You know the script, you've seen it all before. There is a tenuous cease-fire in place between the Israelis and the Palestinians. Then, there is a suicide bombing. Israel demands that the Palestinians live up to their obligations and stop them and stop those responsible. No one backs Israel up. Israel is accused of being "unreasonable." The Palestinians dissemble, disclaiming responsibility and, at the same time, claim they are powerless. The peace process breaks down. It's Israel's fault. And so it goes.
No longer.
LONDON (Reuters) - World powers on Tuesday demanded immediate Palestinian action to catch those behind a Tel Aviv suicide bombing that broke a fragile ceasefire with Israel.
Palestinians responded angrily to the statement by the Middle East quartet comprising the European Union, Russia, the United Nations and the United States, while Israel complained that Palestinians were failing to confront militant groups.
The quartet met on the sidelines of a London meeting on Palestinian reform hosted by British Prime Minister Tony Blair and clouded by Friday's suicide bombing of a Tel Aviv nightclub, in which five people were killed.
The group called for "immediate action by the Palestinian Authority to apprehend and bring to justice the perpetrators" and demanded "further and sustained action" against terrorism.
"We are very upset at the quartet statement," said a Palestinian official who asked not to be identified.
I bet you are.
Imagine the shocked look on this Palestinian's face when he was informed that the old game is up and it's time, finally time, for the Palis to put up or shut up.
Today's unanimous Quartet declaration is even more evidence that the President's foreign policy has carried the day and a new clarity is coming into focus with regard to Middle Eastern affairs. (emphasis mine)
Meanwhile, those who are completely UNCLEAR continue to dismiss, deny, denigrate and laugh at the obvious conclusion that Bush (yes, that "Chimpy Bushitler" that they are all so fond of)and his foreign policy have caused this to happen. Here's one sample: (hat tip: Hugh Hewitt)
But it literally never crossed my mind that Bush's fans would credit him with for this positive event, as though his pro-democracy speeches exercise some sort of rhetorical enchantment.
This is the kind of thinking, of course, that has convinced God knows how many people that Ronald Reagan personally won the Cold War. It's the old post hoc ergo propter hoc (after this, therefore because of this) logical fallacy. This is a president and an administration that chronically refuse to accept responsibility for the bad things that have happened on their watch--even things like the insurgency in Iraq that are directly attributable to its policies. Barring any specific evidence (provided, say, by Lebanese pro-democracy leaders)that Bush had anything in particular to do with Syria's setbacks in Lebanon, I see no particular reason to high-five him for being in office when they happened.
Let us congratulate the Lebanese, not those in Washington who would take credit for their accomplishments.
This Leftist Talking Point is being echoed ad nauseum (even on this blog):
If you are going to credit him with all of this then you need to credit him with the disasters as well. As far as the chimpster going down in history as a great president...let's give it a few years and see what comes out THEN we can put him in his rightful place.
Hugh Hewitt points out that
By citing to Reagan, Kilgore demonstrates that he wouldn't accept even "specific evidence (provided, say, by Lebanese pro-democracy leaders) that Bush had anything in particular to do with Syria's setbacks in Lebanon," because he won't accept specific evidence from Eastern European leaders that Reagan had anything to do with the fall of the Soviet Union
In other words, there is nothing that will convince these people that the ideas and principles that Bush elucidates to this day; that directed his actions in Afghanistan and Iraq; had anything whatsoever to do with the wave of democracy sweeping the region that they, themselves believed was immune to democratic processes. What a hoot!
This is not merely denial on their part, but a pervasive, almost desperate denial.
Just consider why they are so desperate: if IDEAS and PRINCIPLES really can have such a profound impact on BEHAVIOR--then what does that say about their ideas and principles???
I suggest the Left begin to re-assess what they are "thinking" (in psychiatry, we refer to it as "wishful thinking"). It is apparent that this "new clarity" doesn't apply to them or their highly emotional wishes.
No comments:
Post a Comment