the Centrist

 Americans do not like to be intimidated … that is part of it’s heritage, to stick up for the underdog, to right the world’s wrongs, to boldly go where … okay enough … but seriously, Americans simply disdain intimidation.  That is why I cannot help but wonder: ‘what is it with this new Iranian leader?’  He is all but calling America murderers, liars, and bullies.  Why the sudden chutzpah from a two bit tin horn, all be him oil rich, religious zealot with only a third world nation to call home.  Moreover, he is a dictator in a region of the world in which we have just won two major battles in the War on Terror. After all it took us … what … 21 days to defeat the mighty Iraqi army.  I know, I know, then we have the insurgency catapulted by al Qaeda and the nation building, but truth be told that is a ‘given’ in any armed conflict.  The only way around insurrection after conquering a nation is to take the choice away from those people by creating a colony and imposing marshal law. That kind of occupation would have taken many times the troops and many times the casualties as well as subjugated rather than free a people.
By Iran’s Mahmoud Ahmadinejad adding his voice to Venezuela’s Hugo Chavez, America’s image has plummeted.  Perhaps it is time to explore exactly what has encouraged these Third World Dictators … especially when they see Saddam in shackles every day?  I contend it is nothing more, or less, than the image of America which the press disseminates to the world 24/7.  For example when two Pulitzer Prizes are awarded the Washington Post and New York Times for revealing top secret data, that paints an image of weakness.  Rather than awarding the highest national honour in journalism, since America is at war, I contend they should have been charged with treason.  It is obvious to all, but the hopelessly inane, that these articles (secret prisons and foreign wire tapping) have put both our troops and our citizenry in grave peril. 
            But they do not get all of the credit, we should not minimize the effect ‘famous people’ have had on America’s image.  The Hollywood left add to this image daily.  For instance when Danny Glover and Harry Belafonte join American enemy in chief, Hugo Chavez, proclaiming Bush to be ‘the greatest terrorist on this earth’, America’s image is weakened. 
Enemies understand the political reality: America does not have the endurance to stay the course in any fight.  Its stamina has been sapped by a leftist ‘free press’ willing to endanger its people and bolster its enemy with unchallenged innuendo reported as fact and national security dismissed as irrelevant.  Whenever the media denigrates the image of a sitting President they disregard reality … the President’s image and the nation’s image is one and the same.  Bush Bashers over simplify the problem and the man by encompassing all of his actions in a canopy of cynicism. When asked why they ‘hate’ this president: we hear: “I don’t like the way he: smiles, smirks, walks, talks, holds his shoulders, or prays’.  I never get an answer with substance … just his physical attributes or innuendo … like ‘he knew there were no WMD’s in Iraq.’  
            Even bin Laden has felt compelled to get in on the rhetoric.  In his latest taped tirade (CNN): “It’s only a matter of time,” the voice says, referring to attacks. “They are in the planning stages, and you will see them in the heart of your land as soon as the planning is complete.”  CNN then concludes that bin Laden is most likely in Pakistan.  It is interesting to note the Democratic response after this credible threat to our homeland.  Rather than give credit to the Bush offensive that has kept America free of attack since 911we hear: “Several Democratic U.S. lawmakers on Sunday pointed to the tape as a sign that the Bush administration has wasted efforts in Iraq instead of adequately cracking down on al Qaeda.”  Perhaps we should follow the Democratic opposition to its logical conclusion, after all this is as close to a ‘plan’ as we have heard: are they saying we should not have invaded Iraq and dethroned the rapist torturing murderous monster … Saddam … we should have … what … invaded our ally Pakistan and overthrown their government in order to enhance our chances of getting bin Laden?  Rather than ideas and valid criticism Americans are subjected to this political speak in the form of personal attacks from the very same folks who refused to take custody of bin Laden on at least three different occasions during the Clinton Administration.  When our enemy hears this kind of discourse emanating from America, they tune in and stay the course, for their only hope is that they can beat America from within, because they have already proven they cannot defeat our valiant military.