Iraqis Get It - Does The American Left?

I'd have to say the answer to that question is no. The American Left is intoxicated with the notion that the terrorists who intend mass casualties in Iraq and elsewhere are part of some heroic movement against American imperialism or that they are Minutemen rising up against the US occupation.

Nothing could be further from the truth, and the Iraqi people know it.

The latest terrorist bombing in Iraq, which killed dozens at a funeral gathering for an earlier suicide bombing was conducted by a Jordanian who came from the Jordanian middle class. He was a privileged sort, having been educated in the West. In fact, Raad al-Banna was educated in the US, worked for the UN, and was a lawyer.

Not exactly the kind of individual one would expect to be a terrorist, especially if you're a member of the American Left. The American Left generally believes that terrorism's root causes come from poverty, inequity, and failed ideology rarely enters the picture. Also, one forgets that the 9/11 hijackers were primarily middle class sorts who had respectable jobs in the West, and some had wives and children. This was some peasant revolution against imperialism, but a conflict with the very ideas of freedom and tolerance espoused by the West versus the rigid interpretation of the Wahabis (Salafists).

The Iraqis who have turned out to demonstrate against Jordan and Arabs who back terrorist groups is instructive. They're understanding the reality that the terrorists are proxies for other nations, and that the terrorists do not have their interests at heart. The terrorists are ruthless killers, and honoring those killers is essentially condoning the behavior.

But don't tell that to the Michael Moore types of the American Left. Facts are difficult to reconcile with their worldview.