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Is it possible to be fighting a war, and not know it?
Yes, according to most supporters of President Bush. This typical comment is from a Lucianne.com thread responding to the news that three Muslims in Germany have been arrested for plotting a terrorist attack on the Ramstein Air Base:
Reply 19—Posted by: Butch59, 9/5/2007 9:30:48 AMThe commenter says that we are engaged in a global war against terrorism. The reality that we are not engaged in a global war against terrorism pops out when the commenter says that everyone must wake up to the fact that we are engaged in a global war against terrorism. If we actually were engaged in such a war, would people have to be reminded of its existence?
Now it could be answered that the commenter simply misspoke, that he did not mean that we are at war with the terrorists, but that the terrorists are at war with us. But if that is the case, why do the pro-Bush fantasists almost never put it that way? They don’t say, “When are we going to wake up to the fact that Islamic terrorists are waging a war against us?” Why don’t they put it this way? Because to put it that way would be to acknowledge that we are not at present engaged in a war against Islamic terrorism, even though Islamic terrorists are most certainly engaged in a war against us. Not only would this destroy the entire raison d’etre of Bush’s presidency and the entire self-concept of his conservative supporters, but it would require these same conservatives to think about what a real war against Islamic terrorism would involve. A real war against Islamic terrorism would involve many things that would be totally unacceptable to most of the conservatives, including: (1) recognizing that Islamic terrorism is inseparable from Islam, and thus (2) recognizing that Islam itself is the enemy; (3) stopping all Muslim immigration into the West; and (4) removing a large number of Muslims who are currently in the West. Rather than face the real nature of our enemy and what we would have to do to take away his ability to harm us, it’s so much easier for the conservatives to beat their chests and talk about the “global war” we are fighting against Islamic terrorism. But their warlike mask keeps slipping, when they repeatedly call on others to “wake up” to the fact that we are fighting such a war. Email entry |