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Pouring Fuel on the Fire Ah, more of the same: politicians acting like they know and understand history, the concept of liberty, or the role of government intended by the framers of the U.S. Constitution. John McCain appeared on Comedy Central's Daily Show with John Stewart last night. Stewart had this to ask the Arizona senator: STEWART: Don't you think that these past few years, in terms of a recruiting tool for bin Laden and al-Qa'ida, I mean, isn't, to al-Qa'ida, let's say al-Qa'ida is trying to fire up their base. Isn't President Bush kind of, and our policies there, their Reverend Wright? Isn't he the guy they throw out there and inflame their base, and get support? Don't you think he's actually been okay for al-Qa'ida? MCCAIN: No, I think that this is a transcendent evil that wants to destroy everything we stand for and believe in and I don't think it's based on, frankly, individuals as it is that they're just the exact mirror opposite of everything we stand for and believe in. I find it interesting that McCain leaves absolutely no room for any of the possibilities brought up by Mr. Stewart. It's scary: McCain has boiled all Muslim terrorist action against the United States down to "transcendent evil," an evil based on their standing for the opposite of what Americans stand for. That's it. Black and white. Simple. Dangerous. What John Stewart (who is, admittedly, a comedian) asked the aging senator, essentially, was whether or not McCain thought that President Bush's policies in the Middle East have themselves served as an effective recruiting tool for groups like al-Qa'ida. How could McCain possibly deny this? It's just common sense. Don't get me wrong: no one here is disagreeing that when it comes to al-Qa'ida, especially that organization's top leaders, we are dealing with real evil. These guys are crazy. But would they be able to recruit so many thousands of enraged, fanatic, willing-to-blow-themselves-up followers if it weren't for the fodder we give them? Does McCain really, honestly believe that if bin Laden stood up on a soapbox in Peshawar screaming solely about materialistic Americans, he'd have hundreds of rabidly angry volunteers begging for a bomb to strap on? It's when these evil, plotting men get up and preach about the infidel encroaching upon their lands, bombing their villages, meddling in their affairs, occupying their holy sites, arming their enemies--it's when these things are said that the volunteers come flocking. This is the real problem with foreign interventionism. People all over the world share a common dislike of having their homelands messed around with by foreigners. That's nothing unique to the Middle East. And here's an important tidbit: stated intentions don't matter--the U.S. government could have the greatest intentions in the world, and still it won't matter. You want to strengthen al-Qa'ida? Keep sending troops into the middle of age-old conflicts in the Middle East. Watch the volunteers mob Zawahiri's recruiting stations, watch them sign up in droves! It's like trying to put out a fire by pouring on more and more fuel. Is this hard to understand? No, really. Is it? Put pride, put supposed intentions, put all that aside, and just think. Doesn't it make sense that our foreign interventionist policies in the region create an effective tool for terrorist recruitment? Every day we unwittingly give thousands more some reason or other to hate us. We don't mean to, necessarily. Doesn't matter. How frustrating that the man who may be our next president chalks it all up to "transcendent evil" without any possibility that it may have to do with our policies. I fear the fuel has only just begun to pour.
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