Aiding the Enemy
There are responsible ways to constructively critique the Bush Administration's foreign policy, and then there are irresponsible ways that give aid and comfort to our enemy.

I have long believed that Democratic attacks fall into the latter category and are undermining America's war on Islamic extremism, thereby jeopardizing American lives.

Our enemies agree with me:

In recent visits to several regional capitals, this writer was struck by the popularity of this new game from Islamabad to Rabat. The general assumption is that Mr. Bush's plan to help democratize the heartland of Islam is fading under an avalanche of partisan attacks inside the U.S. The effect of this assumption can be witnessed everywhere.

In Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf has shelved his plan, forged under pressure from Washington, to foster a popular front to fight terrorism by lifting restrictions against the country's major political parties and allowing their exiled leaders to return. There is every indication that next year's elections will be choreographed to prevent the emergence of an effective opposition. In Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai, arguably the most pro-American leader in the region, is cautiously shaping his post-Bush strategy by courting Tehran and playing the Pushtun ethnic card against his rivals.

In Turkey, the "moderate" Islamist government of Recep Tayyip Erdogan is slowly but surely putting the democratization process into reverse gear. With the post-Bush era in mind, Mr. Erdogan has started a purge of the judiciary and a transfer of religious endowments to sections of the private sector controlled by his party's supporters. There are fears that next year's general election would not take place on a level playing field.

Even in Iraq the sentiment that the U.S. will not remain as committed as it has been under Mr. Bush is producing strange results. While Shiite politicians are rushing to Tehran to seek a reinsurance policy, some Sunni leaders are having second thoughts about their decision to join the democratization process. "What happens after Bush?" demands Salih al-Mutlak, a rising star of Iraqi Sunni leaders. The Iraqi Kurds have clearly decided to slow down all measures that would bind them closer to the Iraqi state. Again, they claim that they have to "take precautions in case the Americans run away."

There are more signs that the initial excitement created by Mr. Bush's democratization project may be on the wane. Saudi Arabia has put its national dialogue program on hold and has decided to focus on economic rather than political reform. In Bahrain, too, the political reform machine has been put into rear-gear, while in Qatar all talk of a new democratic constitution to set up a constitutional monarchy has subsided. In Jordan the security services are making a spectacular comeback, putting an end to a brief moment of hopes for reform. As for Egypt, Hosni Mubarak has decided to indefinitely postpone local elections, a clear sign that the Bush-inspired scenario is in trouble. Tunisia and Morocco, too, have joined the game by stopping much-advertised reform projects while Islamist radicals are regrouping and testing the waters at all levels.

With the Right to Free Speech comes the responsibility of its reprecussions.
To be clear, I think Democrats believe that a failure of Bush's policies would be beneficial to America (though of course I believe they are sorely mistaken). So I wouldn't call them traitors. But that's a different argument.

The point is, we are seeing the results of these attacks -- the Left is intentionally undermining the foreign policy of the duly elected American President in a time of war. This necessarily creates more American casualties on the battlefield.

So it must be said: Constructive criticism, by it's nature, would be helpful to the "War on Terror". But Democratic attacks on Bush are emperically aiding the enemy. Therefore, it is a fact that these attacks are emperically traitorous.

In an era of terrorism, this puts all of us at risk.

Remember that when you go to vote this year and in 2008.
- posted by The Dutchman @ 8:13:00 AM