"Death or Glory!" Becomes Just Another Story

Here's a rule of thumb that has served me well: Anyone who uses the term "Islamofascism" knows nothing of either Islam or fascism. Case in point, Michael Swartz's reaction to a letter from Sen. Ben Cardin on Iraq. It almost seems cruel to have to point out to him that regarding the whole of the Middle East, with all its complexities, as a single "Islamofascist" threat is not only shockingly ignorant, it is astoundingly dangerous. Agitating for war, as Swartz does, without understanding who the hell we're supposed to be fighting -- that sort of thing tends to lead to disaster, as you might have read in the news lately. Hint: the real enemy's name begins with the letter "q"; it doesn't end with it.

Another rule of thumb: Anyone who says the following, and doesn't call for a draft, is fantasizing:

So this is a message from me to both of my Senators, Senator Cardin and Senator Mikulski (who also had remarks about the troop buildup.) It will be time for the troops to come home when we have achieved victory in the Long War. That will be the point when the threat from Islamofascists and their allies has subsided to an internally manageable level because of the use of our force to a point where free and elected governments thrive - not just in Iraq, but Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and any other country that yearns for freedom in the Middle East.

Our Army and Marine Corps is on the point of breaking just in Iraq and Afghanistan. How the hell does Swartz think they can up and depose the Iranian regime, the Syrian regime, the Lebanese regime, etc. without drafting every able-bodied male, including me and him, into a war that would last decades? Swartz may be willing to gamble with other people's lives, but I am not, and neither is the majority of Americans. Oh, and the troops Swartz claims understand the danger of his "Long War"? They're against the war too. I know it must be hard for a staunch conservative like Swartz to see the country turn against his party's agenda so strongly (e.g., he laments, "And even if Americans did speak with an antiwar tone in their vote, it still doesn’t mean they’re right"), but as Matt Yglesias once said, a comic book view of the world can only explain so much. It's time to get serious.

Tags: iraq middle east conservatives