Administration officials and their supporters love to use the "our enemies are listening" argument to criticize the debate over and coverage of the war. Cheney, for example, loves to tell us how al Qaeda is trying to "break our will", and that as a result, we need to be careful not to say anything that would demoralize the troops or the nation. Here's one example:
I'm not sure what part of it is that Nancy disagreed with. She accused me of questioning her patriotism. I didn't question her patriotism. I questioned her judgment. Al-Qaeda functions on the basis that they think they can break our will. That's their fundamental underlying strategy. My statement was that if we adopt the Pelosi policy, that we will validate the strategy of al-Qaeda. I said it, and I meant it. And I'm not backing down. -- Vice President Dick Cheney, February 23, 2007
Granting them the fact that there really is no doubt that our enemies are in fact listening, I can't help but ask: what role does the endless happy talk coming from people like Cheney and McCain play in spurring violence in Iraq?
It's the logical flip-side of their complaint, one that I don't think I've ever seen analyzed. But after the news out of Iraq today, I think that might need to change. A few weeks back, McCain traveled to Iraq and did a bit of shopping. Less than 48 hours later, the market was attacked. Over the weekend, McCain gives a major speech touting "progresS" in Iraq. Today, a suicide bomber successfully infiltrated the parliament building inside the Green Zone.
For the record, I don't think we should let our "enemies" dictate either our foreign policy or our political speech. But if supporters of the war are going to claim that negative comments about the war are in part responsible for negative things that happen, it is only fair to ask if the positive things they are saying play any role in spurring our "enemies" to take spectacular actions in an effort to counter their positive claims. Its their logic, not mine. If nothing else, I'd be curious to see how they respond.
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