Score Another Point for Dinesh D'Souza

Dinesh D'Souza, author of The Enemy at Home, has been getting beat up over at National Review Online. Now, I have no expertise on the subject of Islam, what Muslims actually beleive, and whether we are likely to find any Muslim allies, and if so, of what kind. That is what he is getting beat up about. But, I do think his position on domestic politics is exactly right: the Left fears George Bush and the Right far more than it fears Osama bin Laden and the Taliban. Whether the Left has an explicit handshake with the Jihadists, a wink and a nod, or just a coincidence of interests doesn't really matter. I think it is now quite obvious that the American Left wants America to lose the war in Iraq.
Be that as it may, the WSJ reported yesterday that the British Left is actually forming political alliances with their domestic Muslims. Read it here.

Speaking of a Long-term Commitment

The Franciscans have been Custodians of the Holy Places for 800 years. The Minister General of the Franciscans gave an address in anticipation of their anniversary. Here is the opening and conclusion. And the American media thinks that 5 years is a long-term commitment! Read the whole thing at http://zenit.org for January 13, 2007. Or send yourself the article by clicking here.

Almost 800 years have passed since Francis came to this land in 1219. Since then our presence in this land -- called, with reason, "the fifth Gospel," because it was blessed with the presence of the Son of the Almighty and his holy Mother, and bathed with the blood of the Redeemer -- has been constant in despite of the many difficulties and the all kinds of persecutions....

The Custody of the Holy Land has been and should continue being a presence that bridges the East and the West, the Eastern Churches and the Catholic and Latin Church. It is, and should continue being, an important cultural presence in the Middle East, in the name of the Catholic Church. There are new challenges that we, Franciscans, face today in this land so dear to us. We cannot limit ourselves to be mere passive spectators in a world that changes faster and faster. In many occasions, during almost eight centuries of presence in land of Jesus, we have been creators of history in this land.

Why shouldn't this continue?We trust that the Providence, that has brought us to this land, would continue showing us the new paths that we are called to walk in order to respond appropriately to the signs of the times and the places. And that the brothers -- including you commissaries of the Holy Land -- that
work with much dedication and sacrifice in this beloved field of the Order of the Friars Minor enter into the climate of conversion and discernment, keeping always on the journey, to be able, in this way, to offer new answers to the new questions that are posed for us today.

Boundless Self-Absorbtion of the American Media

Today was the third deadliest day in the Iraq war. Thus spake the AP, the Washington Post and their allies in the MSM Echo-Chamber. Did these casualities arise from deadly insurgent attacks? Failure of military intelligence? Faulty strategy or tactics?
No, my friends, the 19 deaths in this "third deadliest day of the Iraq war" resulted from a helicopter crash. Read all about it at MilBlogs, here.
I call this American self-absorption for this reason: a handful of American deaths are supposed to count for more than hundreds of Iraqis that Saddam killed on a regular basis during his reign of terror. These few deaths are evidence that we are losing, or that the cause is too hard, or that we don't know what we are doing. But at the same time, the enemy is losing more men, and suffering more confusion than we are. Most of Iraq is pacified and stable. Kurdistan is prospering, thanks to American efforts.
Thank you to the families of the dead and wounded American soldiers in Iraq. Some of us appreciate the value of your sacrifice, and are not ready to throw in the towel because of a helicopter crash.

Religious Freedom is Solution for Iraq, Prelate Says

This is the headline from Zenit on January 18. "Chaldean Archbishop Louis Sako, the archbishop of Kirkuk warns that a division of boundaries will lead to more conflict, with Christians caught in the middle." He says "a divided Iraq will not be a peaceful Iraq. ...Archbishop Sako fears that possible plans for a Christian safe haven on the Nineveh plain will not succeed. He said: "They would have their own territory, but to be viable, the idea of a protected zone, a safe haven, which is viewed sympathetically by the Kurds and even the Americans, needs an end to the violence and remains in any event, a dangerous plan. The Nineveh plain is largely surrounded by Arabs, and Christians would serve as a useful and undefended buffer zone between Arabs and Kurds."
In other words, Christians would be caught in the cross-fire between Arabs and Kurds, unless something is done to curb the violence.
"According to the archbishop the best solution is religious freedom: "In my opinion it would be preferable to work at the constitutional level and each area to guarantee religious freedom and equal rights for believers of all faiths throughout the land, including Christians, who can be found everywhere."
Note: San Diego County, where I live, has one of the largest concentrations of Iraqi Catholics outside of Iraq. They are known as Chaldean Catholics, and they use Aramaic as their liturgical language. That is the language Jesus Himself used. It would be a shame for Iraqi Christians to be purged from their country.
Cross-posted at the acton institute blog.