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Jewish World Review Dec. 6, 2011 / 10 Kislev, 5772 It's stupid to treat an enemy as a friend. It's despicable to treat a friend as an enemy By Jack Kelly
http://www.JewishWorldReview.com |
It was Pliny the Elder who, in his 37-volume "Natural History," first said the ostrich, when it feels threatened, will bury its head in the sand.
Such a maneuver would, of course, do little to protect the ostrich from a predator. But, the theory goes, it made the ostrich feel better, because it could no longer see the doom descending upon it.
Pliny triggered a myth which, 2,000 years later, is still going strong. He was wrong. Ostriches don't bury their heads in the sand when a predator threatens. (Mostly they run away; sometimes they kick.)
Well, half wrong. Because among the bird-brains in Washington -- where ostriches vastly outnumber hawks and wise old owls -- the most common response to a threat is to pretend it doesn't exist.
Pretending a threat isn't threatening does not, alas, diminish the threat. Most of us realize how dangerous it is to ignore the early warning signs of cancer. The same is true of threats to national security. If detected early and dealt with promptly, usually they can be averted or ameliorated without war. But if left to mestastize, war becomes all but inevitable.
We are slouching toward war. It could be nuclear.
Our policy toward Iran has been based on two self-delusions. The first is that the mullahs don't really mean it when they scream "Death to Israel," and "Death to America."
It would be uncomfortable for us if the mullahs really do mean what they say. Alas, the evidence suggests they do. Since 1979, no nation has been responsible for more acts of terror against the U.S.
The second self delusion is based on the first. Since the mullahs can't really mean what they say about destroying the "Little Satan" and the "Great Satan," their nuclear program must be peaceful.
Both self delusions were shattered last month when the International Atomic Energy Agency reported Iran secretly has been working all along on the bomb and delivery means, and -- thanks to help from Russia and North Korea -- is very close to perfecting both.
Four years ago, two years ago, strong economic sanctions against Iran perhaps could have deterred the Mullahs, and certainly would have slowed the pace of weapons development. Now it can be slowed only by acts of war.
If you have difficulty imagining a more suicidally stupid policy than our policy toward Iran, consider our Pakistan policy. We pretend this enemy is a friend.
Pakistan is, after Iran, the world's foremost state sponsor of terrorism. The Taliban we're fighting in Afghanistan is a creation of Pakistan's Inter-Service Intelligence Agency. The Pakistani military sheltered Osama bin Laden, and provides sanctuary and logistical support to insurgents who attack U.S. troops in Afghanistan -- attacks in which Pakistani troops sometimes participate.
In response, we've given Pakistan nearly $20 billion. U.S. aid to Pakistan has doubled since President Barack Obama took office.
By treating this enemy as a friend, "the Obama administration has painted itself into a corner," said "Spengler" (David Goldman). "It cannot cajole or threaten Pakistan. On the contrary, Pakistan is threatening Washington."
It's stupid to treat an enemy as a friend. It's despicable to treat a friend as an enemy.
Israel is to blame for rising tensions in the Middle East, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Defense Secretary Leon Panetta said in recent speeches. Muslim anti-Semitism is a response to Israeli policy, said Mr. Obama's ambassador to Belgium.
Israel is being isolated from its traditional allies, Mr. Panetta said. If so, Israel is being isolated in precisely the same way Czechoslovakia was "isolated" in 1938, when Britain and France sold out their little ally in a futile effort to appease Adolf Hitler.
Two huge explosions last month at Iranian military bases suggest Israel won't go as meekly as Czechoslovakia did. So more because of than despite the Obama administration's efforts at appeasement, we may be drawn into a war for which "we're not prepared domestically, diplomatically or militarily," thinks Thomas Donnelly, director of defense studies at the American Enterprise Institute.
We have so many ostriches in Washington in part because so few of our politicos know much about foreign affairs, and so many are cowards. They quaver at the risks of treating enemies as enemies. But ultimately, the cost of treating enemies as friends is much, much greater.
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JWR contributor Jack Kelly, a former Marine and Green Beret, was a deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force in the Reagan administration.
© 2011, Jack Kelly |
Arnold Ahlert | |||||||||||
