Liberals tend to claim that we won’t have to find and burn far more of our own oil and coal, or build nuclear plants. But they are learning that for now that would only make Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Hugo Chavez, Vladimir Putin and the House of Saud even happier.
Iran
The recent National Intelligence Estimate told us that Iran ceased efforts to acquire nuclear weapons in 2003. The news was as unexpected as it was widely distrusted. What’s clear, at least for now, are the effects of the report: Hawks’ ideas of preemptively bombing Iran are fortunately off the table. But, unfortunately, so are serious economic and diplomatic efforts to persuade the Iranians to stop. This flawed report will come back to haunt us.
Iraq
In recent months, we’ve seen a reduction of violence in Iraq as Sunni tribal insurgents joined American troops in hunting down al-Qaida terrorists. These insurgents’ turnabout may have been influenced by the U.S. troop surge, a change in the American military’s tactics, worry over the Shiite-dominated government, confidence in an oil-fed prosperity or a growing awareness of the savage nihilism of al-Qaida.
The fact that the insurgents approached us for help after being defeated or demoralized suggests that the present truce could evolve into a peace in ways no one had foreseen.
Anti-War and Over-the-Top
After Moveon.org ran its infamous “General Betray Us” ad -- in The New York Times no less and originally at a reduced rate -- the entire vocal anti-war movement never quite recovered. Before the ad, Cindy Sheehan, Code Pink and Michael Moore were all seen as just vehemently anti-war. After the lunatic ad, all such critics were suspected, unfairly or not, of being anti-military and potentially undermining the thousands of Americans who serve in it.
Hollywood
The American people go to the movies to be entertained and occasionally enlightened. They do not pay to be lectured to, brainwashed or made to feel ashamed of their own country and military. Brian De Palma’s movie “Redacted” did all three and came and went from theaters faster than you could say “agitprop.”
“Lions for Lambs,” “Rendition” and “In the Valley of Elah” did little better. The fates of these films should remind those in Hollywood that when we want to be preached at, we prefer church.