Tuesday, June 06, 2006

The Times say terrorism, not America, is the threat.

Folks,

That's the London Times which headed its editorial:

The wrong target

Terrorism, not America, is a real and present threat to our freedoms
Sorry if my post title led you to wonder even for an instant whether the New York Times expressed such sentiments.

Of course, it didn't.

The London Times' editorial begins :
Al-Haditha, a town on the Euphrates northwest of Baghdad, is still a place where fighters blend into the populace and literally use civilians as cover. Coalition forces may shoot only when threatened, ground rules that call for exemplary discipline and courage in conditions where their observance increases the risk of injury or death.

That should be acknowledged in the context of what appears to have been an appalling collapse of US military discipline in al-Haditha, where 24 Iraqi civilians were allegedly murdered by a company of US Marines after a member of their patrol was killed and two were injured by a roadside bomb.

America’s determination to demonstrate zero tolerance of such crimes should also be acknowledged; they in no way reflect US policy, or typify the conduct of American forces. Al-Haditha must not be made the subplot of a spurious morality play whose demon king is not terrorism, but the use and alleged abuse of US power. (bold added)
Whether you're politically left, center or right, you'd never expect to read anything like what you've just read in a NY Times editorial, would you?

There's no Bush-bashing, no "Rumsfeld is responsible," nothing about "our out of control military," and certainly no cries of "America's shame."

In fact, the London Times editorial is downright admiring of America, isn't it?

Its editorial continues :
America-bashing is in fashion as it has not been since Ronald Reagan accurately described the Soviet Union as an “evil empire”. Anti-Americanism is not confined to the usual radical chic suspects of the Left; in Britain, it infects the High Tory Establishment, “good Europeans” and little Englanders alike. So why are we all anti-Americans now? [...]
The Times overstates it when it asks: "So why are we all anti-Americans now?"

Not all British people are anti-American. In fact, a lot of those I meet in the UK when I visit there about twice a year are outright pro-American. They think Britain’s future is tied closely to America's.

Now, for sure, that's not the way most UK journalists and Church of England deans to say nothing of almost all formally educated academic anti-Semites think.

And such people and others like them may well constitute a majority in the UK.

But it's worth remembering there are many people in the UK who don't bash America and, in fact, admire it.

It will be such people there and elsewhere who will help win the fight for civilization.

The rest of the London Times editorial is here.

If you read it, I'd love to know what you think.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

amazing.... also amazing that in my opinion newpapers and journalists reputations are falling faster down the totem pole of respect than can be measured.

Anonymous said...

I travel a fair bit and, while I do not behave in a politically agressive fashion, and certainly do avoid the topic, if it is brought up I am unapologetic.

I figure if I've tried to avoid the topic all together and then tried to pass it off with vague generalities and they refuse to let it go, then I'm going to give them a lecture on federalism, the first/second/fourth amendment, and probably make a passing reference to the second world war and the cold war.

I find few people bring it up twice. :-)

-C

Anonymous said...

I'm an American who has been living in England for the past two and a half years. While not everyone can described as anti-American, I would say the majority are. It never fails to amaze me the comments people feel free to make to me in order to use me as their whipping girl expecting me to answer for everything they don't like about my country. What these ignorant hypocrites fail to see is that nearly every fault they see in America can be easily found in their own society. I know Americans have a reputation for being arrogant but since I've been in this country I've never met so many smug, arrogant people in all my life and I can't wait to come home!

JWM said...

To all 3 anons,

Good comments.

I want to give each a thoughtful response but I'm in haste now.

I'll put responses here late tonight US Eastern time.

I hope you come back tomorrow around 9 a. m. Eastern, take a look and comment as you wish.

John

JWM said...

Anon. beginning with "amazing ..."

I agree.

Anon. "I travel a fair bit and"

Bringing up WW II and the Cold War does get some folks to thinking.

I like people who speak up for the USA.

Anon "I'm an American who has been"

I hope I didn't suggest there isn't anti-Americanism over there because there is.

What I was saying is that at least in my experience there are also a lot of people over there who like and admire America and Americans.

But boy are you ever right about some who just can't say enough bad about America.

Compared to you I may also be lucky in this regard: I'm a traveler. So when I made a sharp remark to a Church of England Dean a while back I was on my way while his face was still as red as the silk robe he was wearing when I called him for posturing about those with no places to sleep when he had a deanery with four or five bedrooms empty ever night.

To all three Anons. You've got me started.

I'm going to say more in a post this weekend.

Thanks to all three of you for commenting and caring about America.

God, I love this country for all its faults. I wouldn't trade it for any other.

John