Lindsey Graham, better known as John McCain’s mini-me, has beclowned himself once again with his foolish comments about the Koran burning and Afghan riots, and it was good to see him cuffed around on the Corner yesterday. I pile on today with my New York Post column, which you can read here. An extract:
Even more disgraceful was Graham, who said on “Face the Nation”: “I wish we could find a way to hold people accountable,” referring to Pastor Jones. “Free speech is a great idea, but we’re in a war. During World War II, we had limits on what you could do if it inspired the enemy.”
This is jaw-dropping in its ignorance and stupidity. Graham is arguing against freedom of speech — why else should an American citizen exercising his First Amendment rights, however offensive to some, be “held accountable” for the reactions of superstitious goatherds half a world away? — and equating an insult toward the religion that explicitly animated the 9/11 hijackers with the Bund marchers who supported Hitler.
This is what we have come to expect from Graham, one of the least-impressive members of the world’s greatest deliberative body, which is saying something. The real disappointment, however, is Gen. David Petraeus:
“In view of the events of recent days, we feel it is important . . . to reiterate our condemnation of any disrespect to the Holy Koran and the Muslim faith. We condemn, in particular, the action of an individual in the United States who recently burned the Holy Koran.
“We further hope the Afghan people understand that the actions of a small number of individuals, who have been extremely disrespectful to the Holy Koran, are not representative of any of the countries of the international community who are in Afghanistan to help the Afghan people.”
To this we’ve come: Bogged down in an increasingly ineffectual military operation in Afghanistan that should have ended years ago after we defeated the Taliban and routed al Qaeda, we are instead apologizing to the very people who are killing American soldiers, and treating their holy book better than we do any other.
As I note, Petraeus is more diplomat than warrior these days, a sign of how far astray the mission in Afghanistan has wandered. And Mark Steyn has thumped the general here, which means there’s nothing left to say on the subject of internalized dhimmitude at the highest level of our war-fighting machine
.Maybe Derb is right.
Speaking of Mark, I had already composed the lede on my Post piece when I saw that he, too, thought right away of Noel Coward’s “Don’t Let’s Be Beastly to the Germans,” which, with a few word changes, could easily become the new Army anthem.
Don’t let’s be beastly to the Germans
When we’ve definitely got them on the run –
Let us treat them very kindly as we would a valued friend,
We might send them out some Bishops as a form of lease and lend.
Let’s be sweet to them
And day by day repeat to them
That ‘sterilization’ simply isn’t done.
Let’s help the dirty swine again
To occupy the Rhine again,
But don’t let’s be beastly to the Hun.