In all the talk about the debt ceiling, the budget, and whatnot, we’re hearing the same stock phrases from the left, over and over again, almost as if they’ve been issued their talking points from Central Command: “hostage-takers,” “terrorists,” and “you don’t negotiate terrorists.”
The more I heard those terms, the more I thought about them. And the more I realized just how empty the phrase was. We don’t negotiate with terrorists? Has anyone really examined that premise carefully?
Let’s take a look at some of the most prominent terrorist groups in the world today, and see just how we’re dealing with them.
Al Qaeda: OK, they’re still the bad guys. We’re actively hunting and killing them all over the world, and that ain’t likely to change any time soon. Hell, Obama’s supporters can’t stop bragging how he got Bin Laden.
The Taliban: We’re still fighting them in Afghanistan, but the recognized governments of Afghanistan and Pakistan — our reputed allies — are pretty much in negotiations with them. It’s like they have come to the conclusion that the US won’t be around very long, but the Taliban will — and they better come to terms with them for when the US does leave.
Hezbollah: The “Party Of Allah” has the most American blood on its hands of any Islamist terrorist group other than Al Qaeda, and has actually started several wars with Israel. They are also the de facto government of Lebanon. Which means that any dealings with Lebanon means dealing with Hezbollah.
Hamas: This is the Palestinian terrorist group that made the PLO look like moderates. An arm of the Muslim Brotherhood, this group rivals Hezbollah for sheer bloodthirstiness. They just passed five years of holding kidnapped Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit hostage, are firing mortars and rockets and missiles into Israel on a daily basis, and recently fired a guided anti-tank missile at a school bus. Oh, and they’re the legally-elected government of the Gaza Strip, which means that they are the “partners in peace” we’re constantly urging Israel to negotiate with.
Mexican Drug Cartels: Let’s toss in one non-Islamic terrorist group, just to keep things from getting too imbalanced. These groups are holding Mexico (and parts of the US, on occasion) in a reign of terror, racking up body counts in the thousands, and threatening to topple Mexico’s government. They’ve also killed plenty of Americans, on both sides of the border. And the Obama administration has been supplying them with weapons and helping them to bring their drugs into the United States.
So, on the above basis, it looks like liberals consider Al Qaeda worse than the Tea Party, but not as bad as the Taliban, Hezbollah, Hamas, or the Mexican drug cartels.
Heady stuff, indeed, for a group that has yet to do anything beyond working within the system and obeying all the laws.
