2005-07-08 Root, Root, Root for the Bomb Team


 * Date: when posted::2005-07-08
 * Source: publication::Wall Street Journal
 * Author: author::James Taranto
 * Topics: topic::New York Times topic::terrorism topic::US-Iraq War topic::anti-liberal topic::demonization topic::pro-war topic::Bush-Cheney administration/approval topic::2005-07-07 bombings
 * URL: URL::http://www.opinionjournal.com/best/?id=110006942
 * Title: title::headline::Root, Root, Root for the Bomb Team
 * Summary: &ldquo;That's right, the Times is complaining that "wealthy nations have not done enough about the root causes of terrorism"!&rdquo;

Excerpt
So what does the New York Times have to say about yesterday's terrorist murders in London of more than 50 people at last count? Here's a quote from the paper's lead editorial of today:

That fear has already led to questions about why the British security agencies did not anticipate the attacks, why the wealthy nations have not done enough about the root causes of terrorism and why Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden continue to function after almost four years of the so-called war on terrorism. Many will wonder why the United States is mired in Iraq while Al Qaeda's leader still roams free.

There are no easy answers to these questions.

That's right, the Times is complaining that "wealthy nations have not done enough about the root causes of terrorism"! Now granted, one can talk of the root causes of terrorism without slipping into liberal weeniedom. This column has long endorsed the theory that terrorism springs from the tyrannical and fanatical political culture that prevails in most of the Arab and Muslim worlds. The Bush administration subscribes to this theory too, which is why it has embarked upon a strategy of democratization, a key element of which was regime change in Iraq.

Do the editorialists at the Times disagree with this theory? No, apparently they are completely oblivious to it. First they complain about the failure to deal with "root causes," then they scratch their collective head over why we're "mired in Iraq."