The pungent commentary about VA Tech is inevitable, of course, but I was not so prepared for the not-apparent-to-me connection to the War on Terror. Oliver North was good enough to elucidate:
On April 18, as the potentates of the press were discovering stories of courage and compassion at Virginia Tech, [Defense Secretary Robert] Gates, standing beside his Israeli counterpart, Amir Peretz, declared that they had decided to “deal with the Iranian nuclear problem through diplomacy, which appears to be working.” He went on to note that the international community is “united” in this approach. This sounds eerily like urging deeply disturbed, homicidal students to seek counseling and talk about their problems in lieu of more stringent measures that might deter them from committing mass murder.
Unfortunately, the homicidal Islamic radicals running Iran are arming themselves with weapons far more lethal than handguns, and the mass murder they plan to perpetrate will kill millions. And yet, if the advice being proffered by Messrs. Gates and Peretz is followed, we will continue to ignore all the warning signs and “talk” with Iran until it is too late.
The killers at Columbine and Virginia Tech repeatedly denied that they were potentially destructive to themselves or others — until they acted. They hid their weapons and their intentions while plotting mayhem. That’s the same pattern of behavior that the Ayatollahs in Tehran have followed.
The clandestine Iranian nuclear program was underway for nearly 18 years before being discovered. When International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors finally investigated, the Iranians lied and destroyed evidence.
I am tempted to ask Mr. North whether he knew anything about clandestine Iranian nuclear programs when he was selling them arms, but then that would just be an ad hominem attack, and I’m above that.
Aside from the rather odd notion that the behavior of a disparate group of mentally unstable individuals is reliably on par with the actions of a nation-state with millenia of history, a modernized population, and a nutjob government, I would like to ask what “more stringent measures” he proposes for said mentally unstable individuals. Should we go back to the geek-profiling of the post-Columbine days, but add a touch of Gitmo? I know, I know, North’s whole point in bringing up VA Tech is to artlessly segue into what he already wanted to say about Iran. Please stop, Ollie. You’re only embarrassing yourself.
Hold on, now. Right wingers also rail against the fact that VT was a “gun-free zone”, since this precluded any 2nd-amendment-lovin’ student from protecting himself against Cho, which is why it was a bloodbath. (They say.)
By that logic, Oliver North also supports removing all restrictions on nukes all over the world, particularly in the middle east. See, if every nation has nukes, then no one will want to use them. But if we outlaw nuke proliferation, then only outlaw nations will proliferate nukes. Or so, I hear, it goes. So let’s give everyone a nuke! Nukes don’t kill people — terrorists do!
This logic is fun!
Hold on, now. Right wingers also rail against the fact that VT was a “gun-free zone”, since this precluded any 2nd-amendment-lovin’ student from protecting himself against Cho, which is why it was a bloodbath. (They say.)
By that logic, Oliver North also supports removing all restrictions on nukes all over the world, particularly in the middle east. See, if every nation has nukes, then no one will want to use them. But if we outlaw nuke proliferation, then only outlaw nations will proliferate nukes. Or so, I hear, it goes. So let’s give everyone a nuke! Nukes don’t kill people — terrorists do!
This logic is fun!
Well, that seems to be the main reason countries like Iran want nukes–to protect themselves from being nuked by us. I have read that several places but am too lazy at the moment to look for links. I guess the counterpoint would be that they want nukes to frighten us, or because they are evil, or something.
Well, that seems to be the main reason countries like Iran want nukes–to protect themselves from being nuked by us. I have read that several places but am too lazy at the moment to look for links. I guess the counterpoint would be that they want nukes to frighten us, or because they are evil, or something.