The central falsehood in the SOU

[GreenZoneLT]

These men are not given to idle words, and they are just one camp in the Islamist radical movement. In recent times, it has also become clear that we face an escalating danger from Shia extremists who are just as hostile to America, and are also determined to dominate the Middle East. Many are known to take direction from the regime in Iran, which is funding and arming terrorists like Hezbollah -- a group second only to al Qaeda in the American lives it has taken. The Shia and Sunni extremists are different faces of the same totalitarian threat. Whatever slogans they chant, when they slaughter the innocent they have the same wicked purposes. They want to kill Americans, kill democracy in the Middle East, and gain the weapons to kill on an even more horrific scale.

The problem with that is that it's crap. They are not two faces of the same threat. They are two completely different threats, with different goals and requiring different means to counter. And they are bitter enemies of one another, and could be easily played off against each other if we hadn't so willingly given them an issue to unite over in Iraq. The similarity of their grandiose dreams of a united caliphate is interesting, but these ambitions are so unfeasible and mutually incompatible as to barely warrant monitoring, let alone action.

Hezbollah is second to Al Qaeda in the way that North Korea is second to China; nearly all the Americans they killed were Marines who were in Lebanon, which is Hezbollah's territory. Our national interest is engaged to the point of military action by international terrorism exported to America, not by local terrorism in the Middle East. And certainly not by defensive military operations against a foreign invader.

Neither Iran nor Hezbollah have attacked anyone other than Israel. We need to oppose them in those attacks, but we don't need to go to war over it, which is what Bush is implying by pairing them with Al Qaeda, who we ARE at war with.

The guy's a menace. Can't wait for the next two years to be over.

[Mythsaje]

1. Precise, cogent argument...

Well said.

This comment deserves wider attention.

[aquart]

2. Well put.

Why wait?

[DoYouEverWonder]

3. 'Hezbollah is second to Al Qaeda

in the way that North Korea is second to China.'

Nice analogy.

And I think we can all agree with the last line of your post, 'The guy's a menace. Can't wait for the next two years to be over.' Amen.

Hang in there, I think I can see some light at the end of this tunnel we're all stuck in.

[malaise]

4. When did Iran attack Israel?

I need to know.

[GreenZoneLT]

8. Indirectly, by funding/arming/training Hezbollah

They've also supported Hamas. I was using Iran as shorthand for "Shiite Islamic radicalism."

[malaise]

11. So the US and Britain attacked Lebanon then? n/t

[GreenZoneLT]

14. You could put it that way.

Israel, as a recognized state engaging in self-defense against attacks by an irregular armed group is a somewhat different matter. Israel claimed to be attacking Hezbollah, not Lebanon, but it's a fine point. I certainly wouldn't want to stick up for that particular misadventure.

Israel doesn't claim a goal of its stated foreign policy is the destruction of the Lebanese or Iranian states, so that's a difference between them and Hezbollah and Iran.

[femmedem]

16. I don't believe Iran has a stated policy of destroying Israel.

That has been widely misreported.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article12790.htm

[GreenZoneLT]

17. Yer prolly right. Hezbollah does, though.

Threadjack, anyway. I was trying to say that Iran & Hezbollah are in no way comparable or allied to Al Qaeda. Wasn't actually trying to make a point about Israel or Palestine, which I don't keep up with so much.

[mdmc]

5. yes

kick / r

[sutz12]

6. Well put...

The Iraq War part of the speech sounded very much like a pitch for expanding the conflict into Syria and Iran.

The man scares me.

[annabanana]

7. He can sell this crap because most Americans haven't a clue.

When you know nothing, everything sounds plausible.

[Hissyspit]

9. It was pretty much ALL falsehood. But point taken.

It is more difficult to find the truth in any Bush SOTU.

[jarnocan]

10. The Bush regime SCARES me, but not in the way they intend to nt

[KharmaTrain]

12. The Ignorance Of This Regime Is Deadly

The right wing thrives on boogie men. They need "reds under their beds" and the fear of some "evil" to make themselves relevent. It's done in a very simplistic way...they all look the same, so they all must be the same.

It's just a carry-over from the Cold War mentality that brought most of these morons together in the first place. It was a one-size fits all template that Russian Commies were the same as Chinese Commies were the same as Cubans and Angolans and so on. The see the world in one dimension...a Risk board where their myopic view of the world and history is the biggest crime and tragedy of the past 6 years.

It gauls me no end to hear Repugnicans attempt to simplify this "WOT" against "Islamofascists" as if there's some massive organized effort...distorting history and playing up on fears and religious hatred as their only means of support now.

Also, when will booshie start mentioning all the money and weapons that pour in across the Jordanian and Saudi frontiers that assist the Sunni militias? Or how by supporting Malaki, he's supporting Al Sadr...someone he claims he wants to eliminate...which would surely turn what few Shiites remain on our side against us. Then there's the tie in with Al Queda and Hezzbollah who have totally different agendas...and can be content on watching this regime pour more gasoline on the flames in the region.

The real disaster is we have no diplomatic corps. Rice is the most inept Sec. of State ever and she's gutted the department of anything but political toadies and contributors. Even if there was a diplomatic solution, there's no one home at Foggy Bottom.

[momster]

13. But...but...Rice is a Russian Expert!

Which would be lovely if we were squabbling with the Russians. But we're not. So why the hell is she Sec of State? Why don't we have somebody who understands a) the different groups in the Mid East and why they are who they are, b) the essentials of diplomacy. Send Rice back to whatever university will have her and her grand piano and give us a Sec of State who can actually be effective.

[GreenZoneLT]

15. Tried it. Didn like it.

We had that Powell feller, who kept braggin' about his Middle Easter experience. Smart aleck; we fixed his wagon. Condi's nicer; knows her place.

[specimenfred1984]

18. Translation:

These men are not given to idle words, and they are just one camp in the repuke radical movement. In recent times, it has also become clear that we face an escalating danger from repuke extremists who are just as hostile to America, and are also determined to dominate the Middle East. Many are known to take direction from the regime in Saudi Arabia, which is funding and arming terrorists like Hezbollah -- a group second only to al Qaeda in the American lives it has taken. The repuke and neo-con extremists are different faces of the same totalitarian threat. Whatever slogans they chant, when they slaughter the innocent they have the same wicked purposes. They want to kill Americans, kill democracy in the Middle East, and gain the weapons to kill on an even more horrific scale.


It's all projection: he was talking about himself.