Many of you want to lose this war. That is your right. But most of us serving here have a better understanding of what losing is going to cost us in the long run.

No, none of us wanted to lose this war, or Vietnam for that matter, but lose them we did. This war is lost just like that one. And like that one, plenty of “shiny uniforms” came back telling us it was lost. Eventually, we believed them and stopped the bloodshed.

Quite a few of those “shiny uniforms” that are now telling us this war is lost have a whole lot of medals and stars on them – Generals who are well known and we can name, not some anonymous commenter who may or may not have ever been to Iraq.

Would you dare tell all those Generals to their face that they “wanted” to lose this war? I doubt it. What do you know about their motives? What evidence do you have to cast such aspersions on their views, their character and their patriotism?

America had forgot not only the recent past of the region, but the lessons of Vietnam.

The noise machine played a significant role in destroying those memories. The noise machine is an assault on truth, reason, and reality.

Some Americans, like Bush, didn’t forget the lessons of Vietnam – they simply learned the wrong ones. Our “commander guy” and many neo-cons insist that we were winning in Vietnam and victory was, of course, “just right around the corner.”

And they still contend that “leaving” Vietnam was a huge mistake that emboldened our enemies. A mistake we are still paying for.

The noise machine is about promoting this myth and they’ve been quite successful in inculcating a new crop of young Republicans with it. Some actually believe this myth, while others promote it simply because it reinforces their political views and promotes mindless militarism at the expense of reason and reality.

It’s also very useful in condemning those who are against continuing the occupation by automatically associating them with “failure” and “losing” and allows a highly decorated General like Glenn Reynolds to put forth his awe-inspiring strategy for the war: “win.”

Military geniuses like that are made, not born. And General Glenn has been suckling at the teat of the noise machine’s assault on truth, reason and reality for so long that it has now become simply reflex to grab at the smallest report of good news and use it jerk-off to the latest “victory is right around the corner” pornography.

And yes, it’s quite obscene. And I know it when I see it.

A few fringe jihadists here, a few fringe jihadists there, and soon you’re talking about bloody real numbers. -- Michelle Malkin

I noticed that for all the “hair raising” alarm Malkin, Steyn, Goldberg and Co. are raising none of them propose any specific actions or suggest what, if anything, should be done about what they see as a vast homegrown jihadist threat – at least in the articles cited.

They are sowing the seeds of hatred and mistrust, and they are actively working to alienate the Muslim community from American society even though that alienation would actually increase the potential for terrorism.

So what, specifically, are they proposing?

Have any of them been explicit in their obvious desire to live in a “national security state” replete with concentration camps, the banning of Islam and the expulsion of its adherents? Have they been asked?

I’ve heard Malkin deny that she supports concentration camps for Muslims, in spite of her book on the subject of internment. But she never offers any substantive ideas or anything except fear, hatred and anger.

Usually when people run around with their hair on fire screaming they are advocating something. What?

The administration still claims that it has the right to violate FISA any time it wishes. And the scope and extent of its past (and possibly current) violations are still completely unknown.

That is the real issue.

Gonzalez false assurance that "All wiretaps must be authorized by a federal judge" and McConnell’s Op-Ed pretending that the administration was trying to follow the law but the laws can’t keep up are just diversions from the real issue – unlimited executive power, and their radical theory that the president simply doesn’t have to follow the laws set forth by Congress.

All of their posturing is just a Kabuki dance to distract the public from the fact that they are in effect implementing the views of Harvey Mansfield who argues that the power of the President is greater than "the rule of law."

They don’t want to explicitly admit that the administration has rejected the “rule of law” so they present us these little dishonest opinions to change the subject.

http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2007/05/02/mansfield/