Blixful Amnesia
- Информация о материале
- Автор: Charles Krauthammer
http://www.washingtonpost.com
Friday, July 9, 2004; Page A19
Thank God for Hans Blix. Whenever we become lax and forgetful about
how the world changed on Sept. 11, former chief inspector Blix is there
to make the case for mindless complacency. In a recent speech in Vienna
he warned that one should be wary of the claim that "the risk that reckless
groups and governments might acquire weapons of mass destruction is the
greatest problem facing our world today." Why? Because "to hundreds of
millions of people around the world, the big existential issue is hunger,
and also that wherever you live on this planet, the risk of global warming
and other environmental threats are existential."
Here we are at the crux of a debate over the United States' aggressive
interventionism of the past few years. Is Islamic radicalism in potential
alliance with terrorist states that possess such weapons a threat to the
very existence (hence: "existential") of the United States and of civilization
itself?
On Sept. 12, 2001, and for many months after, that proposition was
so self-evident that it commanded near unanimous support. With time --
three years in which, contrary to every expectation and prediction, the
second shoe never dropped -- that consensus has evaporated.
The new idea, expressed by Blix representing the decadent European
left, and recently amplified by Michael Moore representing the paranoid
American left, is that this existential threat is vastly overblown. Indeed,
deliberately overblown by a corrupt/clueless (take your pick) President
Bush to justify American aggression for reasons of . . . and here is where
the left gets a little fuzzy, not quite being able to decide whether American
aggression is intended simply to enrich multinational corporations -- or
maybe just Halliburton alone -- with fat war contracts, distract from alleged
failure in Afghanistan, satisfy some primal masculine urge or boost poll
ratings.
We have come a long way in three years. The idea that Sept. 11 was
a historic turning point, a wake-up call to a war declared by our enemies
but ignored by us, has begun to fade. The week after the attacks, the late-night
comedy shows went dark -- and upon returning to the air they were almost
apologetic about telling jokes, any jokes, ever again. Today, Moore produces
a full-length film parody of Sept. 11 and its aftermath that is not just
highly celebrated but commands a huge popular audience. To be sure, Moore's
version is not quite as crazed as the French bestseller claiming that the
planes that crashed into the World Trade Center were remotely controlled
by the CIA at the behest of the president. Moore merely implies some sinister
plot, citing connections between the Bush and bin Laden families. It's
a long way from two years ago, when Rep. Cynthia McKinney was run out of
Congress for suggesting that Bush had foreknowledge. (She is today in a
tight race, with a very good chance of regaining her seat.)
Unlike the French book or the Moore movie, Blix is not deranged. He
is merely in denial, discounting the uniqueness of the WMD-terrorism issue
by comparing it to global warming and hunger. Yes, hunger is an existential
issue to the people suffering it. As are car accidents, heart disease and
earthquakes. But they hardly threaten to destroy civilization. Hunger is
a scourge that has always been with us and that has not been a threat to
humanity's existence for at least 1,000 years. Global warming might one
day be, but not for decades, or even centuries, and with a gradualness
that will leave years for countermeasures.
There is no gradualness and there are no countermeasures to a dozen
nuclear warheads detonating simultaneously in U.S. cities. Think of what
just two envelopes of anthrax did to paralyze the capital of the world's
greatest superpower. A serious, coordinated attack on the United States
using weapons of mass destruction could so shatter America as a functioning,
advanced society that it would take generations to rebuild.
What is so dismaying is that such an obvious truth needs repeating.
The passage of time, the propaganda of the anti-American left and the setbacks
in Iraq have changed nothing of that truth. This is the first time in history
that the knowledge of how to make society-destroying weapons has been democratized.
Today small radical groups allied with small radical states can do the
kind of damage to the world that in the past only a great, strategically
located and industrialized power such as Germany or Japan could do.
It is a new world and exceedingly dangerous. Everything is at stake.
We are now deeply engaged in a breast-beating exercise for not having connected
the dots before Sept. 11. And yet here we are three years after Sept. 11,
with the dots already connected, and we are under a powerful urge to ignore
them completely.
Russian version
An introduction to MAOF
Haim Goldman
Haim Goldman
Dear Friends,
Would you believe that the undersigned has anything in common with
-- Professor Victor Davis Hanson (Senior Fellow at the Hoover Institution, Stanford University),
-- Dr Charles Krauthammer, (Washington Post, Time, The Weekly Standard),
-- Caroline Glick (Deputy Managing Editor of the Jerusalem Post),
-- Jonathan Tobin (Executive Editor of the Philadelphia Jewish Exponent).
Amazingly, the editors of the MAOF website decided that the missives of the undersigned are worthy of translation and posting along the articles written by these distinguished authors.
The first letter was published without the consent of the undersigned.
However, after thorough examination of the laudable attitude of MAOF and of the excellent contents of the website, the undersigned had most graciously granted his permission for publication of his missives in both English and Russian.
“Analytical Group MAOF” [1] is an organisation founded about ten years ago by Russian-speaking Jewish intellectuals. The attitude of MAOF is definitely pro-Zionist -- unambiguously and unapologetically.
One of MAOF’s primary purposes is providing information and analysis about Middle-Eastern and world affairs as well as about Israel’s history, values and dilemmas. In addition to extensive publication activity in various media, MAOF also organises excursions and seminars. While the vast majority of the contents of the MAOF website is in Russian, texts originally written in English are provided in the original [2] as well as in Russian.
There are arguably about 250 millions of Russian-speakers worldwide and many of them do not read English. The indisputable motivation for the author’s permission was to grant those millions of disadvantaged people the grand benefit of reading the author’s ruminations. If the author is ever maliciously accused that his tacit motivation for authorising the publication was his craving to be listed along with the above-mentioned distinguished writers, his plea will definitely be “nolo contendere”.
The editors of MAOF expressed their gratitude by granting the undersigned a privilege that no other author got – the opportunity to review and correct the Russian translation before publication. The original letters of the undersigned are at [3] and their Russian version is at [4]. At of today, only two letters are posted but several other letters are pending translation.
You are kindly ENCOURAGED TO RECOMMEND the MAOF website to your friends and colleagues worldwide, particularly those who speak Russian. Those who do not enjoy the benefit of proficiency in the exquisite Russian language can find many thought-provoking and inspiring articles about Middle-Eastern and world affairs in the English section [2].
Sincerely,
Haim Goldman
28.10.2006
REFERENCES:
[1] http://maof.rjews.net
[2] section.php3? sid=37&num=25
[3] authorg.php3? id=2107&type=a
[4] authorg.php3? id=2166&type=a