Mount Virtus

The last time our calendars turned to Tuesday, September 11, a day arrived that America will never forget. We reeled in shock and horror at the immense magnitude of human tragedy and the terrible spectacle of giant symbolic man-made structures toppled into dust. Soon, we would be moved by remarkable acts of heroism and sacrifice - firefighters racing into the stairwells of the Twin Towers, the nameless passengers and crew of United 93.

Six years have passed. Except for those whose lives or loved ones were touched directly by the evil al-Qaeda attack, the sting has largely worn off. Our resolve to defend Western Civilization and the American ideal against the Islamofascist ideology of mass murder has waned (look at what is taught in so many Colorado schools to commemorate today), yet thank God that many brave heroes remain to serve and to sacrifice. We are all truly indebted to them.

We do not know our nation’s future course, but on this Patriot Day we can be reminded to do our citizen duty: to do all in our power to defend American honor, to be firm “in the right as God gives us to see the right,” to cherish and to help preserve “the last best hope of earth.”

The last time our calendars turned to Tuesday, September 11, was a horrible, unforgettable day. May today be solemn and inspiring, but far, far less memorable.

If you haven’t contributed yet to Jim’s Project “Letters from Home,” let me encourage you again to participate. It’s easy to do, and a great opportunity to encourage our troops. Here’s Jim’s email update on the project:

I just wanted to take a minute and let everyone know how the project is going. Response has really fallen off the last week or so. After getting almost 400 emails over the first two weeks, I’ve only gotten 6 or 7 this week….

I can’t begin to tell you how important the success of this project is to me. I don’t want these men and women to have any doubt that we support them! Thank you so much for everything you’ve done so far to help. I truly couldn’t have gotten this far without your help.

Once again, the address to send the letters to is letters@thinking-right.com. We’re almost halfway there! Another 100 or so letters, and I can get the first batch in the mail to the Marines. Another 600 or so emails, and we’ll have the 1000 that we need to get one in the hands of every Marine and Sailor in the 1st battalion 1st Marine regiment.

What are you waiting for?

An irrelevant left wing “watchdog” group named Media Matters has reprinted the comments of Republican U.S. Senate candidate Bob Schaffer on Greeley’s Amy Oliver Show. The key excerpt of Schaffer’s comments highlighted by Media Matters goes as follows:

“I think it’s foolish to behave the way you see people like Harry Reid and other, others who are leading the Senate right now, that I think are trying to, at the end, the analysis of their achievement and what they are effectively accomplishing is a deliberate loss and a surrender in Iraq for the sake of their political advantage at election time in 2008. I think they’re hoping America loses.”

The comments were reported and repeated uncritically, which can only lead an open-minded observer to believe that the comments are accepted as true and reliable. On this major point of foreign policy, it’s good to see Media Matters at least be frank and honest about its preferred political party’s leadership in Congress.

There’s no need to rehearse the long train of public statements and political behavior of Democrat Congressional leaders that indicates an unwillingness to achieve victory in Iraq. Media Matters must have finally started Googling its way around the Net and come to the same obvious conclusion that so many others have found for themselves: The Democratic Party is married to defeat. I’m glad to see we at least have the beginnings of a bipartisan recognition now - even if it originates from an irrelevant group.

In a story reminiscent of the Danish Mohammed cartoon protests, numerous American newspapers (at least 25, according to reports collected by Michelle Malkin) have refused to print this week’s edition of “Opus” because it’s potentially offensive to Muslims:

[Writers Group comics editor Amy] Lago said she flagged some of the syndicate’s newspaper clients for two reasons: because of the possibility that the jokes about Islam would be misconstrued and because of the sexual innuendo in the punchline.

“The strip came in and I knew we would have to send out an alert to all the newspapers,” Lago said. “I do that fairly regularly with materials that might pose issues for local areas. … We knew that because it was a sex joke, it could raise issues.

And there is another client that has issues with any Muslim depiction whatsoever.

A remarkable piece of self-censorship, especially when you consider the “Opus” cartoon that appeared exactly one week before:

The Aug. 19 “Opus” ended with a joke about the late Jerry Falwell. In that strip, Lola, fresh from a quest to become an Amish nudist, is doing yoga and talking to the penguin character Opus about who goes to heaven.

“Liberals? Evolutionists? Feminists? ACLU lawyers?” Opus asks incredulously. “Yep,” replies Lola.

“Kennedy Democrats? French people? Manly women who don’t shave … they’re all up there?” Opus wonders. “Yep,” Lola repeats.

“With Jerry Falwell?” asks Opus. “Yep,” Lola says again.

Opus looks up in an aha! sort of moment. “Goodness, must HE be annoyed!” the penguin exclaims.

“Eternally,” Lola replies.

Here’s the key section of the story:

Lago said she didn’t flag newspapers about that strip because she didn’t think readers would misunderstand the humor.“They’re not going to take it seriously,” she said.

But she did alert newspapers about the Muslim-themed cartoon because there was a question about whether Muslim readers would be offended.

Huh? There are a lot of things you could read into this double standard. Does she think Muslims are less intelligent and sophisticated? Does she think conservative Christians have a higher tolerance level? Or most likely, there is fear of potential violent repercussions from one group but not the other. This episode will make great fodder for the sequel to Mark Steyn’s America Alone.

For the record, I am opposed to government-imposed censorship - and in this case the need for censorship at all. (Tastelessness alone is not sufficient grounds for removal. As for “Opus,” I lost interest in its content & flavor years ago.) But such “dhimm” judgment and pathetic rationalization only helps to clarify why MSM newspapers are in demise. I just hope the application can’t be extended to all of Western Civilization.

Ed Morrissey at Captain’s Quarters tackles the MSM’s eerie silence over a major development of political progress in Iraq:

Let’s say we’re at war, and we’re waiting for some specific action to take place to show us that our efforts are succeeding. Add in that the war itself would be rather controversial and that our political class is split as to whether we will ever see that specific action take place. Imagine that Congress and the White House have scheduled a showdown in the next couple of weeks to determine how much longer we will wait for that development.

Now imagine that the specific action for which we’ve waited actually occurs. Where would you think that story appear in Washington’s biggest newspaper?

Read the whole piece at CQ: It’s truly breathtaking. In the past couple weeks, many Democrats in Congress grudgingly admitted that General Petraeus’ surge strategy was yielding military progress, but that the political situation was disastrous. Few have stopped to reason that the dynamic of central government in Iraq is a lagging indicator. Now the Iraq unity government is meeting some of their precious benchmarks: will they be able to ignore it for long? How will the liberal spin machine downplay this development?

We await responses from the offices of Sens. Carl Levin, Hillary Clinton, Harry Reid, and John Warner, among others.

Wow, this punishing expose by Pajamas Media’ Richard Miniter really lifts the lid on some serious problems at The New Republic. Things don’t look good for Franklin Foer & crew. Scott Thomas Beauchamp looks to be more of a millstone around the bi-weekly liberal publication than was the devastating Stephen Glass saga of 1998 - primarily because its leadership wasted no time in dealing with the perpetrator of fraud.

The “batten down the hatches” plan in action now, as highlighted by Miniter, is doing nothing to rescue their credibility. In fact, the ship of print may be quickly crashing in flames - reminiscent of a real disaster some 70 years past:

Quite sad, really, because so much was avoidable on the part of TNR’s leadership. So easy to accept slander of America’s brave men and women in uniform, so sloppy in its apparently nepotistic system of fact-checking, so quick to heap falsehoods atop fabrications, so steadfast in its denial of countervailing facts, so self-insulating from outside inquiry, so flummoxed and frazzled, so befuddled and bemused, so blithe in its casual dismissal of all remaining credibility … What will be left of the 93-year-old liberal standard after the last ash of this debacle is swept away?

In the wake of Rathergate, another big notch may be added to the belt of some hardworking conservative blogs - led by Dean Barnett, the Weekly Standard’s Michael Goldfarb, Little Green Footballs, Ace of Spades, and Confederate Yankee, among others. But you must read Miniter’s piece … wow, simply wow.

Pierre Rehov’s new documentary “Suicide Killers” may be too politically incorrect to receive an Academy Award nomination, but that fact should recommend the film to more American viewers.

And certainly, there were more viewers at last night’s screening at the Colorado History Museum than event organizers anticipated. The modest size of the screen in the large hall forced the rows to be tightly-packed, but most guests eagerly pressed in to get a closer look. Reading the frequent subtitles - absolutely essential to absorbing the film’s startling content - presented a minor challenge of tilting heads and craning necks.

I was drawn in to the disturbing images, largely appropriate in their context and level of graphic detail, as well as the powerful interviews. Specifically, the matter-of-fact words of Palestinian jihadists, would-be jihadists, and jihadist sympathizers steeped in their state-sponsored culture of “shaheed” (martyrdom) acted like a jolt to modern and postmodern Western sensibilities.

The religious, political, and social motivations to destroy innocent life for the perceived glory of rewards in the afterlife are, as one Israeli scholar observed, not the creation of despair (the popular depiction in most media). There is something more deeply sinister at work through the systematic indoctrination of a narrow interpretation of Islamic texts.

That being said, moderate Muslims are also given a prominent voice in Rehov’s film. They provide a balance: A well-educated Iranian-born Frenchwoman who recalled the descriptions of Paradise offered by childhood religious teachers as sounding a lot like America; An Arab Israeli citizen who was not once, but twice, nearly a fatal victim of Palestinian suicide bombers - he held a dying woman in his arms; the Palestinian women’s rights activist who chronicles the subjugation so common to her culture; and the young Palestinian man who pleaded in broken English for an end to his culture’s continuing fixation on violent revenge.

Yet the culture is so steeped in hatred and violence, as demonstrated in clips shown from radical Arab television, including a fictional depiction of Jewish rabbis as bloodthirsty child-killers and a CNN-style debate between leading men regarding whether women should stay out of sight in the home or take part in the jihad of suicide bombing like their male counterparts.

And indeed they have. Rehov’s interviews with four Palestinian women imprisoned in Israel for their roles in planning or promoting suicide attacks left me dumbfounded and disturbed. One woman talked most passionately about the ultimate goal to destroy every non-Muslim in the world (I wonder what she thinks of the “two-state solution,” eh?). Equally as disturbing, the interviews with imprisoned men young and old, pledging their commitment to complete a suicide bombing if ever released. They were to a person cold, calculating, calloused, and thoroughly imbued with dogmatic bloodlust in their internal wiring. A screenwriter or novelist looking to sculpt an archetypal villain could find plenty of material.

All in all, the documentary offered a chilling look at Palestinian culture that is largely missed by international reporters in the mainstream media outlets. Americans engaged in a generations-long war with radical Islamofascism cannot afford to be ignorant about what motivates the enemy. Though the film’s conclusion was a bit ambiguous and some of the contrast between Israeli and Palestinian society seemed a little exaggerated, “Suicide Killers” (you can view the trailer and order online here) remains an important film to see.

The presence of the Algerian-born, French-Israeli filmmaker at last night’s screening was positively inspirational. Given current political realities, Pierre Rehov’s courage can scarcely be doubted.

Last night’s screening was sponsored by the Claremont Institute, Action Israel, and Americans Against Terrorism. Many thanks to these groups for introducing Rehov’s work to a Denver audience and, in particular, to Mount Virtus. Please read a little different perspective on the film by Joshua at View from a Height.

Godspeed and Semper Fi to Marine Colonel (and state senator) Steve Ward, whom the Denver Post reports today is being deployed to Iraq for a short-term assignment:

Ward expects to be in Iraq - probably Anbar province in the western part of the country - by late August or early September. “I’m assuming Anbar,” Ward said when asked where he will be stationed. “I go where they send me.”

The short-term assignment to help Iraqis set up a democratic government is scheduled to end in time for Ward to fill his state Senate seat when the assembly reconvenes in January.

Ward was appointed to the state Senate to replace Sen. Jim Dyer, who resigned after he was elected in November to the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners.

I met Steve Ward last December, shortly before his appointment to the legislature. He struck me then as a man of conviction and character, not surprising at all when I also learned he was a Marine.

Ward follows in the footsteps of Colorado Secretary of State (then-Treasurer) Mike Coffman who took leave from his elected post in 2005-2006 to don the uniform and serve in Iraq.

Seeing that one of our state senators is set to be deployed should remind us of our need to support all the troops.

This week alone from Iraq, we see strong evidences of success in our fight against al-Qaeda (Sunni) and against the Iranian-backed Mahdi Army (Shi’a). Both developments provide encouraging news in our slow upward climb to victory.

Also encouraging is that our fellow countrymen may be beginning to take notice. Results of respected national polls taken before this week’s developments already show some noteworthy changes in American public opinion concerning Iraq. Far from the Left’s loudly-touted “mandate” to the new Democratic Congress to get our troops out of there right now, only 20 percent of Americans favor this approach. Fifty-four percent believe immediate withdrawal would leave Iraq in worse shape, and 71 percent recognize that it would open the door for an al-Qaeda takeover.

Just over half (51 percent) say the surge strategy is improving the situation, and considerably larger percentages of the American populace view the war as having been the right course of action and that things tend to be going well. Remarkably, 80 percent trust General David Petraeus’ judgment, and about 60 percent support waiting on his September report to decide on the next course of action. What a bummer for the Left-wing defeatist propaganda machine!

Of course, a little caution is in order: The American people well may be more satisfied with the way things are going in Iraq. This fact is important insofar as mustering domestic political will is essential to accomplishing the mission. Have we passed the ebb of American public opinion on the war? I’d like to hope so, but we certainly have no guarantee. Regardless of popular sentiment, though, this much is clear: Let’s give General Petraus’ new counterinsurgency strategy a chance to continue to work.

Don’t forget to keep visiting the Victory Caucus website.

Our republic needs more informed citizens, especially these days about our military operations in Iraq. Cut through the hype and the soundbites, and bookmark the new Victory Caucus website on your browser. Unlike in the MSM, you’ll easily find facts not only on coalition casualties but on measures of political stability, sectarian violence, and weapons caches found.

Moreover, you’ll find links to the latest reports from independent journalists (like Michael Yon and Bill Roggio), key military bloggers (like Blackfive and Mudville Gazette), and official U.S. sources. That’s only the beginning: you’ll find reports from military commanders on the ground, interactive regional maps, reviews of relevant books, and user forums.

Thanks to NZ Bear and the Victory Caucus board of governors for this important endeavor that will make it easier to connect relevant information directly with our fellow citizens. Sure, many still will be stuck on American Idol and Britney Spears, while the Nutroots will be tuned in to the military haters. But any thoughtful patriots who can be reached will help to make a difference in this long, global struggle with Islamic fascist fanatics in which we are engaged.

There are no easy fixes nor simple solutions. There is hard work cut out for us as a nation. And if not enough of us understand what’s going on, minus the filtered agenda of the media elites, not enough of us will have the will necessary to help our leaders see it through. Give it a try today. Make the Victory Caucus a regular stop on the Web.

I share the heaviness of Jim’s heart and El Presidente’s disgust at Colorado’s band of Surrendercrats. Short-sighted political pandering from both parties - but most especially the Democratic leadership in Congress - ignores the military realities of Iraq, and the promising success of Gen. Petraeus’ “surge” strategy, which has been in full effect for scarcely a month.

We need to move past our feelings about the current administration (mine aren’t too positive) and recriminations about the earlier halfhearted war policy and the mismanagement that put us at a disadvantage. Stop the blame game, and let’s get to victory first. And whatever we do as a nation, it’s infuriating to see some of our leaders try to pull out the rug just as we’re seeing real success in the counterinsurgency.

Two must-reads for today are Charles Krauthammer and Victor Davis Hanson. Writes the realistic Krauthammer:

Just this week, Petraeus said that the one thing he needs more than anything else is time. To cut off Petraeus’s plan just as it is beginning — the last surge troops arrived only last month — on the assumption that we cannot succeed is to declare Petraeus either deluded or dishonorable. Deluded in that, as the best-positioned American in Baghdad, he still believes we can succeed. Or dishonorable in pretending to believe in victory and sending soldiers to die in what he really knows is an already failed strategy.

That’s the logic of the wobbly Republicans’ position. But rather than lay it on Petraeus, they prefer to lay it on Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and point out his government’s inability to meet the required political “benchmarks.” As a longtime critic of the Maliki government, I agree that it has proved itself incapable of passing laws important for long-term national reconciliation.

But first comes the short term. And right now we have the chance to continue to isolate al-Qaeda and, province by province, deny it the Sunni sea in which it swims. A year ago, it appeared that the only way to win back the Sunnis and neutralize the extremists was with great national compacts about oil and power sharing. But Anbar has unexpectedly shown that even without these constitutional settlements, the insurgency can be neutralized and al-Qaeda defeated at the local and provincial levels with a new and robust counterinsurgency strategy.

The costs are heartbreakingly high — increased American casualties as the enemy is engaged and spectacular suicide bombings designed to terrify Iraqis and demoralize Americans. But the stakes are extremely high as well.

Meanwhile, Hanson takes down the New York Times white-flag editorialists point by point. The whole thing is a worthwhile read, but I’d like to focus on his conclusion here:

We promised General Petraeus a hearing in September; it would be the height of folly to preempt that agreement by giving in to our summer of panic and despair. Critics called for the resignation of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, a change in command in Iraq and at Centcom, new strategies, and more troops. But now that we have a new secretary, a new command in Iraq and at Centcom, new strategies, and more troops, suddenly we have a renewed demand for withdrawal before the agreed-upon September accounting—suggesting that the only constant in such harping was the assumption that Iraq was either hopeless or not worth the effort.

Too many Americans are cheering (some more quietly than others) for Petraeus’ counterinsurgency strategy to fail. Too many others long for success, but remain highly doubtful. I struggle, too. There are many legitimate concerns and criticisms. Yet the consequences of defeat and withdrawal would be too great and devastating. We may not reach the depths of 1864’s defeatism during this conflict - too many Americans are detached from the war, and a considerable share of that burden must fall on the White House. But right now, we’re fighting (and mostly beating) Al-Qaeda in the hot Iraqi summer. That we can’t ignore.

Let’s give our military leader his promised chance and prepare to reassess the situation in September. Meanwhile, let’s continue to follow the challenges, the difficulties, and yes - even the signs of progress - from Michael Yon with our troops in the field and Iraq the Model in sweltering Baghdad. And a little historical perspective would be nice, too.

Exactly 65 years ago today raged one of the most significant battles of modern times - a critical victory by the United States Navy. The Battle of Midway (June 4 - 7, 1942) saved a key Pacific outpost and inflicted irredeemable losses on the Imperial Japanese Navy, including four aircraft carriers. After Midway, the Japanese were forced into the strategic defensive, and three years of bloody island-hopping followed that led to ultimate Allied victory. The battle is also the subject matter for one of the best war movies ever made, starring Charlton Heston, Henry Fonda, Glenn Ford, James Coburn, and more.

Key historical moments like this one deserve to be remembered on these important anniversaries. And God bless the U.S. Navy!

In case you haven’t seen this, there is at least one especially poignant tale of heroism to be told among yesterday’s incident of great evil, terror, and tragedy at Virginia Tech University:

As Jews worldwide honored on Monday the memory of those who were murdered in the Holocaust, a 76-year-old survivor sacrificed his life to save his students in Monday’s shooting at Virginia Tech College that left 33 dead and over two dozen wounded. Professor Liviu Librescu, 76, threw himself in front of the shooter when the man attempted to enter his classroom. The Israeli mechanics and engineering lecturer was shot to death, “but all the students lived - because of him,” Virginia Tech student Asael Arad - also an Israeli - told Army Radio.

Several of Librescu’s other students sent e-mails to his wife, Marlena, telling of how he had blocked the gunman’s way and saved their lives, said Librescu’s son, Joe.

“My father blocked the doorway with his body and asked the students to flee,” Joe Librescu said in a telephone interview from his home outside of Tel Aviv. “Students started opening windows and jumping out.”

Condolences to the family of Professor Librescu and the many others who were lost or grievously wounded at the hands of an angry killer. Such heroism as the aging Holocaust survivor displayed ought not be forgotten.

And today, while the tragic wounds are so fresh and sore, there came words of compassion, as witnessed in the remarks of President George W. Bush on the Virginia Tech campus this afternoon:

In such times as this, we look for sources of strength to sustain us. And in this moment of loss, you’re finding these sources everywhere around you. These sources of strength are in this community, this college community. You have a compassionate and resilient community here at Virginia Tech. Even as yesterday’s events were still unfolding, members of this community found each other; you came together in dorm rooms and dining halls and on blogs. One recent graduate wrote this: “I don’t know most of you guys, but we’re all Hokies, which means we’re family. To all of you who are okay, I’m happy for that. For those of you who are in pain or have lost someone close to you, I’m sure you can call on anyone of us and have help any time you need it.”

These sources of strength are with your loved ones. For many of you, your first instinct was to call home and let your moms and dads know that you were okay. Others took on the terrible duty of calling the relatives of a classmate or a colleague who had been wounded or lost. I know many of you feel awfully far away from people you lean on and people you count on during difficult times. But as a dad, I can assure you, a parent’s love is never far from their child’s heart. And as you draw closer to your own families in the coming days, I ask you to reach out to those who ache for sons and daughters who will never come home.

These sources of strength are also in the faith that sustains so many of us. Across the town of Blacksburg and in towns all across America, houses of worship from every faith have opened their doors and have lifted you up in prayer. People who have never met you are praying for you; they’re praying for your friends who have fallen and who are injured. There’s a power in these prayers, real power. In times like this, we can find comfort in the grace and guidance of a loving God. As the Scriptures tell us, “Don’t be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Amen.

It’s official: the Democratic Party has married its political future to American military defeat, voting 218-212 in the U.S. House of Representatives today to send a gift telegram to Islamist terrorists and Iraqi insurgents. Trapped in their political bubble, Congressional Democrats have convinced themselves that the United States can’t prevail in establishing even a measure of stability in Iraq and thus are working to fulfill their own hand-wringing prophecies:

“The American people have lost faith in the president’s conduct of this war,” said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. “The American people see the reality of the war, the president does not.”

I’m left to wonder if Pelosi and her cohorts didn’t come away from the last election with the wrong message. I’d like to think most Americans aren’t as poorly informed as the high school students at a Denver anti-war rally interviewed by 850 KOA and replayed on this morning’s Mike Rosen Show (50 U.S. soldiers killed per day?? Kids are being drafted to go fight in Iraq??). It wouldn’t matter, anyway: the Capitol Hill Democrats get their pulse of the nation from the Daily Kos and Huffington Post.

(Picture courtesy of the Victory Caucus)

How ironic that this vote should come at the same time that a new commander’s tenure and a revamped strategy are underway, showing early hopeful signs. The eminent Victor Davis Hanson delivers a history lesson worth considering: “Can General Petraeus turn war around in Iraq?” Too bad the Democrats were too busy passing notes in class.

If you want to get an on-the-ground perspective of events in the region, read Michael Yon, Bill Roggio (The Fourth Rail), or Omar at Iraq the Model. Looking for a few examples of reports you won’t see on your nightly news? Look here and here and here from this week alone.

But don’t expect Nancy Pelosi, John Murtha, or Barney Frank to take a serious look. The Defeat-ocrats (aka the Party of McGovern, or the New Copperheads) remind me of the small, petulant child who sticks his fingers in his ears and mutters loudly: “I can’t hear you. We’re losing. Nuh-uh. We’re gonna’ lose. La, la, la, la, la, la! I CAN’T HEAR YOU!!!”

It’s been a tough haul in Iraq, and things certainly haven’t gone according to plan much of the way. Progress has been too often slow and sporadic. For too long, our military operated with one hand tied behind its back. But genuine changes have been made in tactics and deployments, and the surge of troops has showed troublemakers like al Sadr and the Mahdi Army that the United States means business.

If you disagree with what the U.S. House of Representatives did today (or what the Colorado legislature did last week) and have yet to join the Victory Caucus, now is the time.