Foreign Reaction

The Iraqi response to the presidential election was what might be expected: more violence. A Lebanese-American businessman was kidnapped, a US soldier was killed, four Iraqis were beheaded (three were alleged to be in their National Guard, the fourth in the regular Iraqi Army), an official in the Oil Ministry was assassinated, several car bombs exploded in Baghdad, Fallujah was pounded by airstrikes (prompting Juan Cole to note that the wanton brand of killing exemplified by bombing from the air is exactly the kind of action that groups like Al Qaeda respond to), um, and, let's see--anything else? Nothing yet, but there will be...of course, these days the question could be asked, "If a bomb goes off in Baghdad, but the press doesn't cover it, does it make any noise? Does it kill people? If a hostage is beheaded, but isn't American, does anyone care? Of a hostage is beheaded, but is LEBANESE-American, will the press even bother to mention it?

On the Afghanistan front, things are, fortunately, a little better. Rebels loosely affiliated with the Taliban extended their deadline for killing four hostages (UN employees)--begging yet more questions about the press, American public opinion, and the reality of the "war" on terror. Somehow, beheadings equal progress. And, hey, Karzai was elected president--guess we can move on now.

Last night I was mentioning to a friend who called on the telephone that, thanks to decision 2004, we have truly entered the lottery phase of the "war." Anyone naïve enough to think they--or their children--are safe need only look at the massacre at the school in North Ossetia (my friend told me last night that a friend of his, over a year ago, was worried about this exact scenario). Then there's the possibility of an attack on a chemical plant--and considering the number of plants between Baton Rouge and New Orleans, that certainly gives me pause.

Now, I don't want to give the impression that I'm fretting about this--no, I'm not. The odds of something happening in a particular location are miniscule, and I doubt seriously Louisiana is high on any sort of terrorist target list. However, the fact remains that there are vulnerable locations throughout the world AND right here in the United States (although, without trying to change the subject, you're still more vulnerable to getting horribly injured or killed in, say, a car wreck, instead of a terrorist attack). By upping the ante, and engaging in a bit of feel-good killing of anything walking around, like we're doing in Fallujah, we literally invite retaliation. A genuine review of the Israeli/Palestinian situation would be a good place to look for examples of this type of insanity. Only this time, it will be on a global stage.

Which begs yet another question--if/when the United States is attacked again (and it seems like everyone is suggesting it WILL happen), will the world pay any attention at all? And, if they do, will they respond with something like "those who live by the sword..."?).

This doesn't look good.