In a continuation of the conservative practice of simply creating their own reality, in a post titled “White Man’s Burden” (just so you know the angle this idiotic statement is coming from), Wizbang’s Jaytea twists reality with his own bare hands.
But the war was never against Al Qaeda. They were merely one faction – and so far, the most successful faction — of the overall enemy, one part of the big picture. The war did not begin with their first attack on us, it had been going for some time, and even if every single Al Qaeda member were to be killed or arrested, the war would continue.
The toppling of the Taliban deprived Al Qaeda of their sanctuary, and put them on the defensive for the first time. Since that day, the vast majority of their leadership is dead or imprisoned. True, Bin Laden himself is still missing, but the 9/11 attacks represented the singular high point of their campaign against America – and the dropoff from that peak has been tremendous.
That’s right, kids. The war was never against Al Qaeda. That Al Qaeda is responsible for the worst mass murder in American history is immaterial. For the purposes of this argument, they’re just not central to the war on terrorism. Furthermore, we should also pretend that terrorism has not increased globally and we should just completely ignore that Al Qaeda and those sympathetic with them have been able to kill over 2,600 Americans in Iraq.
They just don’t matter, just don’t count. We’re creating our own reality here, people. Keep up.
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The air just might be a tad too thin in New Hampshire or Jay is just that dumb.
Nah, its not the air.
What we really need is a War on Sliding Scales.
I think JayTea has it right. Just not the way he thinks he does.
Was the war ever a war against al Qaeda?
That’s certainly the war the Bush administration sold us, but I don’t think it was EVER the war they intended to fight.
While the rubble at the Pentagon was still smoking, Rumsfeld was already calculating ways to use the attacks as a pretext for invading Iraq.
For the Bushies, the war was never about al Qaeda.
Maybe we should be nice to Jay, this is, afterall, his Opus (It’s in Parts!).
From the second paragraph of
“The White Man’s Burden: Part I: From ‘Feel The Power’ to ‘Fear The Power’”:
What a tool.
“The toppling of the Taliban deprived Al Qaeda of their sanctuary”
… and the US let them create new ones in Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, and oops! Back in Afghanistan!!!!
JT has always been short bus material, but this hits a new low of Bush-fellating.
White-mans burden. Hmmmm. I wonder how the minorities that are doing the dying feel about the “white man” bearing the burden in the War on ‘terra.
Like JT, safely at home in the US warblogging for peace.
Sheesh, don’t they teach reading comprehension any more?
Al Qaeda is a SUBSET of the enemy. The terrorism didn’t start with the first WTC attack, and it won’t end with the death or capture of Bin Laden.
Secondly, I chose those racist terms very deliberately. Those were words and phrases that were very common at the time — casually, prior to Pearl Harbor; venomously, after. Our racist attitudes towards the Japanese (which was rather nicely mirrored by them at the time) was a large factor in the impact of Pearl Harbor; our prejudices simply could not let us concieve of them planning and pulling off an attack that successful. I chose to echo those words to make the point as forcefully as I could, as well as a subtle (apparently too subtle) dig who call Muslim terrorists terms like “ragheads” and “sand niggers” and the like. It lets people give vent to their fury, but blinds them to the larger realities and prevents them from seeing the real picture. Worse than being hateful, worse than being ignorant, racism and bigotry like that is arrogant and self-destructive.
Sorry you missed it. Guess I should work on being less subtle.
J.
No, Jay, they don’t teach reading comprehension–at least not where you went to school.
Your “point” in using gutter language was very badly couched, so the fault lies not with the reader. Nice try, though. Reminds me of Pee Wee Herman falling off a bike: “I meant to do that.”
“It lets people give vent to their fury, but blinds them to the larger realities and prevents them from seeing the real picture.”
Oh, now I get it. So the “ragheads” and “sand niggers” aren’t like subhuman animals incapable of thought, they are dangerous, crafty subhuman animals who are the greatest threat known to the history of human civilization. What breathtaking insight.
Jay, it’s pretty clear you were struggling to make some ironic point but what it actually was was anybody’s guess. Your clarification just makes it all so much more stupid.
I gather the title of your epic, ‘White Man’s Burden’, has some other ironic little twist as well. You know, because it’s not like that phrase has any racist implications either. And it certainly isn’t like the United States ever sought to be a world power based on such a paternalistic world view, it’s not like we ever went to war against
Spain or anything.
Again, what a tool.
Jay Tea | Sep 21, 2006 6:39:41 AM
“Secondly, I chose those racist terms very deliberately. Those were words and phrases that were very common at the time — casually, prior to Pearl Harbor; venomously, after. Our racist attitudes towards the Japanese (which was rather nicely mirrored by them at the time) was a large factor in the impact of Pearl Harbor; our prejudices simply could not let us concieve of them planning and pulling off an attack that successful. I chose to echo those words to make the point as forcefully as I could, as well as a subtle (apparently too subtle) dig who call Muslim terrorists terms like “ragheads” and “sand niggers” and the like. It lets people give vent to their fury, but blinds them to the larger realities and prevents them from seeing the real picture. Worse than being hateful, worse than being ignorant, racism and bigotry like that is arrogant and self-destructive.
Sorry you missed it. Guess I should work on being less subtle.
That’s it? THAT’S your explanation? You’re sorry WE missed it?
“Worse than being hateful, worse than being ignorant, racism and bigotry like that is arrogant and self-destructive.”
Yes, indeed, racism gets in the way of knowing who we need to kill. Again, fantastic analysis, Jay.
frame, jt is what passes for a “reasonable conservative” these days. Scary, huh?
Good job, Oliver. You just proved why we shouldn’t leave Iraq. We’ll make a neocon of you yet!
More from the Opus: PART I:
Yes, indeed, Reagan chose his battles well. Invading Grenada: What awesome Resolve! We kicked their fucking asses! That one really put us back on the map of respected world powers. Especially since it happened just two days after the Beirut marine barracks bombing in 1983. Yup, truly a judicious and magisterial choice of how and when to use US military power: Always to distract from bigger failures.
“You just proved why we shouldn’t leave Iraq.”
Hey Save, let’s invade Pakistan, Syria and Iran, then we’ll never be able to leave those places too! It’ll be awesome.
The way to approach Jay’s treatise is as the best sort of humor: unintended.
From today’s crock: from the outset, the independence of that “colony” is the primary goal.
See? Isn’t that a hoot? Jay is such a complete moron that he’s not aware that the primary goal in Iraq was never to bring them “democracy.” It was to create a true free-market economy, which has been the Neocon wet dream for some time now. What part of Iraqi independence required writing into their Constitution that foreign (read: US) corporations can set up shop there, exploit the resources and labor, and then export every cent of revenue without paying any taxes to Iraq?
How is that helping to get them back on their feet? It’s more like bending them over.
The rest of his Opus (and pretty much everything else he writes) is the same. It’s funny because he’s so stupid.
Oh, and I’ve apparently been blocked from his site, so if he ever claims that he never deleted a single post, you’ll know he’s a lying piece of shit, as well.
Oh mercy, Jay’s an idiot. From today’s PART IV!!!! as well:
Then one poem and dozen verbose paragraphs later he writes:
oops, the last two lines there should are mine not Jay’s. Perhaps obviously so.
oops, the last two lines there should are mine not Jay’s. Perhaps obviously so.
Shorter JT: We come only to liberate you and we might kill you, unless you have a real military in which case we’ll leave you alone.
I love Jay. Really, he’s the idiot that just keeps on giving. From the Opus:
Jay forgot to mention one specific former British protectorate that you’d think would have some direct bearing on his point. It’s called
Iraq.
Other former British colonies or protectorates include: Burma/Myanmar, Nigeria, Palestine, Pakistan, Somalia, South Africa and Sudan. All models of stability and independence through out their history.
Any excuse to bash France. Wingnuts are cute when they try to act erudite.
Actually, the biggest comedy of all whiffs right under the radar. WE (the US) are a former British colony, and we staged an insurgency and kicked them out.
If I were a Bush humper right now, I’d seriously be worried that Irony was waiting outside to beat the sh*t out of me.
Frame,
I believe South Africa belonged to the Dutch, hence “Afrikaans”.
And you have to include India if you want to talk about Pakistan. You know, India? The homeland of Ghandi, the posterboy of peace?
You also omitted Zimbabwe (Rhodesia). Certainly a “model” former British colony if ever there was one.
From Wikipedia re; The Boer Wars:
And Jay includes India in his list but exlcudes Pakistan. I was just setting the record straight.