Jewish World Review April 7, 2003/ 5 Nisan, 5763

Marianne M. Jennings

Marianne M. Jennings
JWR's Pundits
World Editorial
Cartoon Showcase

Mallard Fillmore

Michael Barone
Mona Charen
Linda Chavez
Ann Coulter
Greg Crosby
Larry Elder
Don Feder
Suzanne Fields
James Glassman
Paul Greenberg
Bob Greene
Betsy Hart
Nat Hentoff
David Horowitz
Michael Kelly
Mort Kondracke
Ch. Krauthammer
Lawrence Kudlow
Dr. Laura
John Leo
David Limbaugh
Michelle Malkin
Jackie Mason
Chris Matthews
Michael Medved
MUGGER
Kathleen Parker
Wes Pruden
Sam Schulman
Roger Simon
Tony Snow
Thomas Sowell
Cal Thomas
Jonathan S. Tobin
Ben Wattenberg
George Will
Bruce Williams
Walter Williams
Mort Zuckerman

Consumer Reports


The other casualties of war


http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | It was clear a fair fight was not in the cards when Iraqi soldiers crossed the Kuwait border and surrendered to Brits who were just testing their weapons. While all jolly well good, the British paratroopers explained, war starting is a prerequisite to taking POWs, or the new and improved, EPWs. The disappointed bumpkins returned to Iraq.

Hearing Hussein's blustering about that infidel "little Bush" and seeing no Iraqi air force, the thinking among us predicted coalition conquest even if U.S. forces stopped for afternoon tea and crumpets with the Brits during an Iraq march amidst sorties galore. Media moans about U.S. ineptitude were not thwarted by the obvious. NPR and al-Jazeera declared U.S. defeat on March 19 because Centcom could not confirm Hussein's death. One NPR commentator called it an "embarrassing failure." Peter Jennings pulled out Vietnam quagmire analogies 36 hours into the war. ABC's lead reporter left the region in a snit because Gen. Tommy Franks wasn't doing the briefings.

Imagine the American Revolution with today's media. "Nathan Paine, Green Mountain Crier. Gen. Washington, your war plan did not include ice in the Delaware. Doesn't a crossing depart from plan? And, again, how long will this war take?"

Media and liberals' tantrums vis-à-vis this war is last gasps from perpetually adolescent yuppies who have held our country in a forty-year chokehold with their peacenik attitudes and political correctness. Since their bra burnings and sixties' protests, these narcissistic nihilists have banished faith and patriotism from sea to shining sea even as they embraced every despot from Castro to Hussein. The passing of intellectual cowardice and amoral arrogance are welcome casualties of this war. An anti-intellectual in the White House possessed of deep faith and a sense of right and wrong, has, through the simple act of freeing a people, banished the liberal left to irrelevance.

Realizing their very existence was on the line, liberal desperados and their media cohorts pulled out all stops with transparent disdain. Their peace and diplomacy consisted of wishing ill upon their countrymen. Prof. Nicholas DeGenova, speaking at an antiwar teach-in at Columbia, called for "a million Mogadishus," and added, "The only true heroes are those who find ways that help defeat the U.S. military." A San Francisco protester's sign read, "We support our troops when they shoot their officers."

Leftists imploded as the Iraqis were vanquished. The brutality of Hussein unfolded to the world, thanks to a brilliant military strategy of embedded reporters welcomed along for the ride. Chemical suits and Hussein antics were chilling truths.

With no hope for spin on such horror, the liberal strategy changed to making stuff up. USA Today, the New York Times, Washington Post, LA Times, Time, and CNN had the U.S. losing the war. Only Fox News and the Washington Times reported on the real fighters in Iraq: women in cars with children and bombs. When the coalition conquered Baghdad, the New York Times challenged, "But, how do we define victory?"

Their desperation was comedic. Peter Arnett told the Iraqis, on camera in Baghdad, that the U.S. war plan was fundamentally flawed. Coalition bombs dropped in the defenseless city as he spoke.

The Los Angeles Times admitted that its front-page photo on March 31 was a fraud. Brian Walski, its photographer, used digital technology to blend 2 photos into one to make it appear as if a British soldier was threatening an Iraqi citizen.

Democrats capsized in a sea of public approval for the war. The Times had a facile response for 75% approval polls, "There's no use polling for 'American opinion.' In this war, it doesn't exist." This from the people who ran Monica polls every day.

Filmmaker Michael Moore pontificated at the Oscars about Mr. Bush's "fictional election." The teamsters' booing and Bill Conti's orchestra shut him down. Music and blue-collar workers taking down a Hollywood lug head offered priceless symbolism.

Natalie Maines, one-third of the Dixie Chicks, said she was "ashamed" of our president. Their CD sales fell nearly 60% in one week, airplay stopped, and tractors gathered to smash the DC's CDs outside radio stations. The left cried, "Censorship!" This newfound First Amendment zeal could help Dr. Laura, Michael Savage, Clarence Thomas, and a cadre of conservatives who have been banished by these same leftists.

The last gasp is never pretty. Liberals and the media outdid their own legendary inconsistencies. Peace protesters were violent, but only about warmonger Bush, not Hussein. PETA protested the use of dolphins to find mines that kill humans. High school dropout Cher called the president stupid. Pristine media leftists abandoned journalistic ethics and resorted to Iraqi-type propaganda. Two desperate groups were deposed. Hussein's regime ended. Liberalism died a painful death and the mainstream media require long-term credibility rehabilitation.

Prognosis for recovery: questionable.

Enjoy this writer's work? Why not sign-up for the daily JWR update. It's free. Just click here.


JWR contributor Marianne M. Jennings is a professor of legal and ethical studies at Arizona State University. Send your comments by clicking here.

Up

02/27/03: War and principle
02/20/03: Diabolical women
02/14/03: Deadhead poets and society
02/07/03: Misguided compassionate conservative
01/31/03: The Wisk "fix it!" mentality
01/24/03: There are only two types of people in the U.S.: Trial lawyers and their clients and those who have had to pay trial lawyers and their clients
01/16/03: "My ex is a minority, so I deserve special treatment"
01/07/03: Why libs will never have a Rush Limbaugh
01/02/03: The year that was
12/26/02: Capital offenses, power and Harry Potter
12/20/02: Mundane superlatives cause trouble
12/09/02: Let the sacking begin
12/05/02: Amazing Grace that saved me from my CO2 emissions
11/27/02: Free speech, Harvard, and First Amendment looneys
11/25/02: Eminem culture
11/14/02: Hollywood trash
11/04/02: Patron Kennedy Saints
10/28/02: What the snipers and Moose taught
10/22/02: Nobel Prizes and other ventriloquist acts
10/17/02: The window on the liberal mind and war
10/14/02: Leaders don't change; followers do
10/07/02: Do it yourself
09/27/02: Hosers rise again
09/20/02: Girly gridiron
09/13/02: Erudite buffoons
09/11/02: One year later, crass demands, greed, and litigation are back --- but rights are diminished
09/06/02: Public schools: An unqualified success
08/30/02: The Shakespearean tragedy of affirmative action
08/23/02: Hollywood Joe's admission
08/15/02: Cheapskates
08/08/02: Ode to a coal miner
08/02/02: Sarah Brady's gun gift
07/26/02: Don't do it, Tiger
07/18/02: Reality Muppets
07/09/02: We're all going to die, live with it
07/02/02: From the eye of the storm
06/27/02: Nick not right
06/20/02: Behind the music
06/14/02: The sum of all fears in vouchers
06/06/02: Where was Agent Rowley when the FBI needed her?
05/30/02: Of big hair and sanity
05/24/02: Should I embrace liberalism?
05/20/02: Some passion about Israel
05/09/02: A mother who cares enough
05/02/02: Go ahead, pass judgment
04/29/02: The irritation of the modern wedding
04/18/02: Claire's life
04/15/02: Harvard takes off its pants one leg at a time
04/09/02: The Clinton legacy: Politics of personal destruction
03/31/02: Oscars' subtle bigotry was embarrassing
03/22/02: Blame Oprah, Rosie, Sally, Ted, David
03/14/02: The costs of women's feeble choices
03/08/02: Botoxic faces
02/28/02: The dangers of organized philanthropy
02/25/02: Don't take the gold
02/14/02: Ease up on the brothers and sisters
02/11/02: Because I was courted
02/05/02: Fat fault
01/24/02: Tolerance does not mean stupidity
01/17/02: Too old too soon
01/10/02: Ethically challenged firms
01/03/02: The year that was
12/27/01: The Twelve Days of inconsistency
12/20/01: Free Speech and the political spectrum
12/13/01: Curbing brats
12/06/01: Power to influence
11/29/01: The disappearing art of grading
11/21/01: The Big Two-Five
11/13/01: You can never find a lib when you need one
11/01/01: Unlucky in sports
10/26/01: An epidemic of counselitis
10/16/01: A touch of class
10/12/01: Of human nature and monsters
10/05/01: Sensitive man
10/01/01: Post-September 11 security
09/20/01: No tinhorn terrorists can frighten us
09/06/01: If there is no honor in youth sports, it is because of the adults
08/27/01: The draw of Condit
08/23/01: Lowering expectations and flying high
08/17/01: Thoreau, Walden and stems cells
08/13/01: Our masters: The animals
08/02/01: FRAN, MARY JO, MONICA & CHANDRA
07/30/01: When principle hits too close to home
07/13/01: Rage born of sublimation
07/06/01: Patient's rights and the Valley of Death
06/29/01: There is no excuse
06/21/01: I want an eternal soulmate, but the marriage thing is another issue
06/14/01: Which way maverick McCain? An Arizonan's perspective
06/07/01: No stroke of genius
05/30/01: The lesson of the Mr. Green Jeans senator: 'Moderate' is a classy term for wishy-washy
05/25/01: Baseball has not been so good to me
05/18/01: Clothes make the woman
05/11/01: Selective precaution
05/04/01: Grades: Equality of students, by students, for the students
04/27/01: The Horowitz revelations as seen by a college professor
04/20/01: First, let's kill all the tests
04/13/01: The continuing mistake of underpricing electricity
04/06/01: That pill, Julia Roberts
03/29/01: If it weren't for the parents, we might accomplish something
03/23/01: The melt down of the academy
03/15/01: Columbine redux: Moral infants
03/09/01: The lessons of Tom and Nicole
03/01/01: Pardon the temporary outrage
02/23/01: In defense of homework
02/20/01: A Message for faith-based organizations: Don't take the money, just run
02/06/01: Enough already with the Clintoons
01/26/01: The challenge to be better than we have been
01/19/01: Where have you gone Frieda Pushnik?
12/29/00: The year that was
12/23/00: Litigation: It's the American way
12/15/00: In defense of rhetoric
12/06/00: The company we keep: Lawyers and elections
12/01/00: Liberals' art of trashing of women
11/20/00: Put me out of my misery
11/17/00: On being a statesman
11/13/00: When it's broke, fixing it wouldn't offend the Framers
11/08/00: ELECTION 2000: I SURRENDER
10/27/00: Al in the package? Memo to women: Choosing presidents and husbands
10/20/00: Ten things the gay community should understand
10/13/00: "You Have a Lump."
10/06/00: The government as the pharmacy: Don't
09/29/00: The capacity for truth
09/22/00: Charity with strings and an agenda
09/15/00: The taming of the shrew: Gloria Steinem takes a husband
09/09/00: Why rich folk don't bother me none
08/28/00: Survival of the not-so-fit but conniving
08/25/00: Conventions: A study in contrasts
08/18/00: Resenting the accusations of racial prejudice
08/04/00: Women: Their own worst enemy
07/21/00: Hillary: Our longshoreman First Lady
07/21/00: SUVs: The root of all evil
07/14/00: The basketball gene and white men not jumping so well
07/07/00: I wanna be around
06/23/00: The liberal conversion
06/14/00: Sex and the City: The shallow but vulgar female
06/08/00: No excuses schools
06/02/00: Oh, Canada: Our Nutty Neighbors to the North
05/23/00: The new mollycoddling coach
05/16/00: On adultery and leadership
05/12/00: Taking your lumps
05/02/00: Elian: There's never a liberal around when you need one
04/25/00: Life's circle and tenderness
04/18/00: Womyn who want it both ways
04/11/00: The monsters we're raising with the ergo proposition
04/05/00: Endowing the Hooters Chair for Literature Appreciation
03/28/00: Dr. Laura: The passive/aggressive kid's mom
03/21/00: Dough and campaigns
03/14/00: The volunteerism of conscription and pomp
03/07/00: Hope and pray that religion remains a force in politics
02/29/00: Ditzes in TV Land
02/22/00: Cranky nitpickers make writing a [sic] experience
02/15/00: Those chameleon 60s activists
02/08/00: McCandidate McCain: Flirting with principles
02/01/00: The demise of marriage
01/25/00: Stroke of the pen, law of the land: Clinton's Camelot
01/18/00: Off the Rocker Rorschach Test
01/11/00: Oprah's lemmings
01/04/00: Struggling mightily amidst the comfort
12/23/99: Confused fathers
12/14/99: Drop-kicking the homeless
12/07/99: Turtles and teamsters, side-by-side in Seattle
11/29/99: When conservatives behave badly
11/22/99: Compassionate conservative: Timing and targets
11/18/99: The elusive human spirit and accountability
11/11/99: Succumbing to the intellectual child within with the help of crackpots and screwballs
10/28/99: Live by litigation, die by litigation
10/22/99: Jesse, Warren, Cybill, Donald and Oprah
10/14/99: Inequality and injustice: It's the big one
10/05/99: Dan Quayle, morals and schoolyard bullies
09/30/99: The monsters of epidermal parenting
09/21/99: The Diversity Hoax
09/15/99: Waco Wackos
09/09/99: Selective censorship
09/01/99: The village, the children, judicial imperialism and abortion
08/24/99: Naughty Newt?
08/17/99: In defense of Boy Scouts and judgment
08/10/99: Ruining the finest health care system in the world
08/03/99: Nihilism and politics: ethics on the lam
07/26/99: Of women, soccer and removed jerseys
07/23/99: Not in despair, a mere mortal doing just fine
07/20/99: "Why me?" How about "Why us?"
07/13/99: Bunk, junk & juries
07/06/99: An Amish woman in a Victoria's Secret store
06/30/99: That intellectually embarrassing Second Amendment
06/24/99: Patricia Ireland eat your heart out --- but check out the recipe in 'women's mags' first
06/22/99: Dems and the Creator coup
06/17/99: True courage is more than just admitting troubles

© 2002, Marianne M. Jennings