Sullivan on what’s going on in Britain. A touch of panic in his voice:
The truth is: it’s amazing we haven’t had more of this kind of thing, especially in the US. When it comes, we need stamina, stoicism and calm. And it’s coming.
Maybe. We’ve kicked over the hornet’s nest, which was a damned dumb thing to do. So now we’re stuck with the results - and that does indeed put the onus on the Democratic Party, to figure out a way to clean up the mess made by conservatives.
Because while it’s important to make sure the public understands who created and mismanaged this mess, carping on the past isn’t enough. What, now, in the face of this, is the alternative?
Conservatives would have you believe “retreat” is what the Democrats want. But in conservative fairlyand, you can’t adjust your strategy; not one step back.
Problem is that conservatives are fighting this “war on terror” as a single battle, rather than a long war. As if it’s the Super Bowl, rather than the World Series.
But if it is the World Series - then perhaps you give up on game 1; your strategy on the mound or in Iraq didn’t work. So let’s not continue the same strategy in game 2. This country may need to hang back and let the Muslim factions we’ve unleashed in Iraq battle it out. We will have ennabled genocide; let that be a monument to the notion that the road to hell is paved with good intentions. Let us not make the same mistake twice.
Military force is and will remain needed to deter attacks; we will may need to pull back to Kurdistan, if that’s even possible - given that our war seems to have lit the fuse of the powder keg burning beneath the Kurds and Turkey. We will need to pull back to somewhere. And in the Middle East, wherever it is, it will generate resentment and ultimately hatred.
We want there to be a pat answer for this, we want to discover the magical pill that’s going to “end terrorism” and we’re simply not going to do it. We are, rather, going to manage terrorism. We have kicked over the hornet’s nest. Let’s not think we’re going to kill every last hornet. Let’s not be panicked into thinking we’ll die from the stings.
