BCT Editorial – 5/4/08

This page was last updated on May 4, 2008.

Damage is done; Editorial; Beaver County Times; May 4, 2008.

The editorial subtitle is “Bush administration gets fussy with language regarding Islam much too late to do any good.”

It’s no surprise the Times reacted this way to the idiotic subject letter. At least once before (“Fighting words”) the Times expressed displeasure with terms like Islamofascism.

Were there similar letters during previous wars telling us not to refer to the enemy as Charlie, commies, gooks, krauts, et cetera? Had we known then what we “know” now, we could have ended those conflicts sooner just by using different terminology.

Seriously, though, I think a good place for a budget cut is to eliminate the Extremist Messaging Branch at the National Counter Terrorism Center, the source of the subject memo.

Finally, let’s look at the following paragraph.

“The administration’s sudden concern for the subtleties of language comes a little too late. After the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America, the administration, its political allies and its fellow travelers in the infotainment media showed little regard for linguistic nuances and often scorned as somehow being soft on terrorism anyone who tried to draw careful distinctions regarding mainstream Islam and radicals.”

First, it appears the Times doesn’t consider itself to be in the “infotainment media.” While you can question whether the Times provides information, it has entire sections dedicated to entertainment, sports, et cetera.

Second, we read “the administration … often scorned as somehow being soft on terrorism anyone who tried to draw careful distinctions regarding mainstream Islam and radicals.” If so, why did President Bush say the following on 9/17/01? “The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. [emphasis is mine] These terrorists don’t represent peace. They represent evil and war. When we think of Islam we think of a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. Billions of people find comfort and solace and peace. And that’s made brothers and sisters out of every race -- out of every race.” Here’s a list of other quotes the Times would prefer we not see.

Contrary to what the editorial alleges, it seems like President Bush himself drew a “careful distinction regarding mainstream Islam and radicals” very early and often.