God bless you, Jimmy Bradshaw.

The Balkan angle is so entirely overlooked, and in many ways illustrates the hypocrisy of the simplistic statements put forth by the anti-war crowd (distinguished from legitimate argument, critique, etc...).

Why are you still, still, defending the Iraq War? Why not to the honorable thing like TNR and admit you were conned and you guys screwed up?

 Shouldn't you have conceded this failure years ago already?

There is a difference between defending the current state of this war (which is, of course, inexcusable at this point) and defending the ideological basis in which one believed it was a defensible and even moral act. Yes there is a fault in, perhaps, trusting that this group would be able to conduct such a moral war, or ever actually truly care about the needs of the Kurds and other minority groups in Iraq. And many have fessed up to that.

However, that said, the issue raised above is about who gets to define leftism. Consider how rapidly and radically the roles have reversed when it comes to internationalism and activist foreign policy. A generation ago isolationism was a distinct quality of the right (Robert Taft, Charles Lindburgh, Rush Holt, etc...distinguished from pacifists, of course), whereas leftists in this country supported the activist foreign policy of FDR, JFK, Truman, etc..certainly the Bay of Pigs and Vietnam (umm, and Grenada, etc...) took this to an extreme and perhaps served as a catalyst for a re-evaluation of such ideas. However, for the anti-war crowd to claim the mantle of leftism is both disingenuous and ahistorical.

"However, for the anti-war crowd to claim the mantle of leftism is both disingenuous and ahistorical."

Not really -- they are claiming the mantle of far-Leftism.  It's like when the Socialists claimed the Communists weren't really Marxists, they were the Marxists. In fact, they would have been better off cutting their ties to Marx, and embracing liberal Socialism devoid of Marx.

 Fighting with the far-Left over who is the true Leftist is worse than masturbation. They will win, because they are further Left than the moderate Left. It is better to ignore them and call yourself something else. 

DK,

I suppose there is something to what you say, in the sense of the pointlessness of the exercise (surely much more futile than masterbation), however the coddling of the far Left with fascists, Islamists and the like is just offensive to those of us who are ideologically, philosophically and intellectually inclined to see the world from a traditionally leftist perspective (and there is much range within this, just because one is an interventionist doesn't mean that she/he is all of a sudden to be considered moderate by any means). The problem/challenge is of course that these categories are always changing and fluid, and in some sense, yeah who really cares. But, there is legitimacy to care about the fate of an ideology that many of us truly believe in, and how it has evolved and generally debased.

I see a bit of revisionist history here. Most true leftists were opposed to the invasion of Afghanistan. I remember seeing "peace" rallies on campus after 9/11. Most leftists believed that the events of 9/11 were well deserved. Today, the major difference between right and left is that the right believes that America is a special country that we owe allegiance to, and the left believes that America is worse that Nazi Germany, Stalins russia, or the China of the 1960s, and needs to be humbled. All else is commentary

When you come to Israel, and I hope it's soon, please do not doven (pray) at the Kotel (Western Wall). Before you call for "the men in the white coats" please allow me to explain that rather strange request.

Imagine that a very wealthy man invited you to a party in his beautiful home. For years this party had been taking place but you were never lucky enough to be invited. And now, after so much time, the invitation you were waiting for has finally arrived. Thank G-d! In honor of the special event you bought the best suit money could buy, the finest shoes in town and a custom made shirt. You had your hair done by the best hairstylist and -- just for the occasion -- bought the most expensive cologne on the market. Everything was perfect and you were counting down the days.

And then came the bad news. Just three hours before the start of the party-of-the-year, a major fire broke out in the host's magnificent home. Five fire companies were busy putting out the flames and destruction was everywhere. Obviously, the party you had waited for so anxiously was cancelled. You were devastated.

And then came the good news. While the wealthy man's home and property were indeed destroyed, a small piece of his backyard was not! You quickly put on your fancy suit, shiny shoes, custom made shirt and started driving to the party, which you felt was going to be held in the backyard. On the way, you fixed your hair and "shpritzed" yourself with the expensive cologne. You drove past all the fire-trucks, still busy fighting the fire, and arrived at the backyard. "I must be early" you thought, because nobody else was there. And then, all of a sudden, you saw the host of the party! "Wow, the host is here. Let me go over and greet him," you said to yourself.

And then came the bad -- and extremely embarrassing -- news. "Are you serious?" asked the wealthy man. "You actually thought the party would be held here -- with my house still burning several feet away??? Are you insane??? Don't ever come near me again, you insensitive fool! Get off my property!!!" And with that, the wealthy man turned away in anger, shock and total disbelief, and you stood there in your fancy suit and sweet smelling cologne looking like the biggest fool who ever walked the planet.

Dearest friends, G-d's house is burning. As you read these words, the Holy Temple in Jerusalem is being destroyed. Right now at this exact moment! This is not an exaggeration. It is 100% fact. The Arabs, who control Har Ha'Bayit (the Temple Mount) are digging and destroying actual walls of the Holy Temple.

The following is a quote from Rabbi Chaim Richman, International Director of Machon Ha'Mikdash (The Temple Mount Institute);

"For the past several weeks, workers employed by the Islamic Wakf have been excavating on the Temple Mount. This excavation, ostensibly to facilitate improvements to the infrastructure of the Al Aksa Mosque, is being carried out with the approval of the Israeli government. Digging in any archeologically sensitive area is generally carried out with great care and delicacy, especially if the site is associated with religious traditions or considered holy. However this work is being carried out as it would be at any construction or building project, utilizing heavy machinery such as tractors and bulldozers. The Israel Antiquities Authority, legally empowered by the government to protect all archeological sites in Israel, is turning a blind eye to this excavation and has not posted supervisors or any representative at the site. Indeed, respected independent archeologists who have expressed concern over the irreparable damage currently being wrought by this work, and who have attempted to observe the digging firsthand, have been physically prevented from doing so by Israeli police officers, who vigilantly ensure that no one interferes with the work. According to the eye witness reports of these archeologists, and based on photographs they have studied, irreparable damage is being caused.

Islam maintains that there never was any such thing as the Holy Temple standing on the Temple Mount. For years a concentrated effort was made to obliterate any vestige of evidence from the site. Yet now, as a result of this destructive and wanton bulldozing, a section of the wall of the Holy Temple - in the area universally recognized as the location of the Women's Court - has been unearthed. This is the first time since the destruction of the Second Temple that actual physical evidence of the Temple has been revealed. But all of the antiquities of the Temple that have been uncovered are in danger of being destroyed by the Wakf."

I suggest you read those last two sentences again. Rabbi Richman wrote that this is the first time since the destruction of Bayit Sheni (the Second Temple) that physical evidence of the actual Temple has been found yet that evidence is being destroyed by the Arabs. Please understand that this archeological find is far more important than Massada. We are talking about the Holy Temple -- the Beit Hamikdash!!!

Three weeks ago, I went up to Har Ha'Bayit with my son and we saw this destruction with our own eyes. Many bulldozers are busy at work destroying our holiest site. A 400 meter long trench has already been dug and damage has been made that is simply beyond repair. As Rabbi Richman wrote, the Israeli government and the Israeli police department are allowing this tragedy to happen. It's simply horrific.

But I want to go one step further. It is very easy to blame Prime Minister Olmert, President Peres and their gang for what they are doing. These people have made their careers out of destroying all that is dear to our tradition. Olmert and Peres are currently busy at work trying to give Hebron and Bet El to the enemy and when that is done -- G-d forbid -- they will try to give away Kever Rachel, Kever Yosef, Elon Moreh, Shilo and more.

My question is where are the Rabbis during this crisis? Where is "Da'as Torah"? Where are the Gedolim (rabbinic leaders)? Their silence is deafening. How come all the Rabbis were up in arms when anonymous bones were found during the building of Highway #6 yet not a sound is made when walls of the Bet Ha'Mikdash are found -- and destroyed??? Those bones caused quite a stir. Massive rallies were held and physical battles were waged with the Israeli police. The violence was so intense that the Israeli government gave in and rerouted an entire section of the road, at a cost of tens of millions of dollars. The Rabbis declared the victory a sanctification of G-d's Name and didn't even care when scientific proof was presented that these bones were not even Jewish!

Where are the battles over the Bet Ha'Mikdash? Where is the outcry, the willingness for self-sacrifice for the Sanctification of G-d's Name?
There is none. Do you know why??? Because nobody has touched the Kotel. For thousands of years we have prayed and cried at the Kotel, the place where G-d's "Shechina" (Divine presence) never left. The Kotel has served us just fine and even though G-d restored Har Ha'Bayit to our hands, our people prefer to remain at the Kotel. I understand that there is a great Jewish-law debate over ascending Har Ha'Bayit and if one follows the ruling that says that going to Har Ha'Bayit is forbidden, then you should indeed not go there, but that doesn't change what is happening.

Even if you do not go to Har Ha'Bayit, you should be outraged by what is happening there. A Jew must protest every act of desecration of G-d's Name in the world and certainly when it is being carried out on our holiest site. But not a word has been said. Olmert is allowing it, the police are allowing it and -- sadly -- the Rabbis are allowing it too.

This is why I wrote not to pray at the Kotel. Hashem's house is burning at this very moment and I do not recommend saying, "But the backyard is fine so we'll go there". Especially if you do not go up to Har Ha'Bayit, do not go to the Kotel. At least not while the fire is still burning.

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The far-Left always has and always will coddle with anti-Western forces, including the far-right. They are treacherous to the core. Always were.

The moderate Left must resign itself to limited, always wary, alliances with the moderate Right, and never mistake them for true or trustworthy friends.  And the moderate Left must resign itself to implicit domestic/fiscal alliances with the far-Left, even while recognizing that they are in many ways the true enemy of our most cherished causes.

There is no other way.  We are neither this nor that. But this is not new. This is a very old, at this point, almost ancient, paradigm.

And most of all, beware of the social liberals. They are the absolute worst...utterly irresponsible. They will allow this country to turn into a privately held corporation,  provided their is a black Lesbian heading the board of trustees.  

The same old BS from the neo-cons. To correct Bradshaw and a common misconception, the US did not go into Bosnia to save the Muslims. The US, with BushI at its helm, watched while the Bosnian Muslims were massacred, herded into concentration and rape camps, and ethnically cleansed. BushI just proved to the Muslim world that while he was willing to go to war against a Muslim country, he wouldn't do the same with a Christian country in Europe practicing genocide against a Muslim minority. By the time Clinton came to office, the ethnic cleansing of Bosnia was complete. Clinton then took action to protect the Kosovars from a similar fate. Big difference. There were no lies, no WMD scares going into the Kosovo war, and the only ones opposing military action were the neo-cons.

Now, the Iraq war was sold to the US public on false pretenses, when the real motive of the neo-cons was the security of the racist state of Israel.

Reading the angry faux-leftist comments on this site is like playing a warped game of Mad Libs.

The  ---- (1)  neo-cons start wars for ---------- (2), at the behest of the State of ----- (3).

1. Angry adjective
2. Concept from Said or Chomsky
3. Name of Jewish State in Middle East.

Although I don't agree 100%, this resonates with me. I was certainly sympathetic to the overthrow of Saddam in principle, and I was happy to see it happen. I wrote an op-ed in The Sun on the liberal case for war with Saddam. But when the US failed to win its case in the UN Security Council, I felt that an invasion without wide international support was a bad idea. The bull-headed US decision to attack in the face of  international opposition was a foreshadowing for what would follow.  It's the arrogant, ideologically rigid, hypocritical and incompetent nature of the US intervention that was the problem, not the fact that Saddam was removed (that was the good part).

Ralph Seliger rseliger@gmail.com

Editor, Israel Horizons, and  also www.meretzusa.bliogspot.com