When Johnny Lindh Comes Marching Home

David Weigel | September 5, 2006

Condi Rice saw the people comparing the War on Islamoterrobinladenfascism to World War II and decided to up the ante.

Secretary of State Rice compared the Iraq war with the American Civil War, telling a magazine that slavery might have lasted longer in this country if the North had decided to end the fight early.

"I'm sure there are people who thought it was a mistake to fight the Civil War to its end and to insist that the emancipation of slaves would hold," Rice said in the new issue of Essence magazine.

The migration period of an idea from the Weekly Standard wading pool to the Bush cabinet? Nine months.

I have no great love for Pennsylvania state treasurer Bob Casey, who's running against Sen. Rick Santorum, but I liked his response at a Sunday debate after Santorum jawed on about how the war against a few thousand terrorists was the new war on fascism.

You've heard him a lot talking about the terminology of, of the war on terror. He calls it Islamic fascism and, and he, and he talks about the terminology and changing the terms. What we need, Rick, is not a change in the terminology, we need to change the tactics. And we've got to make sure that even as you're debating whether or not we call Osama bin Laden a terrorist or a fascist, I don't think that really matters. We need a plan. You're in the Senate, you have votes, you should be leading that effort. And I, I think after it's over, after you get the terminology right, maybe you can have a seminar in Washington about whether bin Laden, whom we should be finding and killing, whether he's a dead terrorist or a dead fascist.

Comments

thoreau|9.5.06 @ 10:13AM|#

Personally, I figured out that Bin Laden was evil when he bombed the embassies in 1998. I didn't worry too much about what sort of name to put on his particular brand of evil. I figured that "Wanted: Dead or Alive" would be a sufficient caption for his picture.

But for those who want to argue over the proper label, well, go ahead.

|9.5.06 @ 10:15AM|#

"...whether he's a dead terrorist or a dead fascist."

oh, snap!

|9.5.06 @ 10:17AM|#

Dems who talk like Casey have a chance of winning, Dems who talk like Kerry do not. That is the 2006 midterm in a nutshell.

|9.5.06 @ 10:19AM|#

It's Islamofascism because Islamoauthoritarianism is too long to say. Yes, elect Casey Jr. and he'll lead a SEAL raid to get OBL because we just aren't trying hard enough.

Take it from someone from PA, he's a huge empty suit who couldn't carry his dad's jock, let alone get a couple of organs replaced and come back to run the state.

Jennifer|9.5.06 @ 10:34AM|#

The label definitely matters. A lot of scared-shitless terrified wusses (including a couple who work here, more's the pity) think it's a fine trade-off to give the government our civil liberties in exchange for protection from those big scary "Islamofascists" or "Islamoterrorists." But they might be less likely to give up their freedom in exchange for protection from "a few thousand misogynistic religious nuts, equalling point oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-oh-one percent of the human population, who dislike us."

|9.5.06 @ 10:48AM|#

albo, at least Casey appears to be thinking about Osama quite a lot, unlike the Commander-in-Chief, who barely thinks about him at all.

Chuck|9.5.06 @ 10:52AM|#

So, does this mean that the administration is now declaring (or admitting, depending on your point of view) that there is a state of civil war in Iraq?

|9.5.06 @ 10:56AM|#

unlike the Commander-in-Chief, who barely thinks about him at all.

You know this through your ESP? Do you do birthday parties?

|9.5.06 @ 11:04AM|#

Gotta hand it to the guy, he's got a good idea.
An after-all-the-decisions-have-been-made seminar should be a safe enough place for Rick to do some chillin'.

|9.5.06 @ 11:07AM|#

"You know this through your ESP?"

He knows because Bush told him so:

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/front/archives/2004/10/15/2003206914

"I don't know where he is," Bush replied. "I just don't spend that much time on him really, to be honest with you." He added at the time: "I'll repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him."

|9.5.06 @ 11:09AM|#

Yes, yes, Osama Bin Laden's fate rest on the outcome of Senate races in eight weeks. Is there any more absurd occupation than that of the professional politician?

|9.5.06 @ 11:27AM|#

Will Allen - probably the campaign manager (or whoever) who comes up with the ridiculous talking points in the first place. I bet most politicians don't think that major events honestly rest on their re-election; it's the kiss-ass sycophants who are pandered to that worry me.

|9.5.06 @ 11:29AM|#

Will Allen - probably the campaign manager (or whoever) who comes up with the ridiculous talking points in the first place. I bet most politicians don't think that major events honestly rest on their re-election; it's the kiss-ass sycophants who are pandered to that worry me.

|9.5.06 @ 11:38AM|#

Hey, you got terrorism in my fascism! Well, you got fascism on my terrorism!

|9.5.06 @ 11:55AM|#

Hey, you got terrorism in my fascism! Well, you got fascism on my terrorism!

Two great tastes that go great together!

Daniel DiRito|9.5.06 @ 12:00PM|#

See a tongue-in-cheek visual of Condi performing her newest ?Neocon Concerto??here:

www.thoughttheater.com

|9.5.06 @ 12:57PM|#

But for those who want to argue over the proper label, well, go ahead.

You would pee your pants more if you realized the nature of the evil we face: Islamo-MechaGodzilla.

|9.5.06 @ 1:18PM|#

Condi ran Iraq after Bremmer. I think the other President who allowed that was Nixon.......

Definitely time to go home. Wars over.