Bush Repeats the Same Nonsense Over and Over

In response to the Congress holding an all-night debate on a measure that would begin withdrawal from Iraq, Bush states the following.

President Bush: "Al Qaeda would have been a heck of a lot stronger today had we not stayed on the offense, and it is in the interest of the United States to defeat them overseas so we don't have to face them here, but to also spread an ideology that will defeat their ideology every time, and that is the ideology based upon liberty."

Why is it that the president can repeat such nonsense over and over and never be challenged on it in the mainstream media? All intelligence agencies say that the war in Iraq has increased terrorism around the world and has recruited more jihadists for Al Qaeda and other terrorists groups. The attack on Iraq has made Al Qaeda stronger, just the opposite of what Bush says. Second, there was no Al Qaeda in Iraq, so attacking Iraq doesn't have much to do with attacking Al Qaeda. Third, contrary to what Bush thinks, the jihadists have an ideology that is ultimately based on liberty, too. Bin Laden's liberty, as he states, is the liberty of God's plan (as explained in the Koran). True freedom, according to Bin Laden, is to follow God's plan. It is funny, but Bush wouild probably say the same thing as Bin Laden -- but point to the Bible. What Bush means is that we value a political philosophy (liberalism) that is based on political liberty, and that will always beat Al Qaeda's ideology.

But here is the problem. Al Qaeda's ideology cannot be separated from its deeply religious message of freedom. To beat Al Qaeda's ideology is to defeat the Islamic faith itself and its message of freedom, and it is implausible to think that Muslims will give up that message of freedom after seeing our liberty! The problem is that our liberty can't be separated from our greedy corporate capitalism, our empirialistic militarism, our souless consummerism, and our shameful moral relativistism. Our liberty, as great a message as it is, comes weighted down with a big pile of baggage that is not essential to it but expresses our own (unfortunate) realization of that liberty. What Muslim, especially Bin Laden types, can see that core idea of liberty independent of all this ugly realization of the liberty? Is this the liberty that devout true Muslims will flock to? Not at all, if Qtub is correct. Qtub is a very influential Muslim thinker who went to America and saw the American way of liberty. He was disgusted with the American way of life, and wrote that the true Muslim would never accept this American way of life. Islamic extremists are especially very familiar with Qtub's writings. So contrary to what Bush seems to think, Muslim's have already looked carefully at America and have rejected its ideology, because they rejected the ugly consequences of our example of it. How does the destruction of Iraq and the killing of their families lead Muslims to join the American ideology? What Muslim will cheer corporate capitalism after seeing its attempts to take over Iraqi oil? How can obscenity and pornography and the exploitation of sex in culture lead a Muslim to the American ideology? How can mindless consummerism and materialism pursuade the true Muslim to adopt our great liberty? It can't happen that way.

Our liberty-based ideology will always defeat their ideology because our ideology can kill better than theirs. That's what Bush really means to say.