OpinionJournalThis is a daily Web digest from the WSJ. I alerted them to the last story (the "Puke for Peace" one, natch!), and got a contribution credit in the list of "helpers" at the end.)
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Best of the Web Today - March 21, 2003
By JAMES TARANTO
Rangel Opposes the Troops
Remember back in December, when Rep. Charles Rangel of New York proposed reinstating the draft? His stated rationale, as we noted, was egalitarian: "A disproportionate number of the poor and members of minority groups make up the enlisted ranks of the military," he told CNN. Forcing the affluent to serve would establish a principle of "shared sacrifice."
It turns out Rangel doesn't think very much of those who actually are making the sacrifice of serving in our volunteer military. This morning Rangel was one of only 11 House members to vote "no" on a nonbinding resolution "expressing the support and appreciation of the nation for the president and the members of the armed forces who are participating in Operation Iraqi Freedom." (The Senate unanimously approved a similar resolution yesterday.)
This was not a pro-war resolution, just a show of support for the troops. Along with Rangel, the following members, all Democrats, voted "no":
a.. John Conyers (Mich.)
b.. Mike Honda (Calif.)
c.. Stephanie Tubbs Jones (Ohio)
d.. Barbara Lee (Calif.)
e.. Jim McDermott (Wash.)
f.. Bobby Scott (Va.)
g.. Fortney "Pete" Stark (Calif.)
h.. Edolphus Towns (N.Y.)
i.. Maxine Waters (Calif.)
j.. Diane Watson (Calif.)
In addition, 21 Democrats, including presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich of Ohio, voted "present," which we guess means they can't decide if they're for or against America's troops. Also voting "present" was Republican Ron Paul, the isolationist feather of the GOP.
By our count, 23 members of the Congressional Black Caucus--a clear majority--voted either "no" or "present" on the resolution. This goes a long way in explaining why so few black candidates are able to win statewide office in America. Racial gerrymandering produces districts that elect black candidates who are so far to the left that they cannot even bring themselves to endorse a simple expression of patriotism during wartime.
One encouraging sign: Denise Majette of Georgia and Artur Davis of Alabama both voted "yes." Both are black Democrats who defeated far-left anti-Semites (Cynthia McKinney and Earl Hillard, respectively) in primaries last year.
Dead or Alive?
Is Saddam Hussein still standing? This question continues to prompt much speculation and many conflicting accounts. The Washington Post reports that "U.S. intelligence officials" think the Iraqi dictator "was still inside a compound in southern Baghdad early yesterday when it was struck by a barrage of U.S. bombs and cruise missiles"--but aren't sure if he escaped or died.
The Associated Press reports that American intelligence officials "have determined it was almost certainly Saddam, not a look-alike, who appeared in a video recording on Iraqi television Wednesday." But White House press secretary Ari Fleischer says "there is no conclusive evidence about whether that was taped before or after the operation began."
ABC News cites "intelligence sources" as saying "that witnesses at the site of a Baghdad suburban residential complex told U.S. intelligence officials that Saddam was observed being taken from the bombed complex on a stretcher, with an oxygen mask over his face on Thursday before dawn local time." This seems dubious, though. If it's not clear that the man in the video was Saddam, how could the purported eyewitnesses identify him when he was wearing a mask?
The Washington Times, meanwhile, reports that "there are intelligence reports that [Saddam's] elder son, Uday, was killed."
All these reports, of course, must be viewed with a healthy dose of skepticism. But the confusion itself is enormously encouraging. Less than 48 hours after hostilities began, the world doesn't even know if Saddam is still alive. Presumably few Iraqis know either.
What Would We Do Without Experts?
"Saddam may have survived the first strike, but one expert doubts the regime could withstand the dictator's death."--subheadline, Salon.com, March 20
You Don't Say--I
"Saddam, Iraq Outgunned Against U.S."--headline, Associated Press, March 20
You Don't Say--II
"U-S Bombers Heading Toward Iraq, to Hit Targets if Necessary"--headline, WMTW-TV Web site (Auburn, Maine), March 21
The Agony of Defeatism
"The first day of the attack on Iraq shows that the spin many believed is not matching the reality of what is happening on the ground," London's Guardian proclaims risibly. Even better is this claim from the New York Times: "Earlier [Thursday], it was the Iraqis who seemed to have the initiative." Why? Because they fired a few missiles in the general direction of allied troops, all of which missed.
Meanwhile, here's yet another obnoxious photo caption from Reuters: " British Royal Marines take prisoners after securing the al-Faw oil field in southern Iraq March 21, 2003. U.S.-led allied troops moved swiftly on Friday to secure Iraq's vital oil facilities and snuff out oilfield fires on day two of a war Washington says is not about capturing the country's vast petroleum wealth."
And what does one make of the scare quotes in this BBC headline: "Troops Die in Air 'Accident.' " Or this one from Reuters: "Rumsfeld Says Saddam's 'Regime' Losing Control."
The Associated Press has a tendentious dispatch titled "Arabs Angry Over U.S. Attack on Iraq"--but the dateline is Tehran (Iran is not an Arab country), and it concentrates mostly on government reactions. And how about this headline from our friends the French press agency AFP: "World Condemns Iraq War, Fears for Civilian Lives."
You Don't Have to Live Like a Refugee
Reuters reports from Geneva: "No major flows of refugees have been reported out of Iraq, but all six neighbouring countries have opened their borders, the United Nations refugee agency said on Friday." This is a very telling bit of news; it suggests that rather than fleeing the American "invaders," the Iraqi people are staying put, awaiting their liberation.
In some parts of Iraq, freedom has already arrived. The Associated Press reports from Sawfan that "U.S. Marines hauled down giant street portraits of Saddam Hussein in a screeching pop of metal and bolts Friday, telling nervous residents of this southern Iraqi town that 'Saddam is done' ":
A few men and boys ventured out, putting makeshift white flags on their pickup trucks or waving white T-shirts out truck windows.
"Americans very good," Ali Khemy said. "Iraq wants to be free."
Some chanted, "Ameriki! Ameriki!" . . .
A man identifying himself only as Abdullah welcomed the arrival of the U.S. troops: "Saddam Hussein is no good. Saddam Hussein a butcher." . . .
"No Saddam Hussein!" one young man in headscarf told [Maj. David 'Bill'] Gurfein. "Bush!"
CNN reports the allies have also taken control of Umm Qasr, a port city on the southern Al Faw peninsula. "By the end of the operation, the commandos had taken dozens of prisoners--many of them voluntary. CNN's Christiane Amanpour said 250 Iraqi soldiers had surrendered to U.S. troops while a further 30 had given themselves over to British forces." But Iraq's "information minister" claims the men who surrendered are impostors: "These guys are not from the Iraqi army. These are not Iraqi soldiers. They are not members of any of the Iraqi armed forces."
United Press International reports on more surrenders at the al-Ramallah oil fields:
To a crescendo of distant explosions from U.S. aircraft doing what they do best, the Marines split into several columns and raced to their objectives.
"It's a good day to be a Marine," one man yelled in his 26-ton vehicle.
"They put up some minor resistance, kind of a show of face, I guess, and then surrendered," Staff Sgt. Gregory Craft said. . . .
The prisoners, ranging from teenagers to older men, appeared thankful to turn themselves over. Many asked for food and water, which they would be given when taken to positions in the rear.
"Hey, look, they're forming lines themselves," said Lance Cpl. Gregory Moll, looking at the detainees. "It looks like they've done this before.
"They all look so dirty, tired and hungry."
'Shock and Awe'
The Pentagon's "shock and awe" campaign began tonight, "as huge explosions in Baghdad filled the skies with smoke and fire," CNN reports. Here's the latest:
a.. "Air Force Gen. Richard Myers . . . said that coalition ground forces already have traveled 100 miles inside Iraq from Kuwait and coalition warplanes have flown more than 1,000 sorties against Iraqi targets."
b.. "Heavy bombing also rattled the northern cities of Mosul and Kirkuk."
c.. "U.S. Navy SEALs and coalition special forces troops have seized Iraq's two major gas and oil terminals in the northern Persian Gulf, and the southern Iraqi oil fields should be secured later Friday, said Meyers."
d.. "Coalition forces, led by Australia, captured an Iraqi tug boat that apparently was preparing to lay sea mines in the Persian Gulf."
Meanwhile, poor Robert Fisk, in Baghdad for the London Independent, was already awed by the previous two nights' limited strikes.
Weasel Watch
Jacques Chirac showed up in Brussels yesterday for a European Union summit, where, London's Guardian reports, he vetoed "a paragraph of the summit statement regretting that Iraq had not 'taken the opportunity' offered by [U.N.] resolution 1441." A spokesman for Britain's Prime Minister Tony Blair observed dryly: "You are always surprised when people don't want a reference to an unanimous decision of the U.N."
The Guardian adds that Britain "released figures yesterday showing that Paris had exported goods worth hundreds of millions of dollars to Iraq":
In a parliamentary written answer, Patricia Hewitt, the trade and industry secretary, claimed that in the first six months of last year France exported goods worth $212.5m (£135m) to Iraq.
Germany exported goods worth $203.8m. In the same period Britain exported goods worth $27.8m.
The Telegraph cites figures for exports to Iraq since 1997: £1.7 billion ($2.7 billion) for France and Germany, £193 million ($302 million) for Britain.
The Guardian also reports that all the EU leaders except Chirac offered their condolences to Blair on the deaths of eight British servicemen in a helicopter crash in Kuwait. And in the most irrelevant story of the week, the Associated Press reports that "Jacques Chirac says France will not authorize a U.N. resolution allowing the United States and Britain to administer postwar Iraq."
The Wages of Appeasement?
"The French Interior Ministry said on Thursday that traces of the highly toxic poison ricin have been found in the Gare de Lyon railway station in Paris," the Associated Press reports.
Meanwhile, Reuters reports from Berlin that "German investigators on Thursday questioned five suspected terrorists accused of planning an attack in Germany to coincide with the start of the war against Iraq."
And here we thought the French and Germans had worked out a deal by which they'd be the last infidels killed.
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Hope in Iran
"The 'Great Satan' has invaded Iraq but students at Tehran University seem pleased at the prospect," the Guardian reports from Iran's capital:
"It will be a good thing to have American troops in Iraq. Perhaps that will bring change to Iran," said Namin, a lanky engineering student strolling to class.
"Maybe that will put more pressure on the regime here." Unlike fellow Muslims in the Middle East or their predecessors 23 years ago who seized the United States embassy, students today are not seething with anger against America and are unmoved by the government's daily references to "the enemy" in Washington.
"I think only about the consequences of a war. If the war has good consequences, let it be," said another student, Mohammad. "We're not protesting like European students. We don't have a democratic government like they do. We're not acting like them because we're not in European shoes."
Gee. No, NYT.
Writing in The Spectator, Boris Johnson has a hilarious account of the editing process at the New York Times op-ed page:
"Booris," said Tobin [the Times editor], "'we love it! Everybody loves it. But we have, uh, a few issues of political correctness that I have to go through with you." . . .
I started to get a floaty, out-of-body sensation when he said that he had made a change to a sentence about donations of US overseas aid to key members of the UN Security Council. I had said something to the effect that you don't make international law by giving new squash courts to the President of Guinea. This now read "the President of Chile." Come again? I said. Qué?
"Uh, Boris," said Tobin, "it's just easier in principle if we don't say anything deprecatory about a black African country, and since Guinea and Chile are both members of the UN Security Council, and since it doesn't affect your point, we would like to say Chile." . . .
I began the piece with the words, "Gee, thanks, guys," and Tobin wanted those words removed. For the life of me, I couldn't see why. . . .
"OK, Booris, I'll tell you what the problem is. Our problem is that 'Gee' is an abbreviation for Jesus. For a century this has been a Jewish-owned paper, and we have to be extremely sensitive about anything that might offend Christian sensibilities." . . .
"Jesus H. Christ," I said, "this is insane. This is utterly insane. I really think we ought to try to get that one in . . ."
Tobin consulted with his higher-ups and Johnson got a dispensation to say "Gee." The op-ed appeared this past Sunday.
Oh, Canada
One casualty of the war on terror has been the stereotype of Canadians as polite. Svend Robinson, a British Columbian member of Canada's Parliament, says he plans to heckle President Bush if he speaks before Canada's House of Commons on a visit to Ottawa May 5, the National Post reports. "Clearly we shouldn't be rolling out a red carpet for an individual who may be responsible for war crimes and the deaths of thousands and thousands of innocent civilians," says Robinson, who also heckled President Reagan 16 years ago.
Meanwhile, the Associated Press reports that fans in Montreal booed the American national anthem when it was played before a game between the hometown Canadiens and the New York Islanders. The Montreal fans got what they deserved, though: the Islanders trounced the Canadiens, 6-3. "I came to the game pretty pumped up, but once I heard [the booing] it really got me going," says Islanders right wing Mark Parrish. "So I guess I can thank them a little bit for getting me more pumped up."
Life Imitates the Onion
"Time and time again, gazing into the innocent, trusting photoelectric receptors of a tiny, newly developed cybernetic construct, I am reminded of a fundamental truth: I believe the robots are our future, and we must teach them well and let them lead the way."--"Helen Virginia Leidermeye," the Onion, June 10, 1999
"A member of Ohio's 5694th National Guard Unit in Mansfield legally changed his name to a Transformers toy. Optimus Prime is heading out to the Middle East with his guard unit on Wednesday to provide fire protection for airfields under combat."--WKYC-TV Web site (Cleveland), March 18, 2003
Incidentally, it's our understanding that the word robot is considered offensive. The politically correct term is Electronic-American.
This Is Gross, but They Brought It Up
"In a unique form of opposition, some protesters at the [San Francisco] Federal Building staged a 'vomit in,' by heaving on the sidewalks and plaza areas in the back and front of the building to show that the war in Iraq made them sick," reports the Bay City News. The San Francisco Chronicle says the group called itself "Pukers for Peace."
Such gags have a long history among Bay Area protest types. Nearly 20 years ago we went to Berkeley to visit a friend who was a graduate student at the University of California. One weekend afternoon we went for a stroll in a park and found ourselves in the middle of an event called the Berkeley Anti-Reagan Festival, or BARF. We kid you not. That's the far left for you--always regurgitating the same old ideas.
(Elizabeth Crowley helps compile Best of the Web Today. Thanks to Barak Moore, S.E. Brenner, Robert LeChevalier, Mara Gold, Carl Sherer, Jim Orheim, Michael Segal, Joel Goldberg, Raghu Desikan, Judie Amsel, Damian Bennett, Natalie Cohen, Bill Sallee, Steve Ebstein, Adam Steiner, Meaghan Skelly, Brian Bennett, Rick Black, Adam Phillips, Rosanne Klass, Mark Schulze, David Schlosser, Marie Bourgeois, Chris Lynch, Joe Deltoro, John Hartness, Brian Dawson, Drew Cooper, Paul Siebenshuh, Nancy Zimmerman, Jonathan Sperling, Lyle Katz, Shelley Taylor, Jose Guardia, Dan Nitschke, C.E. Dobkin, Adam Mossoff, Henry Stern, Laurence Louden, Jeffrey Fagan, Kevin Brotz, John Klein, Melanie Premo, Chris Copeland, Monty Krieger, Pete Freeman, William Schultz, Robert McCarthy, David Beebe, Michael Siegel, Tom Round, William Young, Mary Yonts, Brian Otey, Mike Marinacci, H.D. Fetter, Aaron Gross, O. Deus, Fred Komarow, Daniel Goldstein, Hugh Shytle, Marc Whinston and David Wheeler. If you have a tip, write us at opinionjournal_at_wsj.com, and please include the URL.)
Today on OpinionJournal:
a.. Review & Outlook: Saddam seeks mass carnage--among Iraqis.
b.. Daniel Henninger: America goes from zero-power to superpower in 500 years.
c.. John Fund: An ideological con artist is a favorite to win an Oscar.
And on the Taste page:
a.. Review & Outlook: M. Chirac, ne messez pas avec le Texas.
b.. Tony & Tacky: A prof calls the faithful "moral retards." Plus: Is Walter Cronkite becoming a male Helen Thomas?
c.. Matthew Kamisnki: An American in Paris finds France in a trance.
d.. Lisa Schiffrin: For New Yorkers, the start of battle is a great stress reliever.
e.. Fred Barnes: An Episcopal bishop sounds more like Martin Sheen than Fulton Sheen.
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Received on 2003-03-21 14:12:12