BOMBastING PAKISTAN

Last night VDH offered this little smack-down of talking-head roundy-round, the latest edition coming on the heels of the reporting of Al Qaeda's comeback:

I was watching the Scarborough cable news show this evening, where the talking heads went on and on about the impending Taliban spring offensive as the inevitable wage of our "taking our eye off the ball" by getting bogged down in Iraq-a country that didn't attack us and was not involved in 9/11 related terrorism.

Putting aside Saddam's violations of UN and armistice accords, and his long record of subsidies and sanctuary for various terrorists, or the 23 writs authorizing the war passed by the Congress, and ignoring the fact that over six decades ago, a much poorer United States fought simultaneously Germany, Italy, and Japan, and then in midst of rebuilding western Europe and Japan contained at the same time both communist China and the Soviet Union, there was no mention of WHY the Taliban was supposedly setting up camps with relative impunity in Waziristan and the other badlands of Pakistan.

Neither the host nor the animated guests offered any solution to how the United States is to engage in hot pursuit into or bombs over a nuclear Islamic country run by a dictator whose illegitimate rule hinges on concessions to Islamists. So until they offer a concrete plan on how to go into Pakistan to get al Qaeda, and why the resulting risks would be worth it, all their bombast about war mongering in Iraq preventing a solution to al Qaeda remains just that.

By-the-bye, James Robbins--VDH's virtual colleague--took a closer look at said reporting today at NRO:

What would winning look like in their framework? Osama bin Laden the most popular leader in the Muslim world, revered by all, leading an increasingly united nation of true believers. Attacks on U.S. and Coalition military installations and warships throughout the region, sometimes resulting in major losses, leading to a comprehensive retreat from the Middle East. Regimes in the region suffering internal revolts, riots, a breakdown of the internal security apparatus, mutinies among their troops, assassinations of key leaders, and eventually armies of mujahedeen seizing control of the capitals and pledging allegiance to bin Laden’s growing empire. A united Palestinian movement, religious in orientation and loyal to the al Qaeda program, waging a war to the death on an increasingly beleaguered and strategically isolated Israel. Incessant, occasionally dramatic attacks in the West and especially in the United States, showing the puissance of the movement and its ability to inflict damage on the U.S. at times and places of their choosing.

Is this the war we are fighting? Not even close. The U.S. is more involved in the region than ever before. No regimes in the region have been overthrown by al Qaeda or its minions, or are even close to being taken over. Israel is not about to be destroyed. And al Qaeda is finding that exporting the revolution is not as easy as they expected. They have lost their primary state sponsor, lost the initiative, lost their ability to make attacks of strategic significance, and their leaders are hunkered down in safe houses afraid to be seen in public and wondering day by day who around them might betray them. So by their own standards, what have they achieved?

This is where headlines can do a great disservice. The constant repetition of one piece of information, not understood in any greater context or flat-out wrong conveys a message that may be far different than what the actual information imparts.

At the risk of yet another bad analogy, I'm reminded of the objections raised by the program director at my college radio station in explaining his decision to self-censor and refusing to add Madonna's Like a Virgin to the playlist. Dave always maintained that the song lyrics themselves weren't truly objectionable (rather innocuous actually) but rather that the senior faculty advisor wouldn't enjoy sitting at his desk hearing a chorus of "Like a Virgin," over and over on a virtually endless loop.

Silly as it sounds now, these are things we worried about at a small, private Christian university in the mid-80's. It also illustrates, however poorly, the idea that the perception can be different than the reality.

Robbins' piece demonstrates there is an argument to be made about Al Qaeda's strength that belies the headlines.