Part of the Solution or Part of the Problem?
That’s the first question that must be asked of Sen. Kerry in light of his recent travels and his op-ed in this morning’s Boston Globe. It’d difficult to make the case that he’s part of the solution considering his advocating meeting with Syria and Iran.
Lost in the shadows of Iraq, the struggle to save the fragile democracy born of the Cedar Revolution has reached a moment of truth. If America does not act now, this key front in the broader struggle between moderates and extremists for the future of the Arab world will be lost, and the consequences will long be felt throughout the region. The radicals’ ambitions for overthrow move from Prime Minister Fouad Siniora in Lebanon to President Mahmound Abbas in Ramallah to Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki in Iraq. They are determined to achieve a clean sweep.
Sen. Kerry’s words wouldn’t ring so hollow if he hadn’t visited Bashar al-Assad in Damascus. Sen. Kerry’s words wouldn’t ring so hollow if he hadn’t advocated meeting with Iran. Doesn’t he know that they’re the source of the region’s troubles? What does he think can be accomplished through appeasement? After all, that’s what his policies amount to.
The Siniora administration wouldn’t be endangered if not for Syria’s and Iran’s funding of Hezbollah in Lebanon. The more this idiot talks, the more he grates on my nerves. He’s a legend in his own mind. He needs someone to tell him that he’s the emperor ‘modeling’ his new clothes. He needs to be told that he’s making a fool of himself.
Anyone who has longed for a George Washington or Thomas Jefferson to emerge and lead the fight for democracy in the Middle East should come to Beirut and meet the patriots who have made incredible sacrifices for a free and independent Lebanon.
There is the son of slain former prime minister Rafiq Hariri. There is the Cabinet minister whose husband was assassinated soon after becoming president, and the minister of defense, who after 12 surgeries still bears the scars of an assassination attempt. There is the mother of recently slain 34-year-old Lebanese parliamentarian Pierre Gemayel, who said to me simply: “We pay a high price for sharing what you believe in,” and ask yourself whether we are paying her the debt owed for our shared beliefs.
Actually, Sen. Kerry would do well to recognize that President Bush deserves credit for giving the Siniora administration a fighting chance in that region. His policy of regime change was the biggest fueling event in the region. Otherwise, we’d have another Iranian proxy there already, with Syrian troops still patrolling the streets of Beirut and launching missiles into Israel from the region south of the Litani River.
Unfortunately, there’s no reason to believe that Sen. Kerry will learn that he’s part of the problem, not part of the solution. Sen. Kerry is a pacifist who won’t fight wars. He’ll instead advocate endless diplomacy until diplomacy is meaningless. He’s a carrot and stick guy as long as the stick is never threatened. Shame on him for such a foolish policy.
To provide the support he needs, we must recognize and adapt to the new realities on the ground. We’ve lost 3,000 American lives and invested more than $300 billion in hopes of forcibly birthing democracy in Iraq, while largely ignoring Lebanon, where democratic institutions already have a foothold. Success there, and across the Middle East, ultimately depends more on winning over civilian populations with basic goods and services than defeating armies with sophisticated weapons and technology.
You can’t have meaningful investment in these efforts if you aren’t willing to first rid the region of thugs. Otherwise, we’re just adding technology to the terrorist’s infrastructure. No thanks. Sen. Kerry’s world is an either/or world. You don’t need militaries; you need diplomats.
Sen. Kerry would be wise to realize that America was founded amidst great bloodshed. It didn’t happen because our Founding Fathers’ first step was negotiating an agreement with the King of England. It happened because we fought to the death against a tyrant’s military.
Sen. Kerry might not want to admit that but that’s the truth of the matter.
Perhaps that’s why he refuses to acknowledge the foolishness of his ways. Fools never learn, do they?
Technorati Tags: John Kerry, President Bush, Fouad Siniora, Iran, Syria, Hezbollah, Military, National Security, Patriotism, Revolutionary War
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
January 4th, 2007 at 8:27 am
[...] Cross-posted at California Conservative Categories: Military, National Security, Iran, Terrorism, President Bush, Foreign Policy, Patriotism, Middle East, Appeasement | [...]