers
January 27, 2012
Caroline B. Glick: Obama: Of course I intend to prevent a nuclear holocaust . . . in a few months
Yochonon Donn: In liberal New York City, fervently-Orthodox Jews may soon be getting a district to call their own
Jeannine Stein: An inflated ego and thinking you're 'all that' doesn't just make others sick of you, it can make you ill
Katy Hopkins: New budget rules may affect how much money you get for college
January 26, 2012
Ed Koch: To the New York Times, calling for the murder of Jews by those capable of having their incitement taken seriously isn't news
Jeannine Stein: Mental illness struck one in five U.S. adults in 2010: Report
January 25, 2012
Richard Simon: House passes two bills endorsing the use of religious symbols at military memorials
Fred Weir: Putin: Multiethnic Russia cannot survive as a US-style 'melting pot'; must find its own way
Susan Johnston: 5 Sneaky Coupon Strategies Consumers Should Watch Out For
January 24, 2012
Carol Clark: The price of your soul: How your brain decides whether to 'sell out'
Caroline B. Glick: America lost most in 'Arab Spring'. Sadly, many voters still don't grasp the extent
Warren Richey: Drug criminal scores win in GPS ruling from conservative-leaning high court
Erika Bolstad: Black conservatives gather to talk about gaining strength
January 23, 2012
Melissa Dribben: Jewish voters to play a key role in Florida's Republican primary
Jordan Rau: In quest to grow, Catholic hospital system will announce this morning its break from church
Ali Safi: U.S. envoy gives Taliban terms for peace talks
January 19, 2012
January 18, 2012
January 17, 2012
Frank J. Gaffney Jr.: No-kidding red lines: U.S. response to an Iranian nuke may be bluster, but Israel's won't be
David G. Savage: They sued their principals after slandering them online --- now the cases are headed to the Supreme Court
David Francis: Where to Invest in 2012: With stocks expected to rebound, opportunity abounds for investors
January 13, 2012
Ben Lynfield: Israeli lawmakers move to annex Jewish Judea, one museum at a time
Alexia Elejalde-Ruiz: Thriving through touch: Gentle massage helps older people with low mobility improve in mind and body
January 12, 2012
Warren Richey: Landmark Supreme Court ruling a 'resounding win' for religious groups
Warren Richey: Supreme Court says no to new rule on eyewitness testimony
John Fauber : Statins found to raise diabetes risk in postmenopausal women
Katy Hopkins : Consider This Before You Pay for an Online Degree
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January 11, 2012
Shari Roan: Millions of atrial fibrillation sufferers at risk for devastating, but preventable, stroke
Tom Hussain: Pakistan -- recipient of more than $21 billion in civilian and military aid -- speeds pursuit of Iranian pipeline, defying US
David G. Savage: High court signals it won't be loosening TV's 'indecency' rules
Stephen Ceasar: Oklahoma's Islamic law amendment can't go into effect, court rules
January 10, 2012
Reza Kahlili: From an ex-CIA spy: US must exploit new split in Iran's Revolutionary Guard
Karen Kaplan: Study: Nicotine replacement products ineffective when used in real-life situations
January 9, 2012
Michael Doyle: Put through legal hell over dream home, couple fought back hard --- all the way to Supreme Court
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Jewish World Review
Nov. 3, 2006
/ 12 Mar-Cheshvan, 5767
Just plain stuck
By
Diana West
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
John Kerry's "joke" about losers getting stuck in Iraq added zilch, obviously, to any debate. But it triggered political adrenaline pundits say could boost GOP (Kerry-disgusted) turnout. This, in turn, could boost Democratic (Hate-Bush) turnout. Which makes the electorate sound like opposing flocks of geese, irritably voluble and confused.
Emphasis on confused. Americans are confused about Iraq. They are confused about Iraq because Republicans, from the White House on down, haven't figured it out, haven't girded themselves to burst through the PC filters to grasp that Islam is the insurmountable obstacle to remaking Iraq as a Western-style state, and to shift our strategy in the region from being emphatically pro-democracy to being emphatically anti-jihad the best strategy for all fronts in the "war on terror."
Since it's the GOP, in effect, that wages war (contemporary Democrats are hopeless at it), Republican confusion about Iraq explains why Republican control of Congress is slipping. It also explains why a sinking feeling is the emotion that best characterizes this election. In a way, conservative disgust at John Kerry, the embodiment of utter Democratic ineptitude when it comes to national security, is a welcome overlay.
Meanwhile, the American experience in Iraq becomes surreal. U.S. military trainers tell The Washington Post they have trained an Iraqi police force of which 70 percent is infiltrated by militias, mainly from the so-called Mahdi Army of Moqtada al-Sadr. And who in Iraq cares? The police chief of Baghdad is likely a Mahdi Army man, while the minister of the interior belongs to Moqtada al-Sadr's political bloc. In other words, it's High Noon in Baghdad, 24-7.
There's more. "The American soldiers and civilians who train the Iraqis are constantly on guard against the possibility that the police might turn against them," the Post reports. "Even in the police headquarters for all of western Baghdad, one of the safest police buildings in the capital, the training team will not remove their body armor or helmets. An armed soldier is assigned to protect each trainer."
This isn't just surreal, it's insane. As one trainer put it: "We don't know who the hell we're teaching. Are they police, or are they militia?"
Good question, fella. But no one Stateside has an answer unless Condoleezza Rice's prattle about "the ideology of hate" (her vacuous phrase for Islam's more violent manifestations) ultimately losing to "the ideology of hope" (the stuff we're supposed to provide) constitutes an answer. She makes it sound as if what Sadr City really needs is a good Head Start program only don't forget the body armor.
Oh, for the days when Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers Douglas MacArthur successfully ordered enemy commanders to disarm 250,000 vanquished troops on mainland Japan. But Iraq is not Japan, a historical example the Bush administration has used to show the beneficial results of American occupation on a former enemy namely, an enlightened constitution underlying an enduring democracy. What goes unmentioned is that before Gen. MacArthur basically wrote that enlightened constitution, Japan was completely devastated, with more than 1.2 million Japanese killed in action in the final years of fighting, with 670,000 civilians perishing in Allied bombings. Islam aside, Iraq's relatively carnage-free liberation (and unsecured borders) made for a dangerously adversarial occupation.
So what is Iraq like? Not South Vietnam or not in the way Henry Kissinger is reportedly counseling the president. (There is a disastrous resemblance to Vietnam in Iraq's porous borders to terrorist sanctuaries in Iran and Syria.) When Kissinger says victory is the only meaningful exit strategy, it's as if he's reliving an American defeat in Vietnam suffered ultimately at the hands of a Congress that would no longer fund our Saigon ally. But does the United States have in Iraq a pro-American ally like South Vietnam for whom to stay the course or, for that matter, to pull the plug on? No. We have Al Qaeda-sympathizing Sunnis and Iran-sympathizing Shi'ites, which sounds like an eminently exploitable Sino-Soviet-style split in the making.
This is hardly to suggest we have no strategic interests in the region a condition that would justify Democratic plans for speedy withdrawal. But Democrats, both by temperament and philosophy, seem incapable of figuring out what they are. And when it comes right down to it, not getting it at all (Democrats) is worse than not getting it right (Republicans). Which is probably one of the odder reasons to vote Republican. But it's better than being stuck with the party of John Kerry, in Iraq or anywhere else.
Every weekday JewishWorldReview.com publishes what many in Washington and in the media consider "must reading."
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JWR contributor Diana West is a columnist and editorial writer for the Washington Times. Comment by clicking here.
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