Perfect is the Enemy of Good #2

Yesterday I wrote a post directed at Dr. Zaius of the Zaius Nation blog. I love his blog theme, taken from the erudite orangutan, Dr. Zaius, from the movie Planet of the Apes. He's also had lots of clever posts, including this one about cats.

Dr. Zaius also writes polemics against President Bush. Searching his blog, I couldn't find any posts attacking our Islamofascist enemies. He was kind enough to reply to my post which can be summarized from this quote about his attacks on President Bush. "Pointing out the imperfections of a good man leading a good country while ignoring an enemy that massacres civilians on purpose seems counter-productive. Wouldn't you expect to see vitriol distributed in proportion to the magnitude of the evil?"

Here are excerpts from his response with my commentary.

What the heck are you tallking about, anyway?

You have policy differences with President Bush. The Islamofascists, on the other hand, wish to destroy most of the things you hold dear. Despite this, you attack President Bush and give them a pass. That confuses me.

(On my use of the term Islamofascists) I don't know how to break it to you, but Mussolini is dead. Please describe in detail your theory that people in Iraq are fascists. In detail. That phrase is absolutely absurd.

The term Islamofascist is a convenient way to reference a whole host of enemies of civilization. Since it encompasses both state and non-state actors, it's crude and inaccurate at times. However, there are plenty of similarities. From the Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

Fascism - a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

That pretty much defines Iran and Sudan now, and Afghanistan under the Taliban. In their cases, it is Islam which is exalted and not a particular race, hence the term "Islamofascism." As astute reader ligneus observed, the Iraqi Baath party of Saddam Hussein was deliberately modeled after Hitler's Nazi party.

(On the difference between social conservatives not wanting gays in the military and the Islamofascists killing gays) Many people in the Middle East do indeed have little tolerance for homosexuals. We have made a large chunk of the Middle East our enemy, and it has nothing to do with which side of the street our men and women in uniform walk on.

My poor writing apparently masked the question I was asking. At issue here is whether or not you make a distinction between my view on gays and the Islamofascists'?

(On working with the inherent inaccuracies of military intelligence) Oh, so it's OK then. ***roll eyes*** Deception at worst, rhetoric at best.

It has to be OK because there is no other option. The Allied decision to launch an airborne attack on Arnhem in 1944 was based on faulty intelligence. Was it deception or rhetoric or were they just doing the best they could with what they had?

(On my differentiation between President Bush and the Islamofascists) And then you do exactly that, you differentiate it. WTF?

Here I must have totally botched the post because this is the entire point. President Bush is someone that you might have policy differences with, but I don't see him as anything remotely as bad as the Islamofascists.

(On the enemy deliberately using children to sweep minefields as Iran did) Wow, it sure is a good thing that we never put our children in harms way for a fool's errand. Oh, wait, I forgot - we do! How many lives is it OK with you to be lost today, all for the cause of Haliburton and the oil companies? This week? This month? Tell me what number is too high for you.

I think you need to define your term "children" because you and I don't use it the same way. I work with the Navy and the Marines and I know of no children in uniform. On the other hand, the 8-12 year-olds Iran used to clear minefields seems to fit the term "children" under any definition.

As for financial gains from the war, that seems like a bit of stretch. I would suggest that Exxon's profits would have been far higher had we simply dropped sanctions against Iraq and bought their oil as they pumped it. It certainly would have been far less expensive. Halliburton's (HAL) profits are rather modest. In the previous 5 years, they've had a 5.63% profit margin. That's a pedestrian result. Their most recent quarters have been stellar, but comparing them to their industry competitors like drilling equipment manufacturer Global Industries Ltd (GLBL) you'll see returns on a par with Halliburton. HAL has done outstandingly well, but so have a lot of other oil exploration companies. Thanks to surging global demand for oil, it's a good time to be in the business.

None of this addresses the key question. Can you differentiate between President Bush and Hamas, Hezbollah, Iran, the London Tube bombers and the rest of the Islamofascists? If so, what is your degree of differentiation? As far as I can tell, your real enemy is George Bush, not the loonies who drive car bombs into crowded markets.

Your post about me is not a discussion, it is a diatribe.

Hopefully this is more of a discussion.

I do like your cat, though. Cats are always welcome.

Why thank you!

To help make a distinction between the US and the Islamofascists, I'll leave you with this.

What's the difference between the Americans horsing around with these kids and the Islamofascists who blow them up?