- Joined
- Dec 14, 2005
- Messages
- 1,704
- Reaction score
- 10
- Location
- New Hampshire
- Gender
- Male
- Political Leaning
- Very Conservative
It does not take a degree in military tactics to discover what the insurgents already know: no resistance made up of a few thousand guerillas can win a war against the Iraqi majority backed up by the resources, training, and might of the U.S. military.
There is one way, however, for the Islamic radicals to win. They can win the war in the American mind. This is where the left fits into bin laden’s tactical scheme. Bin Laden recognizes that Al Qaeda by itself cannot destroy America’s will to resist. It is impossible for bin Laden to persuade the American people to get out of Iraq. He relies on other American to undertake this psychological mission. To bin laden’s unbelievable good fortune, there is a group in the United States dedicated to precisely this task. The left is Al Qaeda’s secret weapon in the campaign for American public opinion. As bin Laden knows, the left has already succeeded once, in Vietnam. Here again, in Iraq, the left is laboring for a similar outcome, a Saigon-style evacuation by the U.S. military.
Remember that Vietnam was a defeat for the American armed forces, but it was a victory for the political left. It was a victory in the sense that the left demanded that America accept humiliation and withdraw, and America accepted humiliation and withdrew. The left sought the ’liberation’ of Vietnam, and Vietnam was ’liberated.’ This outcome turned out to be very bad for the people of Indochina, who suffered unimaginable horrors following the U.S. pullout. First, the antiwar cause unified the left. As we discover from histories of the period, opposition to Vietnam brought together the foreign policy left and the cultural left, so that devotees of Ho Chi Minh and devotees of hallucinogenic drugs all marched together against the war. Second, the outcome in Vietnam decimated the political influence of the right. Not only did America’s defeat corrode the morale of the American military, but it also undermined patriotism and traditional values in America. The Nixon presidency was further crippled, and a new generation of liberal Democrats was elected to Congress in 1974. Finally, the left’s triumph in Vietnam paid handsome social dividends. It greatly bolstered the counterculture, giving added impetus to women’s liberation, gay rights, and the sexual revolution. So from the left’s point of view, Vietnam was not only a foreign policy success but also a cultural success. Therefore, for this group, the prospect of “another Vietnam” is an outcome that is eagerly anticipated.
Since the left is determined for its own reasons to ensure that America loses the war on terror, it becomes a natural ally for bin Laden. Together they form what may be termed the liberal-Islamic alliance against American foreign policy. Like the left, the Islamic radicals realize they are teaming up with “infidels” and they have no qualms about doing so. In Iraq, for example, Al Qaeda has shown no hesitation in making common cause with Saddam Hussein’s Baathist infidels. Bin Laden calls it a “convergence of interests.” Both are fighting against the Americans, and so they find themselves on the same side. By the same token, bin Laden and his followers believe they can work together with America’s left. Both are fighting against Bush’s war on terror, and so there is another “convergence of interests.”
There is one way, however, for the Islamic radicals to win. They can win the war in the American mind. This is where the left fits into bin laden’s tactical scheme. Bin Laden recognizes that Al Qaeda by itself cannot destroy America’s will to resist. It is impossible for bin Laden to persuade the American people to get out of Iraq. He relies on other American to undertake this psychological mission. To bin laden’s unbelievable good fortune, there is a group in the United States dedicated to precisely this task. The left is Al Qaeda’s secret weapon in the campaign for American public opinion. As bin Laden knows, the left has already succeeded once, in Vietnam. Here again, in Iraq, the left is laboring for a similar outcome, a Saigon-style evacuation by the U.S. military.
Remember that Vietnam was a defeat for the American armed forces, but it was a victory for the political left. It was a victory in the sense that the left demanded that America accept humiliation and withdraw, and America accepted humiliation and withdrew. The left sought the ’liberation’ of Vietnam, and Vietnam was ’liberated.’ This outcome turned out to be very bad for the people of Indochina, who suffered unimaginable horrors following the U.S. pullout. First, the antiwar cause unified the left. As we discover from histories of the period, opposition to Vietnam brought together the foreign policy left and the cultural left, so that devotees of Ho Chi Minh and devotees of hallucinogenic drugs all marched together against the war. Second, the outcome in Vietnam decimated the political influence of the right. Not only did America’s defeat corrode the morale of the American military, but it also undermined patriotism and traditional values in America. The Nixon presidency was further crippled, and a new generation of liberal Democrats was elected to Congress in 1974. Finally, the left’s triumph in Vietnam paid handsome social dividends. It greatly bolstered the counterculture, giving added impetus to women’s liberation, gay rights, and the sexual revolution. So from the left’s point of view, Vietnam was not only a foreign policy success but also a cultural success. Therefore, for this group, the prospect of “another Vietnam” is an outcome that is eagerly anticipated.
Since the left is determined for its own reasons to ensure that America loses the war on terror, it becomes a natural ally for bin Laden. Together they form what may be termed the liberal-Islamic alliance against American foreign policy. Like the left, the Islamic radicals realize they are teaming up with “infidels” and they have no qualms about doing so. In Iraq, for example, Al Qaeda has shown no hesitation in making common cause with Saddam Hussein’s Baathist infidels. Bin Laden calls it a “convergence of interests.” Both are fighting against the Americans, and so they find themselves on the same side. By the same token, bin Laden and his followers believe they can work together with America’s left. Both are fighting against Bush’s war on terror, and so there is another “convergence of interests.”