Zbigniew's follies

Here we go again:

The "war on terror" has created a culture of fear in America. The Bush administration's elevation of these three words into a national mantra since the horrific events of 9/11 has had a pernicious impact on American democracy, on America's psyche and on U.S. standing in the world. .

This is really nothing but repackaged leftist mantra that says America is to blame and the only strategy is an exit strategy, but it's worth a rant. You've been warned.

OK, what difference does it make whether it's called the Global War on Terror or the global fight against extremism? Many of Mr. Brzezinski's peers would have us call the fight nothing at all, relegating terrorist acts such as 9/11 as crimes rather than acts of war. This despite the fact the 9/11 Commission reminded us that bin Laden repeatedly declared war on us through the 90s, which we met with a law enforcement response. History shows us the fruits of that endeavor.

I share the opinion that 9/11 has affected everyone in much deeper and traumatic ways than any of us are willing to admit. I know it has for me. Such is the natural reaction to seeing two 110 story buildings get struck by commercial aircraft and fall down, which can be a bit, well, terrorizing. Who out there didn't believe more was coming? Who doesn't now?

There are many parts of the American house that need to be put in order but accusing Bush of spreading fear in response to that act is quite reprehensible and demeaning to the population in general. Bush didn't create the divide in America, it was already there and quite evident during the contested elections in 2000. This pernicious (I can use that word, too) moral divide actually had been accumulating since the Reagan years. Not only that, but every war has its own "make it all go away" constituency--good leaders tend not to listen.

Mr. Brzezinski's article is not much different than his recent testimony before Congress, which suggested that Bushco started the Iraq war on false pretenses and if left unchecked would do the same with Iran. Sounds like he's spreading something right there.

One thing he didn't spread was the fact the GWoT has created a sub-culture of barking moonbats led by washed up movie stars who trash America on a daily basis. Seems an important omission, especially since he's accusing Bush of causing unnecessary fear. Fact of the matter is he should have included the many know-it-all former government officials in his laundry list of bad guys, the ones who couldn't get things right while they had the political wheel, yet who now suddenly see themselves as Gandhi.

For example, despite all his talk about how Bush screwed the pooch he failed to mention his own personal history with the Iranians. No disrespect to the men involved in the Desert One debacle, but it's doubtful that event helped our cause down the line. For all the world it looks like he's suggesting another "abort" message today, but on a larger scale.

Rant's about over. In closing, his misty-eyed pre-Iraq War reflection begs for reply:

The events of 9/11 could have resulted in a truly global solidarity against extremism and terrorism. A global alliance of moderates, including Muslim ones, engaged in a deliberate campaign both to extirpate the specific terrorist networks and to terminate the political conflicts that spawn terrorism would have been more productive than a demagogically proclaimed and largely solitary U.S. "war on terror" against "Islamo-fascism." .

Does he really believe that folks like Saddam Hussein, the Iranian Mullahs, Bashar Assad, Hassan Nasrallah, Kim Jung Il, Moahmmar Gaddafy, Fidel Castro, Hugo Chavez and the late Yassar Arafat were somehow about to transform into moderates when Bush spoiled it all by taking out Saddam? Such fantasy completely ignores the fact these tinhorns have sponsored terrorism for years and were not about to change their low-down ways. No how, no way.

Mr. Brzezinski might be well-meaning but with all due respect he's applying 30 year old solutions that didn't work to current problems while at the same time exacerbating the very same societal fracture he's accusing others of creating. I'll leave it to you to decide how much of his opinion is based on enacting political change rather than achieving any sort of victory in this global struggle.