Go to the mobile version of this Web site.

Login | Contact Us | Site Map | Paid archives | Alerts | Electronic edition | Advertise | Subscribe to the paper | Today's Extras

Breaking News:

Subscribe

Littwin: Fight may come at home, but hasn't come from Iraq

By Mike Littwin, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published May 10, 2007 at midnight

Text size  

More News Columns & Blogs

More stories »

John McCain says the reason we have to keep up the endless fight in Iraq is that if we don't, the terrorists will "follow us home."

It's the old fight-them-there-so-we- don't-have-to-fight-them- at-home theory of warfare.

I guess that could be a valid theory under the right circumstances. But if the arrests in the Fort Dix terror case are any indication, this isn't remotely that circumstance. You see, they're already here, whoever they are.

Of the six accused terrorists - which, at this point in America, doesn't necessarily mean they're guilty - four came from the former Yugoslavia, one from our ally Turkey and one from our ally Jordan.

The important thing to note is that none of the six came from Iraq. In fact, I haven't seen any indication that any of the six had ever been to Iraq.

I was talking to Mark Udall, the Democratic congressman who is running for Wayne Allard's U.S. Senate seat - and who has been to Iraq. He said the mistake comes in "conflating" the Fort Dix case and the war in Iraq. It's the same mistake Dick Cheney made trying to link 9-11 and Iraq.

As you probably saw, Cheney went to Iraq for a surprise visit, taking time off from trying to scare dissenting Americans to trying to scare discordant Iraqis. One of Cheney's goals - this is actually true - was to convince the Iraqi parliament not to take a two-month vacation this summer, leading to the obvious question: Do they have ranches in Iraq?

On the plane ride over, a Cheney aide explained the mission to reporters thusly: "It's game time. Let's go."

Game time, indeed. And you can see the strategy. Ask yourself: If you were a terrorist with any options, would you follow Dick Cheney home?

Of the six arrested who were - remember - already here, half are here illegally, half are here legally. One is a U.S. citizen. You know what that means. And if you don't, you can turn on Gunny Bob Newman's KOA radio show to find out.

Here's a transcript of a Gunny rant, from Colorado Media Matters, the liberal media watchdog group:

"I want every immigrant to America who holds a green card, a visa, or who is a naturalized citizen to be required by law to wear a GPS tracking bracelet at all times. And the FBI and the NSA should monitor their phones and their e-mails . . . as well as bug their places of work and their residences. If they don't like the idea, or if they refuse, throw their asses out of this country."

Normally, I wouldn't quote the Gunster at all. It's too easy. Being outrageous is what Newman does for a living. I don't expect you to take him seriously. I mean, who does?

But he's not alone. You may remember Glenn Beck's interview on CNN Headline News with Keith Ellison, the first Muslim elected to Congress. Beck said to him: " . . . what I feel like saying is, 'Sir, prove to me that you are not working with our enemies.' " That's serious.

One reason I bring this up is that I saw a Politico.com column by Roger Simon that takes an entirely different tack on the Fort Dix terror arrests. He didn't go for the Iraq angle. He took another geographical turn, pointing out that none of those accused in the case came from, yes, Mexico. Or, for that matter, came across the Mexican border.

Meaning that a fence would not have kept the alleged terrorists out.

Meaning that tighter security on the Mexican border, even with the help of lawn-chaired, night-goggled Minutemen, wouldn't have kept them out.

Meaning that, if we're lucky, two myths can be taken on at once here.

First, we're not in Iraq because terrorists will follow us home. The Iraqis are too busy fighting each other. Why would an Iraqi civil war relocate to America?

And, second, we're not talking about building a fence on the Mexican border in response to 9-11. Otherwise, we'd have to build another on the Canadian border. And mine the harbors. And maybe intercept Air France jets.

Where McCain is right about Iraq is that there's no good solution now, and no guarantee that the surge will work. That's why Democrats want to pass an Iraq bill that will include a re-opener - to check for progress.

House Democrats are talking about a July re-opener. Senate Democrats are talking September. It's the Republicans you should listen to, though. The New York Times is reporting that moderate Republicans are already threatening not to follow Bush home, or anywhere else.

The border argument is different. The border argument long predates 9-11. When Tom Tancredo talks about border security, you have to ask him where he stood on the issue on Sept. 10, 2001. Yes, it was the exact same spot.

The Independence Institute sponsored an interesting debate on illegal immigration last year. Daniel Griswold, of the libertarian Cato Institute, got right to the point, asking why we would waste resources looking for janitors and roofers instead of terrorists.

He said a million people enter the United States each day. "That's our security challenge," Griswold said. "We're missing the huge barn door here."

Naturally. You wouldn't be able to see it for the giant fence.

. Read Mike Littwin's Fair and Unbalanced blog at RockyMountainNews.com

Post your comment

Registration is required. Click here to create your free user account, or login below.

Comments are the sole responsibility of the person posting them. You agree not to post comments that are off topic, defamatory, obscene, abusive, threatening or an invasion of privacy. Violators may be banned. Click here for our full user agreement.




(Forgotten your password?)




News Tip

Know about something we should be reporting? Tell us about it.

Sponsored links



Reprints