Where do you want to fight?

M raised a good point this morning. He believes the current administration's approach of:

choosing a despised dictator (an avowed enemy of the U.S., a man who harbored terrorists and used WMD's)

removing him from power

setting up a new government - friendly to the U.S

is sheer genius. Why?



The answer hinges on where we prefer terrorists like Zarqawi to reside. Do we want them to collect -- together -- in a foreign country fighting our topnotch military, or scattered throughout the world targeting our domestic infrastructure? Which would you prefer?

...There is a problem in the Sunni Triangle and in certain Baghdad suburbs. If you look at the figures for August, over half the 71 US fatalities that month died in one province - al-Anbar, which covers much of the Sunni Triangle. Most of the remainder were killed dispatching young Sadr's goons in Najaf or in operations against other Sunni Triangulators in Samarra, with a couple of isolated incidents in Mosul and Kirkuk. In 11 of Iraq's 18 provinces, not a single US soldier died. ...In two-thirds of the country, municipal government has been rebuilt, business is good, restaurants are open, life is as jolly as it has been in living memory. This summer the Shia province of Dhi Qar, south-east of Baghdad, held the first free elections in its history, electing secular independents and non-religious parties to its town councils... ...And, in the end, the reality is this. A few weeks ago, Prof Bernard Lewis, the great historian of the Muslim world, told Die Welt that "Europe will be Islamic by the end of the century". That seems demographically unavoidable. Given that much of what we now know as the civilised world will be Muslim, it seems prudent to ensure that what is already the Muslim world is civilised. And, for those who say that Islam is incompatible with democracy, we might as well try to buck that in Iraq today than in France, Scandinavia and Britain the day after tomorrow.

London Telegraph: All the good things they don't tell you about Iraq and Sept. 9, Three Years On - A roundup of good news from Afghanistan

Kerry Campaign Attempts To Destabilize Australian Partnership

From Captain's Quarters... well, you just have to read it. The Kerry campaign keeps sinking lower and lower.

...John Kerry's campaign has sent Kerry's sister Diana down under to tell Australians that their American alliance makes them less safe... ..."Asked if she believed the terrorist threat to Australians was now greater because of the support for Republican George W. Bush, Ms Kerry said: "The most recent attack was on the Australian embassy in Jakarta -- I would have to say that." So much for "building alliances"! Kerry has now acted to undermine a critical relationship in the war on terror just to score some electoral points. A failure on John Howard's part to be re-elected would certainly give Kerry ammunition to attack George Bush on his standing overseas. However, with Howard running ahead of the pack in Australia, Kerry sent his little sister to attempt to influence the Australian election... ...Besides, it's a ludicrous charge. The al-Qaeda Bali bombing that killed more than 200 people, mostly Australians, came in October 2002, well before the invasion of Iraq. Diana Kerry isn't competent enough to read a calendar; Australians are smarter than that. Does John Kerry care more about grabbing power than he does about the United States? It certainly appears that way...

Kerry Campaign Attempts To Destabilize Australian Partnership

The Grand Deception

If you didn't get to read Unfit for Command, this Times-Dispatch column by Admiral Roy Hoffmann does a nice job of summarizing the Swiftboat Veterans' charges against John Kerry (hat tip: PoliPundit).

The widely repeated myth of "John Kerry, the Vietnam Navy Hero" is one of the most dishonorable and dangerous deceptions ever perpetrated upon the American public. John Kerry is not a hero. He built this facade with unabashed personal promotion, aided and abetted by a supportive liberal media ready and willing to repeat in print his gross exaggerations, distortions of fact, and outright lies about his abbreviated four-month, 12-day tour of duty in Vietnam... ...Kerry is not a hero. He betrayed his comrades-in-arms in time of war. He is a chronic liar and a fraud. This is not about politics; it's about truthfulness, reliability, loyalty, and trust - all absolute tenets of command. John Forbes Kerry is not fit to be Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces of the United States of America.

The Grand Deception: 'Kerry, War Hero,' Is a Myth

Rathergate and the Kerry Campaign

“Bill Burkett, Democrat activist and Kerry campaign supporter, passes information to the DNC; Kerry campaign surrogate Max Cleland discusses “valuable” information with Bill Burkett; Bill Burkett talks to “senior” Kerry campaign officials; an apparently unsuspecting news organization uses faked forged memos and an interview with Ben Barnes at the same time the Democratic National Committee launched Operation Fortunate Son; and Kerry campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill was among the first to call Ben Barnes and congratulate him after his interview. The trail of connections is becoming increasingly clear.”

- RNC Communications Director Jim Dyke (hat tip: PoliPundit)

Toons

Need proof the Left is whacked?

If you need proof the Left has a severe case of BDS (Bush Derangement Syndrome), just pay a visit to the Gallery of "Bush = Hitler" Allusions (hat tip: LGF).

Links o' the Day

On the Kerry/Don Imus interview: New, improved Kerry even more Incoherent.



Aussie press on Kerry undermining the Australian alliance: US 'endangers Australians'.



The title says it all. And this is from Kerry's hometown newspaper. Kerry courting both sides on gun-control issue.



Did you know Teresa Heinz-Kerry believes her detractors are 'scumbags'?