I’m sure you’re aware of the gloating around the world by America’s enemies over the defeat of the Republicans and the firing of Donald Rumsfeld.
There are some - most notably the guys at Powerline - who think that this development reflects badly on the Democrats, that it proves the terrorists would prefer Democrats in power in the United States because they wouldn’t fight them as fiercely or that it would be easier to hit American targets.
Democrats, of course, are sputtering in anger at these charges. They should be. It calls into question their basic loyalty to America. And while it may be true that al-Qaeda thugs and the head of state of Iran both see the Democratic victory as a victory for their cause, all their crowing does is reveal their ignorance of America and Americans.
The fact is that many of our allies in Europe are also celebrating the GOP’s downfall. When friend and foe are celebrating the same thing (for different reasons) one can hardly ascribe any particular relevance to it. European ignorance of domestic American politics is almost as profound as Iran’s. What any other group or nation thinks is irrelevant to what we as Americans have to do to protect the homeland and take the war against terrorism directly to our enemies. This is a job for both Republicans and Democrats working together in a spirit of cooperation and bi-partisanship.
Ed Morrissey, in one of the most profoundly impactful post-election thoughts I’ve seen to date, gives voice to this idea. Please read the post in its entirety. A sample:
Radical Islamists want to divide Americans in order to defeat us. They will play on our differences, stoking the fires of resentment and generating more hatred between us than we have against our enemies. AQ understands that the only way they can possibly beat the US is to get us to grind to a halt with partisan warfare at home, paralyzing our ability to fight them on the battlefield and sapping our will to put them out of business. This video is transparently calculated to give enough ammunition to both sides of the political divide to do that job. Besides, if we take Abu Hamza at his word about the Democrats, then we have to take him at his word about Bush as well, and about our troops.
The partisan sniping has ceased to be germane. We’ve already had the election, and the Democrats are in charge — and they will be for two years no matter what. Obviously, we will watch closely to ensure that they do not surrender to terrorism, but I’m not going to take Abu Hamza’s word that they will before their majority session even starts. They are Americans, and Americans put them in charge, and they have earned the right to show us how they will face the enemy now that they control the agenda. If they fail, I’ll be the first to castigate them for losing ground to the terrorists. However, I’m going to base that on their actions, and not on the word of a murderous thug who couldn’t care less whether their American victims are Democrats, Republicans, Greens, Libertarians, or LaRouchists.
Does this mean I will stop criticizing Democrats for their stance on national security issues or the war? Absolutely not. And the politics of the war will still engage both sides in the dance of attack and parry. But let’s leave al-Qaeda out of our domestic politics. Things are hairy enough without inviting those gents to have a seat at the table.
3:43 pm
So you think if there had been a Democratic majority and the GOP was swept into power, Iran and AQ would be crowing about it?
Like Steyn says, Rick: strong horse and weak horse. If the Democrats prove themselves to be a strong horse, wonderful. We’ll all benefit from it. But they haven’t thus far and our enemies have noticed. It’s perfectly fair to point that out.
3:48 pm
Are they really happy or are they just playing propaganda games?
Either way it doesn’t matter. I’m not going to trim my sails or swallow my criticisms if I think the Dems are leading us to disaster.
3:53 pm
News flash: Terrorists, despots are ignorant of American ways
I was all set to write a blog post about how the apparent approval of al-Qaida, Iran and others of the Democrat victory in Tuesday’s election demonstrates only that these folks do not understand how American politics or American elections…
3:59 pm
People with a shallow understanding of American politics see it as Republicans-versus-Democrats, and the President is a Republican. So if a Democrat wins, the President loses. Zero-sum game.
These people, sadly, seem to be almost as common here as they are overseas.
The political spectrum is just that: a spectrum. It’s blurry, with as many points between party-line Democrat and party-line Republican as there are American voters. The Iranian regime doesn’t get this. At least some of us do.
4:15 pm
Rick,
I have to agree with your and Ed’s assessment of AQ intentions. Their wider goals aim to divide loyalties and promote infighting. We see this in Iraq with their largely successful instigation of Iraqi-on-Iraqi sectarian violence. They are attempting similiar strategies in Afghanistan, Pakistan and around the globe. In Muslim communities they seek to divide moderates from conservatives and equate the moderates as American/western lackey’s promoting an imperialist agenda. In many cases their strategy is working especially since many moderates in the Arab world are alread associated with despotic governments allied to the US. They’ve tried to divide Europe and other nations from the US with “peace” offers if nations will pull out of Iraq or end certain policies.
So it would not surprise me in the least if AQ applied this same strategy to domestic US politics. A radicalized and divided United States would serve them well.
4:24 pm
I don’t know. I can’t know what’s in their heads. Neither can you, although you seem pretty confident that it must be propaganda, not genuine happiness.
Here’s something I saw yesterday in the Washington Post. Given the fact that Iran has for years successfully exploited its “dialogue” with Europe to buy time for its nuke program, shouldn’t the prospect of America taking a more “European” approach be something that makes the mullahs genuinely happy?
I’ve read plenty of articles in the past few months arguing the opposite — that a U.S. attack might set back the Iranian nuclear program by a year or two at best while alienating huge swaths of that country’s otherwise pro-western population. That would make the mullahs very happy, wouldn’t it? No doubt they’d play it to the hilt propaganda-wise, too — e.g., “Iran is now united against the Great Satan” — but the fact that it’s propaganda doesn’t necessarily mean it’s not true.
Look at it from our end. When the Cedar Revolution happened in Lebanon last year, did the U.S. exploit it for propaganda purposes? Yes. Was the U.S. also genuinely happy that it was happening? Yes.
5:01 pm
I don’t hold the Democrats responsible for what the terrorists say.
I DO hold them responsible if they don’t disavow the “why” of the terrorist statements and if they aren’t clear on how they plan to be different.
IE give us a plan for winning in Iraq rather than having 60 Congressional Dems meeting with McGovern next week to plan on America’s surrender and retreat from Iraq by June.
Should I hold Dems to a different standard than I hold moderate Muslims to disavow the radical Islamists?
5:13 pm
That’s because you, and Captain Ed, are not blinded by ideological loyalty but rather honestly care about America, like many of us on the other side of the political aisle.
The taunts for al-Qaeda are silly political gestures, and to take them (the taunts) seriously is just nuts. Of course as a group they are despised, and must be destroyed. On that we all agree.
5:28 pm
Right on, Rick. Logic and honest argument is the way to go, and everyone wins from it.
5:30 pm
SteveAudio
Then please DO prove that these are mere taunts and come out clearly against them.
8:11 pm
Iraq Al Qaeda Chief Says Democrat Victory A Step In Right Direction
Update: The boasting increases as Al Qaeda claims to have 12,000 troops in Iraq and gloat they are winning.
If the ACLU saying Rumsfeld’s resignation was a step in the right direction was not enough for some people to realize it was a step in …
12:45 am
Is it really that difficult to see that a US pullback to Iraqi Kurdistan or farther from the hot zones would be a plus if you were, like, fighting Americans in the hot zone? And if you believe what key members of the two parties were saying during the election season (or polls, for that matter), Dems would be more likely to use what power they have to increase the liklihood of that happening.
So instead of AQ propaganda, maybe the Dems more accepting attitude towards retreat is itself an act, to win the favor of AQ who will see this as weakness, attack the US again, and the Dems will respond by glassing the ME. So the Dems really ARE like Hitler…..though the numbers will be Stalinesque.
2:05 am
It was the American people who put the Democrats in power in Congress on Tuesday. So, logically, I guess that means they are sympathetic to the terrorists, no?
Of course, G.W. Bush had no influence on the terrorists perception of the election when he said, “If Democrats win, the terrorists win”. Hell, our own president told them they were the big winners.
3:03 am
Darleen @ 10:
Read my comment again: Of course as a group they are despised, and must be destroyed. On that we all agree.
Is that not clear enough?
I don’t care a bit about their ravings, only their actions. Those I hate.
11:56 am
Rick,
I’m glad to see that you are getting a good deal of positive feedback for your excellent post.
It’s reassuring to see that there are people with brains out there who understand insightful and “reasonable” comments….
I agree that Ed Morrissey’s piece was outstanding as well, and he’s right on the money with this comment:
“Radical Islamists want to divide Americans in order to defeat us. They will play on our differences, stoking the fires of resentment and generating more hatred between us than we have against our enemies. AQ understands that the only way they can possibly beat the US is to get us to grind to a halt with partisan warfare at home, paralyzing our ability to fight them on the battlefield and sapping our will to put them out of business. This video is transparently calculated to give enough ammunition to both sides of the political divide to do that job.”
It’s unfortunate to see the way most of the commenters jumped all over him like a pack of hyenas at feeding time to the point where he felt he had to write TWO UPDATES, such as the following:
“UPDATE: One more time — I’m not advising that we let the Democrats do whatever they want. I’m not advising we remain silent. I’m not advising that we stop promoting our own agenda or deviate from our principles. I am advising that we base our criticisms on what the Democrats say and do rather than what Abu Hamza says about them. They have to govern now and be responsible for their agenda, and that responsibility will almost certainly force them towards the center on foreign policy and the war. When they do not act responsibly, then we must act to correct them with all due diligence.”
While it is understandable - with the election only five days past - that there are a lot of bitter people out there, it is none the less unfortunate to see them attacking respected conservative bloggers as if they had thrown in the towel and sold out their party…
It’s equally frustrating to see in many of these negative comments how the commenter begins with some statement like “We (the Republicans) have always taken the high road”….and on and on, then quickly descend to the “low road” and attack the writer.
I believe that another important point to be made here is that many of these critical comments are coming from people who are not old enough to remember and understand the tremendous power of propaganda. The in-fighting that comes from responding to every calculated tape and comment from AQ and other terrorist groups is EXACTLY what they want; it’s the basic principle of “DIVIDE AND CONQUER”
Let us not fall into this trap…
3:53 pm
[...] The screencap says it all. Captain Ed and Moran will, no doubt, be outrageously outraged. [...]
5:58 pm
Who the hell plays a propaganda game after the fact? Amazing that many disparate enemies of America manage to work together to present a united “fake” front that they’re happy with the Dems in Congress. And yet they weren’t so organized to make a propaganda effort before the election when it could have made a difference.
6:01 pm
Guys, since you talk about reaction to the Democrat’s win abroad, I just wanted to say that in Russia, where, as you probably know, in the last six years we’ve lost half of the civil liberties we had in 90-es, all the leading politicians are universally unhappy.
Their point: Republicans are pragmatic and don’t really care about human rights, democracy, freedom of speech etc., while Democrats are much more principled, and thus will probably make a lot of troubles for Putin’s Russia.
This is not propaganda, this is what they really think.
6:13 pm
They don’t care who is elected. Their goal is to make people in America hate each other, to undermine democracy, to incite fear etc. So far Fox serves as a very willing accomplice, even running the film full of terrorist propaganda several times before elections.
6:20 pm
Reasonable people will not be swayed by comments from AQ or other foreigners. The enemy should be listened to when it states its objectives. The Administration did not change hands, and I am more interested in seeing its future course. It still controls foreign policy if not the purse.
8:17 pm
[...] But, lest we offend Captain Ed and Rick Moran, we’re not going to be evil partisan snipes here. [...]