Reaching Out to the Enemy

Let's cut to the chase--that's what Obama is doing with the new EO on GTMO and the other anti-terror stuff. That's why Obama made Abu Mazen the first call on his international rota on day one. And that's what Obama will do when he orders the withdrawal from Iraq.

Nothing unusual here, just classic liberalism at work ala Jimmy Carter, ie--be nice to the enemy and they'll be nice to us. Part of this strategy requires transforming the Tiger back into the Paper Tiger, or at least making it appear as such, which is good news for AQ based on their past glib predictions about our resolve in long wars.

Obama did address resolve during his inaugural speech but in reality he's abandoning every battlefield except Afghanistan, where we can't directly confront the main enemy due to their protected pilgrimage in Pakistan. If Petraeus can't work his magic the Afghan theater will be nearly impossible to 'win' and an eventual retreat wouldn' t be surprising at some point.

So what we have here is mainly symbolism. Liberals love it and believe it works, even though history proves it doesn't especially in regards to bloodthirsty Islamic terrorists. The only wildcard this time is the president himself; whether his color and Arabic-sounding name can make any difference remains to be seen but it certainly seems a part of the strategy.

In that vein here's the quote of the day from Congressman Young:

Young said he suggested reopening Alcatraz, the closed federal prison on an island outside San Francisco, California -- in Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi's district. "Put them in Alcatraz, where supposedly they can't escape from," Young said, but added the suggestion "didn't go over well."

Today's example of "do as I say"--there'll be another one tomorrow. Speaking of which, the "wiggle room" mentioned by Young in the torture EOs is the "Special Task Force" on renditions/interrogation, which will report back in July after everyone has forgotten. Fortunately both Hillary and Panetta will be on the panel to impart their valuable knowledge about the Clinton administration's experience starting renditions back in the 90s.