2007 Articles Index
America Can Be Better
February 14, 2007
Listening to the House "debate" on the nonbinding resolution this morning I heard Rep. Kay Granger (R-TX-Ft. Worth) say that there are on Iranian television cartoons for children extolling the virtues of suicide bombers. Can this be true? If so, it should not be surprising, but it is grotesque in the extreme.
She also called the nonbinding measure "at best confusing, at worst immoral", which sounds right to me. So far I'm with the crowd that says, "Either offer a real bill that does something, or stop wasting everyone's time and offering 'aid and comfort' to the enemy." I don't see what else this maneuver accomplishes aside from (1) making a public posture that will look good at the next election and (2) giving the terrorists more encouragement. I think I would like the opposition to the war to be more loyal in public, and more forceful in private.
On the other hand, as much as I believe that the threat from violent extremists is indeed "the issue of our times", I cannot help being angry with George Bush for doing so little to line up either his own nation or the nations of the world. Are we a nation at war or not? I think we're in a worse position than having to ask that question. The real question may actually be, "Are we a nation or not?"
