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In much of the world's mind, Prime Minister Sharon is a blood-loving bully. But he has taken a great risk, and who can deny his attempts to answer those who organize murder? Sharon says, "We will continue to fight terror so long as there is no one doing so on the other side." (That means the government of the PA.) "We will fight the leaders of terror organizations who instigate, finance, and dispatch terrorists setting out to murder Jews." That would seem to me elementary, in fact, uncontroversial. Natan Sharansky points out that no government, anywhere, can sit by while its citizens are wantonly cut down. Again, I find this hard to argue with. Sharansky, incidentally, is one who knows a thing or two about looking evil in the face and not flinching; he learned these lessons — in fact, demonstrated them — in the Soviet Union, as Anatoly Sharansky. Then again, a lot of people in Israel know a thing or two about not flinching.
The SecDef continued, "Let me be clear: Those countries have not been invited as junior partners, allowed to join the grown-ups' table so long as they sit quietly. No, they have been invited to lead." Why did Rummy put that in exactly those words? Obviously, we were made to think of President Jacques Chirac, who said that — in supporting the United States on Iraq — the Eastern Europeans were not "well brought up" and should "shut up." Oh, oh, what a difference it made that Bush, not Gore, won out in 2000. (How else could we right-wingers have pumped the arsenic "back" in the water?)
In fact, I have thought of a slogan for them (which they may use free of charge): "No Fluoridation Without Representation."
But enough about the 2008 Games in Beijing.
Now comes news that the administration will place American inspectors at major seaports in Muslim nations. This is aimed at preventing the smuggling of WMD in cargo containers. It is just a small step, you might say. But most of these steps are small, and they add up to a no-stone-unturned effort to guarantee American security. We can all be grateful for that, I would think, regardless of party.
Yes, that was Powell, not Rummy, and hats off.
A Cuban-American on the rights-monitoring commission would be a terrible offense, wouldn't it? To Castro and all his (many) supporters. The administration is making human-rights noises about Cuba both in U.N. councils and at the OAS. And this is making a lot of Fidel-protectors — not all of them Communists and fellow-travelers; plenty of them don't-rock-the-boat people and dullards — nervous.
The Reuters report further points out that the EU is Cuba's largest trading partner and foreign investor. But the Euros give signs of scaling back, at last embarrassed by their thug friend in Havana. Castro is particularly peeved at Spain, and its prime minister, José María Aznar. Castro's foreign minister called Aznar "a minor ally of the Yankee imperial government," who, of all the suddenly-troublemaking Europeans, is most responsible for the EU's "treacherous escalation of aggression." Yes, that's the way Communists talk, still and always. The "aggression," of course, would be the welcoming of a few dissidents at embassy receptions. Keep the pressure on. Any at all rattles Castro and his increasingly light-sleeping band.
I thought I would publish, in this column, part of the letter written on June 1 by his wife, Elsa: "Dr. Biscet is in solitary confinement since April 23, 2000, for refusing to wear the common prisoner's uniform, and all his rights are suspended. His family hasn't seen him since then. Since April 23 he has been wearing a pair of shorts and bath slippers. He is imprisoned in a cell 3' by 6' with insufficient light and ventilation, no running water, a hole for the toilet, and unsanitary conditions. He is prohibited from receiving visits or having contacts with the outside world. He has no access to fresh air or sunlight. He is sleeping on the floor. He cannot keep any personal belongings such as books, including his Bible. He cannot have access to any writing material or receive any mail. "My husband is a peaceful, God-loving, nonviolent human being and not an animal. . . . The prison measures against him violate the international human-rights treaties against torture and other cruel, inhumane, or degrading punishments [to] which Cuba is signatory. They violate his physical integrity and . . . lead to negative consequences such as serious illnesses. . . . "My husband's health was good before he went to prison in 1999, but now he is suffering from high blood pressure and gum disease. . . . His crimes are: honoring the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, opposing the death penalty and abortion, and organizing pro-democracy movements to demand his fellow countrymen's human rights through nonviolent civil disobedience. This man does not deserve to die in a dungeon. This man and his family have lost everything except God for the noble cause of human rights. He deserves a just treatment. He is not a danger to society and deserves to be free with his family and his people. I KNOW THAT MY HUSBAND'S LIFE IS IN DANGER AND WELCOME THE URGENT INTERCESSION OF ALL MEN AND WOMEN OF GOOD WILL IN THE WORLD, INCLUDING CUBAN AUTHORITIES." Well, if you can find someone among Cuban authorities of good will . . .
So, good for him. Such defections drive certain liberals nuts, of course: but they can always call him a racist, fascist, capitalist Batista stooge. That's some consolation!
Here is the beginning of the review:
Wow, wow, wow. Some of us have long dreamed of a statement like that in a venue such as the New York Times. People should hear more of that. Of course, if any president did something along the lines that the author suggests, it would be — in my view — GWB.
Huh? I'm trying to count the monotheistic religions: 1) Islam; 2) Christianity (a nod to the Copts); and 3) . . . could it be? The Egyptian censorship director? A religion "that we respect and which we believe in"? Maybe I'm missing something.
No, not in the Hillary mindset. She's only partly a wife; she is mainly, it would seem, a Democrat.
Keep it up, guys.
As we've said many times: If only you had to live there! (In Afghanistan, under the Taliban, not in L.A. — where you have the distinct privilege of listening to Larry Elder on the radio.)
Anyway, I was leafing through the press kit when I noticed an interview with him reported in the New York Times. Christie was extremely, extremely concerned about life in the land of his birth. He said, "Ordinary citizens [in America] are told things about the world by rather unscrupulous and, I think, evil people, and they believe them. I find many aspects of what's happening in the States today rather frightening." Well, I just hope that William Christie made it back to his hotel all right, after that performance in Brooklyn. You never know, with the Ashcroft secret police lurking behind every corner, in this age of Terror. (Oh, hang in: In what country was Terror perfected? Never mind — just being cheeky.) Later, y'all. |
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ear in mind that these endless attacks on Israel are tough for that small
country to take. They're like mini-9/11's — only not so mini-, because
there are only 6 million people in Israel, 4.5 million of them Jews (for
some reason, the other Israelis don't seem to get hit that much).
Reason 8,637 to Love and Appreciate Secretary of Defense Donald H. Rumsfeld:
While in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, Rummy said, "It is no surprise that
many of the nations with fresh memories of tyranny and occupation have
been among those most willing to face the new threats, and contribute
to dealing with them." That — need I point out — is a reference
to the "New Europe," meaning the former Iron Curtain countries.
He went on, "They are bringing new vision and new vitality to our
old alliance" — meaning NATO.
