9/11 is the fault of the Liberals

[Dreadsox]

[Q]America's Most Wanted
In a new book, a right-wing critic blames the terrorist attacks of 9/11 on left-wing politicians, movie stars and activists.


Feb. 5, 2007 issue - In 2004, when Sen. Ted Kennedy was temporarily grounded by the appearance of a certain "T. Kennedy" on the No-Fly List, it was treated as an amusing bureaucratic snafu. But is it possible the government was on to something? Dinesh D'Souza, the right-wing author and critic, has made his own list, and Ted Kennedy is the very first name. D'Souza identifies more than 100 people and organizations as part of a "domestic insurgency" that is "working in tandem with [Osama] bin Laden to defeat Bush." Among them are such well-known terrorists as Sharon Stone, Henry Louis Gates and Cindy Sheehan. If you've ever given money to Planned Parenthood or the ACLU, D'Souza wants you to know, you've been aiding groups "at least as dangerous as any of bin Laden's American sleeper cells." So if you find yourself getting on a plane with Kennedy, or even Noam Chomsky, you might want to think about driving instead.

In his new book, ominously titled "The Enemy at Home," D'Souza takes pains to insist that "I am not accusing anyone of treason or even of anti-Americanism." He's merely identifying people who, blinded by hatred of President Bush, actively work to promote the interests of the jihad—by inflating a few tawdry pranks at Abu Ghraib into allegations of torture, for example, or spreading defeatism about America's success in Iraq. So it's not as if he's the second coming of Joseph McCarthy, although he happens to believe McCarthy was by and large right. He's just keeping a list.

But this is only half of D'Souza's indictment of "the Left." It's not just that they're working on behalf of bin Laden—they are also, paradoxically, responsible for bin Laden's hatred of America in the first place, by attempting to foist their decadent moral values on the rest of the world. D'Souza cites the long self-justifying statement bin Laden released in 2002, but ignores the entire first half of it, which deals with the Arabs' geopolitical and economic grievances, and skips to his denunciation of America as "the worst civilization in the history of mankind," sunk into "fornication, homosexuality, intoxicants [and] gambling." To D'Souza, this is a trenchant cultural critique; the road to 9/11 begins with reruns of "Baywatch," raining down their suggestive filth on the conservative, patriarchal societies of Islam.[/Q]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16840067/site/newsweek/

There is much more to the article.

 

[Dreadsox]

A link to Chapter 4 of the book.

http://catholiceducation.org/articles/civilization/cc0227.htm

 

[Dreadsox]

Part of the Introduction to his book:

[Q]THE ENEMY AT HOME:
THE CULTURAL LEFT AND ITS RESPONSIBILITY FOR 9/11
by Dinesh D'Souza
In this book I make a claim that will seem startling at the outset. The cultural left in this country (such people as Hillary Clinton, Ted Kennedy, Nancy Pelosi, Barbara Boxer, George Soros, Michael Moore, Bill Moyers, and Noam Chomsky) is responsible for causing 9/11. The term “cultural left” does not refer to the Democratic Party. Nor does it refer to all liberals. It refers to the left wing of the Democratic Party—admittedly the most energetic group among Democrats, and the main source of the party’s ideas. The cultural left also includes a few Republicans, notably those who adopt a left-wing stance on foreign policy and social issues. Moreover, the cultural left includes organizations such as the American Civil Liberties Union, the National Organization for Women, People for the American Way, Planned Parenthood, Human Rights Watch, and moveon.org.

In faulting the cultural left, I am not making the absurd accusation that this group blew up the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. I am saying that the cultural left and its allies in Congress, the media, Hollywood, the nonprofit sector and the universities are the primary cause of the volcano of anger toward America that is erupting from the Islamic world. The Muslims who carried out the 9/11 attacks were the product of this visceral rage—some of it based on legitimate concerns, some of it based on wrongful prejudice—but all of it fueled and encouraged by the cultural left. Thus without the cultural left, 9/11 would not have happened.[/Q]

The rest is here.

http://www.dineshdsouza.com/books/enemy-intro.html

 

[Ormus]

Right. So we're supposed to live in the Stone Age to make the "terrrists" happy? Fuck 'em.

 

[Irvine511]

i wonder what other cultural tips and advice those on the Cultural Right wish to take from the jihadists.

 

[A_Wanderer]

I don't hold to the idea that we should embrace religious modesty and attack free thinkers to find common ground with the Islamic World, in fact I think that we should do just the opposite.

 

[Vincent Vega]

Of course we all could just do what the fundamentalists want us to do.
So, let's surrender.

 

[A_Wanderer]

It isn't over to them until the entire world is under the dominion of the non-existant autocrat called Allah, or God - pick your bastard.

 

[INDY500]

Jan 06 Media Matters after the release of a bin laden tape:

... on the January 19 edition of Hardball, Matthews said that bin Laden "sounds like an over-the-top Michael Moore, if not a Michael Moore." On that evening's edition of MSNBC's Scarborough Country, host Joe Scarborough said that bin Laden's comments "were awfully close to some of the president's detractors," including Moore, Murtha, Dean, Kennedy, and Sen. John Kerry (D-MA). Scarborough Country guest and fellow MSNBC host, Tucker Carlson, added that the bin Laden tape is "not an Islamic tape, it's a propaganda tape parroting the DNC." He continued: "I hate to think of Osama bin Laden reclining in his cave in Waziristan [Pakistan] reading the op-ed page of The New York Times, but clearly he is. He's got every talking point." Additionally, a January 20 editorial by the New York Post asked: "Who writes his [bin Laden] stuff -- Howard Dean? John Murtha? Sure sounds like it."

In addition, Newt Gingrich said:

I think it's quite clear... from this tape, that bin Laden and his lieutenants are monitoring the American news media, they're monitoring public opinion polling, and I suspect they take a great deal of comfort when they see people attacking United States policies. That doesn't mean we shouldn't be a free society and have open debate, but we should recognize, when some of our politicians use very extreme language or some of our celebrities -- like Michael Moore -- use very extreme language, that the enemy does, in fact, take great comfort from that.

The fact is, it is sometimes hard to differentiate between the rhetoric of bin laden and that of the far-left. Bin Laden and the Left have one other thing in common that cannot be denied. A deep, obsessive hatred of, not just George Bush the politician, but of George Bush the man.

 

[MrPryck2U]

9/11 is the fault of those who actually commited the crime and those who knew about it beforehand.

 

[Irvine511]

The fact is, it is sometimes hard to differentiate between the rhetoric of bin laden and that of the far-left. Bin Laden and the Left have one other thing in common that cannot be denied. A deep, obsessive hatred of, not just George Bush the politician, but of George Bush the man.

thus underscoring the fundamental circularity of the political spectrum, but it's qutie a stretch when you're using Tucker Carlson as a cultural commentator and not appreciating the fact that his quotes are all part of a political strategy employed in 2004 where the subtex was, essentially, the terrorists want John Kerry to win.

but, utlimately, those who hate the self-expression and self-definition afforded to Westerners by a secular popular cutlure -- where women can have sex, where gays are people, where we are free to self-create and self-define -- are going to find a common ground with the Islamists. the Christianists and the Islamists do, indeed, share many of the same goals. one wonders how well Bin Laden's domestic/social rhetoric would go over in a GOP primary ...

 

[BVS]

The fact is, it is sometimes hard to differentiate between the rhetoric of bin laden and that of the far-left. Bin Laden and the Left have one other thing in common that cannot be denied. A deep, obsessive hatred of, not just George Bush the politician, but of George Bush the man.

This is hilarious.

You and your friends are so blinded by your own hatred that you can't see how much in common you have with your enemy.

 

[ntalwar]

The fact is, it is sometimes hard to differentiate between the rhetoric of bin laden and that of the far-left. Bin Laden and the Left have one other thing in common that cannot be denied. A deep, obsessive hatred of, not just George Bush the politician, but of George Bush the man.

This statement comes from the same place as quotes like "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists" and about dissent on the Iraq war providing comfort to the enemy.

 

[A_Wanderer]

The fact is, it is sometimes hard to differentiate between the rhetoric of bin laden and that of the far-left. Bin Laden and the Left have one other thing in common that cannot be denied. A deep, obsessive hatred of, not just George Bush the politician, but of George Bush the man.

And what does GWB have to do with Bin Laden declaring war in the 1990's? Or Rushdie getting marked for death in the 1980's? Or Qutb being disgusted by the west in the 1940's (quote: "the American girl is well acquainted with her body's seductive capacity. She knows it lies in the face, and in expressive eyes, and thirsty lips. She knows seductiveness lies in the round breasts, the full buttocks, and in the shapely thighs, sleek legs — and she shows all this and does not hide it" - is such misogyny a liberal thing?) - there are a million causes that are used by Islamic fundamentalists but at it's base level is that their worldview is the only God sanctioned one and they have a divine right to conquer and kill anybody that thinks differently.

When you have a Catholic bigot like Pat Buchanan justifying Salman Rushdie being fair game for death due to apostacy or D'Souza declaring that a sexually liberated culture is inviting violence (two cases of blaming the victim) it simply illustrates common attitudes among believers.

It goes beyond left and right (economic term) and to issues of modernity versus faith, liberty versus authoritarianism an enlightened society versus primitivism. When push comes to shove it is the liberals who will defend reason and freedoms against all those threats; who will defend free speech against religion, sexual liberties and reason when for social conservatives those aren't so much principles as they are allowable in certain instances.

 

[A_Wanderer]

Want somebody to blame?

"Those who perpetuate terror in the world are in reality the Darwinists. Darwinism is the only philosophy which validates and encourages conflict."

Straight from an Islamic Creationist textbook, the one check on fundamentalists is that they will never be able to create and maintain societies with the scientific and technological prowess to remain dominant.

 

[INDY500]

thus underscoring the fundamental circularity of the political spectrum, but it's qutie a stretch when you're using Tucker Carlson as a cultural commentator and not appreciating the fact that his quotes are all part of a political strategy employed in 2004 where the subtex was, essentially, the terrorists want John Kerry to win.

but, utlimately, those who hate the self-expression and self-definition afforded to Westerners by a secular popular cutlure -- where women can have sex, where gays are people, where we are free to self-create and self-define -- are going to find a common ground with the Islamists. the Christianists and the Islamists do, indeed, share many of the same goals. one wonders how well Bin Laden's domestic/social rhetoric would go over in a GOP primary ...

The quotes are from Jan 06.

I could paste quotes from bin Laden and Howard Dean on Iraq and Bush and you couldn't tell me the difference. I'm sure you could do the same with bin Laden and Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson. Is that what you mean by "the fundamental circularity?"

My point is we live in a world of instant global communication. What here is a non-binding Senate resolution against troop increases in Iraq ...becomes instant propaganda in the hands of others.

 

[INDY500]

It goes beyond left and right (economic term) and to issues of modernity versus faith, liberty versus authoritarianism an enlightened society versus primitivism. When push comes to shove it is the liberals who will defend reason and freedoms against all those threats; who will defend free speech against religion, sexual liberties and reason when for social conservatives those aren't so much principles as they are allowable in certain instances.

Have to disagree with you here.


Sorry but it's Super Bowl time, gotta go.

 

[BVS]

They fear a secular state, they fear women in power, they deny science, they like to deny rights to their homosexuals and minorities, violence is always a valid response even when their faith says otherwise, and they have a love affair with the status quo(as long as they are the ones benefitting).

Who am I talking about?

 

[A_Wanderer]

The Christians, Jesus rejected violence, Mohammed didn't.

 

[verte76]

This sounds familiar. It's completely off base. Of course I'm a lefty, so I'm going to have that opinion.

 

[Irvine511]

The quotes are from Jan 06.

I could paste quotes from bin Laden and Howard Dean on Iraq and Bush and you couldn't tell me the difference. I'm sure you could do the same with bin Laden and Jerry Falwell or Pat Robertson. Is that what you mean by "the fundamental circularity?"

My point is we live in a world of instant global communication. What here is a non-binding Senate resolution against troop increases in Iraq ...becomes instant propaganda in the hands of others.

it doesn't matter -- this was implied in the 2004 election, along with Cheney talking about how you're going to die in a terrorist attack if you vote for Kerry.

i challenge you to the cut-and-pasted quotes, because that would be interesting, and yes, that is what i mean about the fundamental circularity of the spectrum, but Fallwell and Robertson and D'Souza and Dobson are all much farther right than Dean is to the left.

 

[Irvine511]

They fear a secular state, they fear women in power, they deny science, they like to deny rights to their homosexuals and minorities, violence is always a valid response even when their faith says otherwise, and they have a love affair with the status quo(as long as they are the ones benefitting).

Who am I talking about?

the increasingly theocratic government in Iraq? the religious militias that govern may provinces and towns in Iraq who encourage honor killings when it comes to gays?

 

[A_Wanderer]

Very sly; but what would you do about it? Bush promotes democracy but simply fails to emphasise guaranteed liberties - which are impossible in countries where Islam is placed in the constitutions as the highest law of the land - if your going to attack him for this whats your alternative?

 

[Varitek]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16840067/site/newsweek/

There is much more to the article.

I kind of doubt it.

 

[Varitek]

Very sly; but what would you do about it? Bush promotes democracy but simply fails to emphasise guaranteed liberties - which are impossible in countries where Islam is placed in the constitutions as the highest law of the land - if your going to attack him for this whats your alternative?

This is one of the biggest problems with the Iraq war - you can install a government, ink people's fingers and tell them they live in a democracy, and in extremely conservative, outdated definitions of democracy they do: People now elect their leaders. But they don't live in a liberal democracy (and I don't mean politically liberal, Indy and others, hear me out), that is, a democracy where people have civil rights, civic participation is encouraged, where there are rights like those enshrined in our bill of rights. Well, in Iraq, there's martial law, chaos, and people are intentionally picking off key leaders in civil society to prevent the democracy from taking route.

 

[Irvine511]

Very sly; but what would you do about it? Bush promotes democracy but simply fails to emphasise guaranteed liberties - which are impossible in countries where Islam is placed in the constitutions as the highest law of the land - if your going to attack him for this whats your alternative?

Varitek has hit it on the head -- voting and a parliment are merely the hollow shell of a democracy. there might have been a democratic election in Iraq, but it is not a democratic society, and the scary thing is that when certain societies with anti-liberal values hold elections, the people elected are given a patina of legitimacy in the eyes of the democratic world that a despot would never have been given -- hence, the legitimization of Hamas and Hezbollah. democratic values cannot function without a basic level of security, and there isn't any in Iraq.

what is to be done? there's no single solution, but one does know that invasion, the toppling of a government, and then foreign occupation are precisely the wrong things to do.

 

[CTU2fan]

Funny, how the right are cool with saying the left are allied with Bin Laden & the terrorists, but get all pissy when one of their own goes on one of his racist/sexist/homophobic tirades and gets lumped in with the Nazis.

 

[hiphop]

lol

another chapter on America ridiculing itself, please!

I wonder how much Dinesh D Souza got paid and by who.. I wonder who she works for.

 

[hiphop]

Funny, how the right are cool with saying the left are allied with Bin Laden & the terrorists, but get all pissy when one of their own goes on one of his racist/sexist/homophobic tirades and gets lumped in with the Nazis.

still funnier when you consider that the White House has better relations to the BinLadens and the rest of the oil-shitting world than all the Moores and Sheehans and Sharon Stones and Hilarys combined.

 

[Irvine511]

I wonder how much Dinesh D Souza got paid and by who.. I wonder who she works for.

Dinesh is a he.