Yes, I support John McCain. Yes, I supported the original incursion into Iraq (on realist grounds) and supported the surge. What I do not and cannot support is Senator McCain's assertion that the greatest threat we face is from terrorists. I do not mean to belittle the threat because it is there but could any action by Osama seriously bring about the collapse of the Republic? The consistently repugnant Mr. Dionne speaking the truth:
Presumably, he's saying that Islamic extremism is more important than everything else--the rise of China and India as global powers, growing resistance to American influence in Europe, the weakening of America's global economic position, the disorder and poverty in large parts of Africa, the alienation of significant parts of Latin America from the United States. Is it in our national interest for all these issues to take a backseat to terrorism?Dionne puts our terror-phobia in perspective and makes a not so surprising dig at conservatives:
Of course, defeating terrorism is important, and no candidate will say otherwise. But the United States has a lot of work to do in the world. If we're thinking about the next two decades, not to mention the next 90 years, it's a mistake to see terrorism as a "transcendent challenge" that makes all our other interests secondary.
For conservatives, there is something peculiar about turning Islamic extremism into a mighty ideological force with the power to overrun the world. It's odd that so many take seriously Osama bin Laden's lunatic claims that he will build a new Caliphate. (And, by the way, exactly what did the Iraq War contribute to the fight against terrorism?)
