A VIEW FROM THE CHEAP SEATS
By Rich Trzupek
Know Thy Enemy
This column presupposes that you believe that Islamic, neo-fascist terrorists are an enemy, which is to say that their hostile intent, anger and penchant for blowing up stuff is a matter of sinister purpose, not aggrieved reaction. If you�re in the �we made them do it� or the �if we�d just ignore them they�d go away� camp, you�ll want to crumple up this column now and find a Bill Mahr special on the tube.
You can tell an awful lot about the way a person thinks by considering what that person hates. More often than not, it tells you what he desires. If a co-worker is constantly criticizing your work, for example, chances are that he desperately wants your job. The same principle applies in the international arena.
Planning for September 11, Al Quida had an almost unlimited supply of targets. We didn�t defend against suicidal passenger jets, because nobody had seriously considered a 767 to be a weapon. We�ve learned since then.
With a nation full of targets, the ones the terrorists chose are telling. They picked the World Trade Center, a symbol of our economic strength; the Pentagon, a symbol of our military power; and the Capitol, a symbol of democracy.
What�s the message? It doesn�t take a Ph.D. in Foreign Relations to figure it out. They hate capitalism, the US military and democracy. Why? Because they want riches, strength and power. They attacked the symbols that, in their minds, represent all of the reasons they can�t have what they so desire.
In his well-publicized letter to President Bush, Iran�s �President� Ahmadinejad, otherwise known as �the suicide bombers� best friend, briefly,� reinforced the radical Islamo-terrorist agenda. (You can find a full copy of the Iranoprez�s letter, and a reply, on my website).
He complained the west was robbing the poorer continents of Africa and South America, conveniently ignoring the multi-billions in aid that the west has sunk into countries there and the corrupt governments that steal billions more from their impoverished citizens. They want money, but, like a petulant teenager, the fanatics don�t understand where it comes from or where it goes.
He accused the US, Britain and Israel of unwarranted aggression. He didn�t use the word �bullies,� since that�s not in his vocabulary, but that was clearly the implication.
When you call someone a bully, you implicity acknowledge that they are stronger than you. This clearly bugs Ahmadinejad. He and his terrorist buddies want to be the biggest kids on the block, so they can have things their way. It just isn�t fair that we have F-18�s and they are stuck with functional illetrates strapped with plastic explosives. The �Islamic Bomb� will redress that indifference, at least in Iran and Al Quida�s world.
And democracy? Democracy, Iran�s esteemed President, elected by a majority of voters among a field of candidates deemed acceptable by his religious masters, which would consist of, um-him, told us the democracy is a failure. Not because it has failed to deliver freedom and prosperity, but because democracy stands in the way of all of the fanatical dreams that he and his bosses hold so dear.
It's Iran�s agenda. It�s Al Quida�s agenda. Give us money, strength and power and we�ll be quite content, thank you very much. With that, they can re-establish the Ottoman empire, dominate the near and middle east and bring the heathen west to its knees. If that�s what you want, what better opening shot than to attack the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and the Capitol? Thanks to the brave passengers on Flight 93, only two of those three efforts succeeded.
It�s even more telling to consider what the terrorists did not attack�what they apparently never even considered destroying.
Prosperity, strength, power? Sure, they all matter. All are a source of pride. But, more than anything, we value our liberty. And there was one uniquely American symbol of liberty available, a very fragile symbol, clad in thin copper sheeting, a target standing alone and unprotected in New York Harbor on September 11, 2001. She never figured into the fanatic�s hateful equations, for the terrorists could not, and can not, understand her.
The Statue of Liberty still stands.
In their ignorance, the terrorists dodged a bullet. We can lose a World Trade Center or two. Sure we�ll mourn, but the twin towers were about money�if we forget the lives�and we can always make more money. We have enough strength to absorb the loss of a few generals and politicians in the Pentagon and Capitol, if it came to that. But Lady Liberty? That�s quite another matter. That would have truly pissed us off, Democrat and Republican alike.
Jon Stewart, an unlikely ally, understood what she means to us. In his first show after 9-11, Stewart tearfully reflected on the tragic events of that fateful day. He noted how he had always been able to see the twin towers from his domicile, but, peering out in the horizon on September 12, he could still see the Statute of Liberty standing proudly in the harbor. �That�s not so bad, is it?� he asked his audience. No Jon, that�s not bad at all. In fact, that�s all that really matters. Perhaps you�ll remember that someday.
She stands for the rights of loonies like Ramsey Clark and Cindy Sheehan to rave as much as they like�something they could never do if the fanatics achieved their dreams. She stands for an opposition, loyal or not, and for every columnist and corner bar pundit who thinks they could do better. In a time where so many complain about losing their rights, we sure do exercise them a lot.
The nut-balls don�t get that of course. They don�t understand Lady Liberty, much less can they conceive of what she means to us. Perhaps that works to their advantage. For, should they ever attack what truly matters, they would unleash a a firestorm that they could never hope to survive.