From the WSJ Opinion Archives
Best
of the Tube Tonight
We're scheduled to appear on "Paula Zahn NOW," though it's not actually
now but at 8 p.m. EDT tonight, on CNN. The subject is the terrorists at Guantanamo
Bay, where we recently paid a visit.
BBC
'Set to Cause Enormous Problems'
"The BBC has obtained evidence that Israelis have been giving military
training to Kurds in northern Iraq," according to an online piece by Magdi
Abdelhadi, the Beeb's "Arab affairs analyst":
A report on the BBC TV programme Newsnight showed Israeli experts in northern Iraq, drilling Kurdish militias in shooting techniques. . . .
The revelation is set to cause enormous problems for the Kurds, not only in Iraq but also in the wider region.
Israel is seen as an enemy of Arabs and Muslims, both inside Iraq and elsewhere in Arab and Muslim countries.
Kurdish politicians will most likely come under pressure to explain what their semi-autonomous government has been up to. . . .
The news will most probably increase tension between the Kurds and Iraq's Arab population, both Sunnis and Shias, reinforcing fears that the Kurds are pursuing a secessionist agenda.
This would be a serious blow to efforts for national reconciliation at a time when hundreds of Iraqis are killed every month in inter-communal violence.
Iraq's neighbours, too, will be outraged.
Iran and Syria, which have long accused the Kurds of allowing the Israelis to operate on Iraqi territory, will most likely demand an explanation from the government in Baghdad. . . .
The BBC report will be like the smoking gun the Arab media has spent years looking for.
The New York Sun's Daniel Freedman, noting that "BBC reports need often to be taken with a block of salt," says that even if true, he doesn't "see what the big deal is. The Kurds have been victimized and betrayed by almost everyone. We'd be happy that Israel is teaching them how to protect themselves."
Here's the big deal: The BBC is announcing that its reporting "is set to cause serious problems for the Kurds," will deal "a serious blow to efforts for national reconciliation" in Iraq, and "will be like the smoking gun the Arab media has spent years looking for."
It certainly sounds to us as though the BBC, far from merely reporting the facts, is pandering to Arab anti-Semitism and making an active effort to promote discord in Iraq and retribution against the long-persecuted Kurds. Such despicable behavior doesn't deserve the label "journalism."
Chavez
Embraces Islamist Terror
RedState.com blogger "AcademicElephant" tellingly juxtaposes a quote
from President
Bush's U.N. General Assembly speech with one from Venezuelan tinhorn Hugo
Chavez. First Bush:
Last week, America and the world marked the fifth anniversary of the attacks that filled another September morning with death and suffering. On that terrible day, extremists killed nearly 3,000 innocent people, including citizens of dozens of nations represented right here in this chamber. Since then, the enemies of humanity have continued their campaign of murder. Al Qaeda and those inspired by its extremist ideology have attacked more than two dozen nations. And recently a different group of extremists deliberately provoked a terrible conflict in Lebanon. At the start of the 21st century, it is clear that the world is engaged in a great ideological struggle, between extremists who use terror as a weapon to create fear, and moderate people who work for peace.
Now Chavez:
It's not that we are extremists. It's that the world is waking up. It's waking up all over. And people are standing up.
I have the feeling, dear world dictator [i.e., President Bush], that you are going to live the rest of your days as a nightmare because the rest of us are standing up, all those who are rising up against American imperialism, who are shouting for equality, for respect, for the sovereignty of nations.
Yes, you can call us extremists, but we are rising up against the empire, against the model of domination.
As the professorial pachyderm notes:
Mr. Chavez deliberately used the same term as the President, and he deliberately used the first person plural. "We are extremists," he said in what was the true meat of the speech. Do not be blinded by the theatrics: Mr. Chavez today used the bully pulpit of the United Nations General Assembly to publicly embrace the terrorist forces of the Middle East, to claim common cause with them, and to suggest that they have a legitimate grievance against an intolerable aggressor. In this context, Mr. Chavez' apparently nutty remarks about the 9/11 attacks make perfect sense. He is rallying the likes of al Qaeda, Hezbollah and Hamas, and offering them justification, protection and support in the western hemisphere. More overtly and blatantly than any other world leader, he is hanging out his shingle as a state sponsor of terrorism.
Blogger Edward Morrissey notes that there's an upside to all this:
Chavez' rant went a long way to prove conservatives correct about endemic anti-Americanism in the United Nations. Even other nations appeared stunned by the ferocity of the remarks, such as China's foreign minister, who had to ask for confirmation of his remarks out of disbelief. The warmth of the reception of these remarks provided a stunning look at the hostility that the non-democratic nations have for the United States, especially in the General Assembly. It will add fuel to the fire for conservative skepticism of the body's effect on spreading freedom and liberty around the world, which is supposed to be one of the UN's core missions.
Instead, we see that the organization has increasingly been hijacked by petty petrocrats and hallucinating dictators as a vehicle for hatred and obloquy. When the leader of one sovereign nation uses the UN dais to issue thinly-veiled demands for the annihilation of another nation, and gets followed by a circus act that makes him look like a moderate, then we know that the inmates are running the Turtle Bay asylum. Yesterday, Chavez proved that all the UN is missing is enough straitjackets to go around.
On a lighter note, the New York Times mentions this lovely detail:
[Chavez] brandished a copy of Noam Chomsky's "Hegemony or Survival: America's Quest for Global Dominance" and recommended it to members of the General Assembly to read. Later, he told a news conference that one of his greatest regrets was not getting to meet Mr. Chomsky before he died. (Mr. Chomsky, 77, is still alive.)
He must've been thinking of Fidel Castro.
Another
Bush Conspiracy!
Michael Medved was among a group of talk show hosts who visited President Bush
for an off-the-record briefing last week, and on his TownHall.com blog he describes
the meeting. He ends with this:
Twice during his meandering conversation, the President deployed the word "nuclear." Both times, he pronounced it flawlessly--as "new-clee-ar," not "nuke-cule-ar." Considering the huge press attention on the mis-pronounciation [sic] of this single word, nothing shocked me more about meeting the president than hearing him, in private conservation, avoid a mistake for which he's become celebrated in public.
If he can say "nu-clee-ar" in private, why does he still say, "nuke-cule-ar" when he speaks on camera? Could it be possible that there's some mischievous intent here--that the President deliberately gives his own spin to the word just to provoke pompous pundits into paroxysms of supercilious rage? It seems like a far-fetched explanation, I'll admit, but after seeing the President's infectiously feisty mood this Friday, I wouldn't put it past him.
On the other hand, Sen. Maria Cantwell (look for the ad titled "Port" if the link doesn't take you directly there) is just inarticulate.
Emasculating
Gore
We got invited to that Ted Turner appearance at Reuters headquarters the other
day, but couldn't go because it was too early in the day. We're beginning to
wish we had gone, because it sounds hilarious. The far-left trade publication
Editor & Publisher reports that Turner "spoke candidly about his foundation's
work with the United Nations as well as his hope that Al Gore might be persuaded
to run for U.S. President in 2008":
When asked about the possibility that the next U.N. secretary general might be a woman, Turner went a step further, advocating that men should be barred from public office for a hundred years in every part of the world.
Poor Al Gore! First George W. Bush steals his birthright, and now Ted Turner steals his manhood.
Now
We Know the Terrorists Have Won
"I.D. Required at Dunkin' Donuts"--headline, Concord (N.H.) Monitor,
Sept. 21
Hey
Guys, You Forgot the Comma After 'Class'
"Democrats to Denounce Middle Class Squeeze Under Bush Republicans; Call
for a New Direction From Failed Economic Policies"--headline, press release
for Sen. Harry Reid, Sept. 20
Separation of Powers Watch
"Court Says Graham Can't Serve as Judge and Senator"--headline, USA Today, Sept. 21
"Pres. Bush Coming to Tampa to Try to Secure Congressional Seat"--headline, Associated Press, Sept. 20
What
Would Most Americans Do Without Polls?
"Poll Finds Most Americans Displeased With Congress"--headline, New
York Times, Sept. 20
Eugene
Robinson, Call Your Office
From the New York Post's Page Six:
If all goes as Clive Davis plans, Whitney Houston will release an album, with new material by early next year. . . . As for rumors that Houston has lost some of her vocal range, Davis said, "She is talking enthusiastically and is articulate. We are going to make a great album. In my opinion, the best singers in the world are Aretha [Franklin] and Whitney. That's not to knock Mariah [Carey]. Mariah is a friend of mine, but I think Mariah would even say those two are the best."
Excuse us, you were expecting a six-time Grammy winner to be inarticulate? Whitney Houston is being patronized, the way black pioneers in all walks of life have been patronized. Look, her songs may not be very good, but Whitney Houston is singing them.
(See here if you don't get the joke.)
'Give
Peace a Chance,' the a Capella Version
"Quartet Backs Palestinian Efforts"--headline, BBC Web site, Sept. 20
They're Relieved
It Won't Be Sooner
"9/11 Workers to Be Autopsied When They Die"--headline, MSNBC.com,
Sept. 20
The
People vs. Sesame Street
"Lawyers Debate What Letter Comes After K"--headline, Concord (N.H.)
Monitor, Sept. 21
Not
Quite Living Up to the Hype
"Human Stem Cells Help Blinded Rats"--headline, Reuters, Sept. 20
The
Evilmewers of al Qitty
"Man Jailed for Beheading Girlfriend's Kitten"--headline, CNN.com,
Sept. 20
'Damn, This
Thing's Heavy'
"Senate Weighs 700-Mile Fence Along Border"--headline, Associated
Press, Sept. 21
News
You Can Use
"Drivers: Don't Cross the Line"--headline, Herald Times Reporter (Manitowoc,
Wis.), Sept. 21
Thanks
for the Tip!--CV
"Health Tip: Be Careful Choosing Which Bleach"--headline, HealthDay.com,
Sept. 21
Bottom Story of the Day
- "McDonald's May Offer Breakfast Menu All Day Long"--headline,
FoxNews.com,
Sept. 20
- "Nanticoke Officials Will Examine Their To-Do List"--headline,
Citizens'
Voice (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.), Sept. 21
- "No Wedding 'Today' for Richmond Couple"--headline, Richmond
Times-Dispatch, Sept. 21
- "Dog Bites Woman"--headline, Des Moines Register, Sept. 21
The
Dogs of Warm
Blogress Su Avasthi considers an "ethical question" from "Jimmy
H":
On a recent dinner outing, my friends and I spent an hour-long wait in front of the restaurant. Parked directly in front of the waiting area was an oversized SUV with the engine running. The car was left running for the majority of our wait (and presumably before we arrived) to keep a dog cool while its owners ate dinner.
I'm no advocate of torturing dogs, but if you're dining out it would seem smarter to leave your dog at home, be kind to Mother Earth and be considerate to other diners who are overheated by your vehicle.
One of Jimmy's friends "wrote the word 'WASTEFUL' with his finger in the foggy driver-side window of the vehicle," which drew ire from the dog's master when he returned. "Were we wrong?"
Su's answer:
In my opinion, you and your friend--being champions of Mother Earth and concerned about the welfare of a canine--are on the side of good. The SUV-driving, fume-producing, planet-destroying guy who gave your buddy a tongue lashing is, well, a jerk. . . .
Bottom line: Keep defending the planet, man. It won't always be easy, but it's only way to become a superhero.
Of course, there's an easier solution to all this: The SUV owner should have cracked his window. That way the air conditioning would have helped cool the planet, too.
(Carol Muller helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Avram Shacham, Dan McLaughlin, Larry Pollack, Charles Purnell, Chip Switzer, Donald Walker, Thomas Dillon, Don Stewart, Dan O'Shea, Fred Beverly, Bill Shefski, Joe Browne, Kevin Doherty, Brian Azman, Mark Van Der Molen, Dan Lupfer, Fred Siesel, Paul Wicht, Jim Orheim, Ruth Papazian, Mary Pinkowish, Michael Zukerman, Charles Thomas, Keith Cummings, Kevin Schmidt and Anna Jensen. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal@wsj.com, and please include the URL.)
Today on OpinionJournal:
- Reuel Gerecht: Benedict XVI promotes "interfaith" dialogue. Muslims and Christians need it.
- Russ Smith: Will November bring cheer for the GOP in Maryland?
- Carlos Montaner: The Miami Herald thinks it's corrupt to undermine Castro's censorship.
- Brink Lindsey: A liberal critic badmouths today's free market.
