The Right Blames America First
In today's Washington Post, Robert Novak once again explains why our embassies were bombed: "Administration spokesmen have adopted the Israeli line that terrorists are ardent foes of democracy and, therefore, strike at this country as its bastion. In truth, the United States is despised by 'the street' throughout Islam because of its unconditional support for Israel, its permanent sanctions against Iraq, and the stationing of troops in Saudi Arabia." Retaliation has merely "raised the level of hate." Let's ignore the odd invocation of public opinion in some of the least democratic countries in the world. Further, let's assume that terrorists are indeed motivated by specific gripes against the uses to which we put our power rather than general dissatisfaction with the fact of our power.

What Novak is arguing is that we can avoid terrorist incidents by pre-emptively capitulating to the terrorists: dropping the sanctions, withdrawing the troops, etc. Which sounds like a truism. But of course, we would have to go further. Other people upset by our foreign policy will surely want to replicate this Middle East success, which means more threats or actual terrorism. We'll just have to withdraw from the world and retreat behind our borders. This is, more or less, the frank advice of a hundred Cato Institute papers (example: CATO Policy Analysis No. 306, "Protecting the Homeland: The Best Defense Is to Give No Offense"). Come home, America! If you go outside, you might get hit by a car.

But even this wouldn't work, since hotheads in the States would draw the same lesson as terrorists elsewhere. What the Novak/Cato isolationists are really telling America is simple: Curl up and die.

Speech II: The Empire Strikes Out
The Ejaculation Proclamation went over so well last time, apparently the White House is thinking of an encore. How, pray tell, would it go? President Clinton (sans cravate): "My speech two weeks ago was inappropriate. In fact, it was wrong. I did not 'mislead' people seven months ago; I lied. I lied in the deposition, I lied to you, I lied to the grand jury, and I lied to you again right afterward. I am deeply sorry--oh, all right, that's another lie. Look, fact is, I'm going to keep lying to y'all for as long as I possibly can. So take this as my apology for all lies, past, present, and future, that I may feel it necessary to tell. But I still think it's time to move on. My personal life is between me, the family I love more than life itself, my God, and the Dallas Cowboys cheerleading team. Even Presidents have the right to break the law."