December 2003 Archives

Those who think that you can negotiate with terrorists are naive.

I understand the sentiment -- it's a basic tenet of political science. You gather all the parties in a room, you lay out the issues and you split the difference; it's a win-win.

Our political discourse is full of terms and vocabulary to describe this time-honored process:

• "Half a loaf is better than none."
• "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good."
• "Come, let us reason together."

But that only works in a system wherein your adversary abides by certain rules. For example, Lyndon Johnson could be a master deal maker in the Senate because he knew that Everett Dirksen was not a known murderer of innocent women and children.

So let's agree that negotiating with terrorists is a bad idea. They're laughing up their sleeves at us. Don't you see that the message we send is loud and clear: they know they can kill us and our allies with impunity, then if they run out the clock, we'll forget (because we ALWAYS forget) and we'll gladly split the difference.

Because that's who we are.

Americans are a trusting, optimistic people. But I'm here to tell you that we're still a young and naive people. We're in a war with people that only understand one thing: getting and using the power over life and death.

Oh, they understand right and wrong but they also understand that, with power, you can grant life and death. And that is what they want. They want to speak with the awful voice of God's own thunder.

How do you compromise with that? You can't. There is no compromise with evil. There is no "seeing the other side" of evil.

I've been accused of "seeing things only in black in white." That cracks me up because I've also been described as "a squishy liberal."

Some have suggested I grow up.

I am grown up. In fact, I grew up in that part of the world that spawned the likes of Yasser Arafat, Moammar Gaddafi, the monsters of Hamas and Hizbullah, and the mullahs of Iran.

And in the time that I spent there, I learned one thing: that if someone wants to kill you, they'll probably also lie to you as well.

You can't negotiate with Saddam.
You can't negotiate with Arafat.
You can't negotiate with Gaddafi.
You can't negotiate with Hamas.
You can't negotiate with Hizbullah.

For those who want to know, what would I have done differently in the Gaddafi deal? I would have required everything that POTUS did as well as the requirement that Gaddafi be delivered into a jail cell of our choosing.

On that, there would be no compromise. Because we, too, understand how to speak with the awful voice of God's own thunder.

Some are saying that Moammar Gadhafi's pledge to abandon its WMD program is a step forward. I hope it is. But the families of the Lockerbie terror attack have a different perspective that we would be wise to listen to:

"What I get from this is Gadhafi massacred 189 Americans at 31,000 feet and he's now being rewarded by the United States, where President Bush and Prime Minister Blair become willing partners," said Bert Ammerman, a spokesman for the Lockerbie victims' families and whose brother was killed in the bombing.

"The country is not a problem with me. If Gadhafi wasn't in power, I'd be a big advocate of this. But the United States has not learned how to deal with foreign policy or have a moral backbone."

Ammerman said he supports wholeheartedly going after the leaders of countries that sponsor terrorism and that Gadhafi "has a proven track record of state-sponsored terrorism."

Remember: 189 Americans killed by Ghadafi. And now we're making nice with him.

That's George Bush -- wobbly, once again, in the war on terror.

Eric Boehlert writes this in Salon:

Thirty-four years ago this week, the Beatles, Stones, Zeppelin, Temptations, Santana, Crosby Stills and Nash, and Creedence Clearwater all shared top billing on the Billboard album chart.

There's never been another lineup quite like it -- and there will never be again.

1. "Abbey Road," the Beatles
   
2. "Led Zeppelin II," Led Zeppelin
   
3. "Tom Jones Live in Las Vegas," Tom Jones
   
4. "Green River," Creedence Clearwater Revival
   
5. "Let It Bleed," the Rolling Stones
   
6. "Santana," Santana
   
7. "Puzzle People," the Temptations
   
8. "Blood Sweat & Tears," Blood Sweat & Tears
   
9. "Crosby, Stills & Nash," Crosby, Stills & Nash
   
10. "Easy Rider" soundtrack (featuring the Byrds, the Jimi Hendrix Experience, and Steppenwolf)

Just imagine the mix tape possibilities from that single '69 week:

• "Come Together,"
• "Whole Lotta Love,"
• "The Weight,"
• "It's Not Unusual,"
• "Green River,"
• "You Can't Always Get What You Want,"
• "Wooden Ships,"
• "Gimme Shelter,"
• "I Can't Get Next to You,"
• "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding),"
• "Here Comes the Sun,"
• "Evil Ways,"
• "And When I Die,"
• "Bad Moon Rising,"
• "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes," and
• "Born to Be Wild."

Seven of the acts from that December week have been inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

And if you include the appearances of the Byrds and Jimi Hendrix on the "Easy Rider" soundtrack, as well as songwriting credits by Bob Dylan and The Band's Robbie Robertson, that's 11 Hall of Famers side-by-side in one week.

Not to mention some of rock's most inventive guitarists:

• Keith Richards,
• Roger McGuinn,
• Jimmy Page,
• George Harrison,
• Carlos Santana and, of course,
• Jimi Hendrix.