The American Standard Bearer

The popular outdoor pastime in Tehran these days has become burning Israel’s flag in the street. Actually, burning Israel’s flag as well as the American flag has long been a popular form of recreation in Iran. But the flag burning craze has really caught fire, so to speak, following the incendiary (I can’t stop) remarks of the new Iranian President, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

At a conference in Tehran this week entitled The World Without Zionism, Ahmadinejad said, among other things, that “there is no doubt that the new wave (of attacks) in Palestine will wipe off this stigma (Israel) from the face of the Islamic world” and, “Israel must be wiped off the map” not to mention, “Israel will exist and will continue to exist until Islam will obliterate it, just as it obliterated others before it.” Of course, his remarks caused quite a stir in western political circles.

But one thing should be made clear – the President’s remarks are not an abberation. The Muslim world, by and large, cannot conceive of politics seperated from religion. Many Americans see the images of Muslims burning the American flag and the Israeli flag and wonder, what have we done to make them so mad at us, but fail to realize that it isn’t what we’ve done but it’s who we are.

What’s happening in Iran right now is only a manifestation of what is brewing in other Islamic countries. The tenets of Islam proscribe Islam from existing in harmony with any other religion. So as the United States, Great Britain and the Coalition attempt to bring peace to the Middle East with political solutions, we fail to recognize the true source of the conflict. As the title of the Tehran conference, The World Without Zionism, indicates, Islam seeks to eliminate all other religions, most notably Judaism and Christianity, from the face of the earth. 

As the trial of Saddam Hussein starts up again next month, I predict it will be an eye-opener for a lot of Americans. Reminiscent of the days of the Vietnam War, campus demonstrations are springing up across the country replete with, yes, American flag burnings. (As a side note, it has been reported that students are burning the American flag as a demonstration of their free speech rights rather than as a statement of their hatred of America). But those demonstrations that are in vogue with many of today’s students may not seem so cool  when images of torture and death under Saddam are seared into the brains of the American public.

Despite the similarities to the Vietnam era, there are some marked differences. Perhaps the biggest difference is that today, we have a vast amount of information available, including videotape, about the atrocities of Saddam’s regime. That’s why this trial has the potential to really change public opinion. Up until now, the American news media has been complicit in failing to show the extent of Saddam’s crimes in order to appease the far-left.

And unlike the Vietnam era, when the anti-war movement was founded and spearheaded largely by American students, today’s anti-war movement has been planted and nurtured by some very questionable groups many of which are Saddam loyalists. Many of the groups I have reported on such as ANSWER and the Muslim-American Society blatantly support terrorist organizations like Hamas while calling for the destruction of Israel. And they are front-and-center with the American anti-war movement – in fact, those two groups were the cheif sponsors of the recent anti-war rally in Washington, D.C.

So how did these people gain legitimacy? They did it by recruiting the assistance and endorsements of famous people. And up until now, one of the movements brightest stars was a member of Britain’s Parlaiment, George Galloway. Galloway, if you were watching, was one of the featured speakers at last month’s Washington rally , and has been the darling of the American press. News outlets here in the U.S., including the New York Times, have been in a swoon over him.

But now, like many of his ilk, his motives have proved to be entirely self-serving and even sinister. For all his anti-war posturing, it turns out that he is entwined in the "Oil for Food" scandal bigtime. Galloway and his wife have apparently been on the take from Saddam for quite some time and it doesn’t look like he’ll be able to wiggle his way out of this.

So as much as I deplore the willful desecration of the American flag, I hope that every time an American student lights one up in the name of free speech, he/she ponders what free speech or the lack therof existed under the regime of Saddam Hussein. 

I think tonight, on the way home, I’ll stop and buy a bottle of French wine to celebrate. Why on earth, you might be asking, would I buy a bottle of French wine (with all the nastiness towards America that pours forth from France) and what would I be using it to celebrate?

Well, at least one small corner of France loves the American flag and  more importantly, gets the symbolism of it right (they at least get some of it right). I came accross an archived story about last years 60th anniversary of D-Day that I found astonishing.

The people in the small village of Trevieres on the Normandy coast had the American flags out in force for the celebration. And the people there, particularly the old-timers, were ready to express their gratitude for the America that saved them from Hitler’s grasp.

Odette Durosier, the owner of a cafe on the town’s main square, had the place decked out in red, white and blue with American flags covering every available space. She had this to say about the flag, "The American flag means freedom, not the American government. It’s not a question of politics."

Bravo, Odette. She got it mostly right. True, the American flag is a symbol  of freedom and not of political ideology. But it is specifically a symbol of American freedom embodied in our Republic. You can’t seperate the American flag from America.

Unfortunately, the people of Trevieres view their rescue by the Americans from the clutches of a sadistic madman as wholly righteous. But when Americans rescue the people of another nation from the clutches of another sadistic madman, it’s not a rescue at all, but something sinister.

Françoise Castel, a patron of Durosier’s cafe said it this way, "For us, that flag means liberty. Today in other parts of the world it represents more like an invader."

And Jean-Jacques Gravey, who puts an American flag in front of his house every June, says it’s "a recognition of the men who liberated us…a tribute to the American nation and the soldiers." Then, speaking of the war in Iraq, he says, "The war now seems to me more like an economic war for oil. Sixty years ago it was for peoples’ freedom."

When Sadam Hussein’s trial begins again in November, we’ll find out in great detail what life was like in Iraq for many, if not most, of it’s citizens, and it won’t be pretty. Contrary to what Mr. Gravey says, the liberation of Iraq is as much about their oil as the liberation of France in 1944 was about their wine.

I do appreciate their enthusiasm over the American flag, but on second thought, some California wine will do just fine.
 

German Ex-Chancellor, Gerhard Schroeder, who blatantly took a swipe at the U.S. with a campaign poster showing the caskets of American soldiers draped in American flags, is now busy sending out his resume. One rumor has him going to work for state-owned Russian gas company, Gazprom, which seems appropriate given that Schroeder’s preference for the East over the West.

Meanwhile, now that the dust has settled, German news outlets are flowing with optimism about their new Chancellor, Angela Merkel. The popular German tabloid Bild shows a smiling Merkel with the headline, "Miss Germany!"

The good news is that Merkel’s narrow victory may signal a shift away from the anti-Americanism and socialist policies that have crippled the German economy. Merkel’s Christian Democrat party will share power with the Social Democrats, making rapid reform unlikely, but her victory is, nevertheless, a step in the right direction.

Some pundits are speculating that Merkel’s popularity is all about economic reform and that voters were not in favor of her position that Germany should take a more active role alongside the U.S. in Iraq. However, many Germans  consider the U.S. a friend and are not comfortable with the anti-American sentiment stirred up by Schroeder. That campaign poster showing the American flag-draped caskets of U.S. soldiers may have struck a chord with German voters that Schroeder didn’t intend to strike.

On a typical day, I will look for news items about American flags, find one that is related to a current  event, then make a point about the event from the aspect of the American flag.

But today, there’s a story I want to write about and I’ll be darned but I can’t find where an American flag is involved at all. So forgive me if I stray a little off topic – we’ll get back to the American flags tomorrow!

The news channels today are all abuzz over the latest news about Mohamed Kamal Mustafa, a Muslim imam who in January was convicted of inciting violence against women in a Spanish court. He was sentenced to 15 months in jail and fined the equivalent of $2,600, but after serving only 22 days of his sentence, Mustafa was released in exchange for his promise to participate in a "re-education" course.

The Spanish government has come to the mistaken conclusion that the tension between the Muslim and traditional communities can be remedied by indoctrination of the growing Muslim population to the ways of civilised Spanish society. The events in Spain are just one manifestation of concern that is spreading throughout Europe over the direction  their society is taking as a result of a huge Muslim population.

So what exactly did Mustafa do to warrant this politically correct punishment? Why, he wrote a book titled "Women in Islam" in which he recommends the following punishment for a disobedient wife, "The blows should be concentrated on the hands and feet using a rod that is thin and light so that it does not leave scars or bruises on the body."

That Europeans would be shocked by what is simply part of Islamic law and the Islamic way of life that they have lived with for decades, is hard to fathom. However, an article published in National Review Online last year paints a pretty clear picture of what is going on. Writers Lorenzo Vidino and Erick Stakelbeck had this to say:

The European Left’s strong support for Muslim immigrants has traditionally been twofold: first, Muslims are a religious and ethnic minority in Europe and therefore advance the Left’s multicultural agenda. Secondly, as evidenced by their joint participation in the antiwar protests of the past two years, Europe’s Left shares with many Muslim immigrants a resentment of the U.S., Israel and capitalism. But virtually all other aspects of the two groups’ belief systems are at odds: gay rights, women’s rights, abortion rights, multiculturalism, separation of church and state, interfaith dialogue and opposition to the death penalty, all perennial Leftist causes, are opposed by an overwhelming number of Europe’s Muslim immigrants, sometimes brutally so.

This problem has been festering for so long that much of Europe is now waking up to the fact that they are in a dire situation for which there is no immediate solution. The left in America is now dancing the same dance with various Islamic organizations because it is the politically expedient thing to do to advance the agenda. But as the saying goes, when the dance is over, they’ll have to pay the piper and that will be one unbearably heavy bill to pay.   

It’s been just 60 years, a blink of the eye in historical terms, since the Allied armies rolled into Berlin to free Europe from the clutches of the German war machine. Then, for decades afterwards, the U.S. military was the only thing standing between West Germany and the rest of Europe and the advance of  Soviet Communism.

As of right now, Gerhard Schroeder’s role as Chancellor and head of the Social Democrat party hangs in the balance. Less than half of German voters voted for him indicating that  the German people may be abandoning the socialist policies that have plagued the German economy.

Schroeder has demonstrated a complete lack of gratitude towards the U.S., and it’s not hard to figure out why. To begin with, he has no memory of WW II, being born in 1944, and he never knew his father who was a German soldier killed fighting the Allies. As an adult, he became an adherent of Karl Marx and has spent his entire political career promoting Socialism. In fact, prior to the collapse of the Soviet Union, Schroeder was strongly in favor of West Germany developing strong ties with their Communist neighbor.

But even for a thinly disguised Communist who’s basic philosophy is at odds with our American sensibilities, Schroeder has taken a slap at the United States that is truly disgraceful. One of his campaign posters shows caskets of U.S. soldiers draped with American flags and suggests that if elected, his opponent would send troops to Iraq.

I say disgraceful because a scant 60 years ago, American flags draped other caskets of U.S. soldiers killed in action. American soldiers died liberating Europe from the scourge of Nazi Germany and were sent home in caskets draped with the American flag. Whatever you imagine Schroeder to be, don’t imagine him to be stupid or ignorant of history.

He knows the double meaning those posters are conveying and he is arrogantly thumbing his nose at America. Lets hope that when the dust of Germany’s election settles, Gerhard Schroeder is not left standing.

Back in 1823, then President James Monroe issued the Monroe Doctrine which, at the time, was a warning to European nations to cease any efforts at colonization in the Western Hemisphere. Our new American nation, still in it’s infancy, wanted to derail any aggression that might be headed our way.

The Monroe doctrine has been invoked several times in American history, and as recently as the administration of JFK when the U.S. Navy formed a blockade of Cuba as a reaction to the dicovery of Russian nuclear missile sites there. After more than 180 years, the need for the Monroe doctrine has not diminished.

With thousands of miles of border, virtually no immigration policy and the proliferation of small but very deadly weapon technology, the question of how to defend ourselves has taken on an urgency unlike almost any other time in our history.

That’s why I read with some interest about a protest against the U.S. Military taking place today in Asuncion, Paraguay. A joint military excercise  involving U.S. and Paraguayan forces is planned for later this year in Paraguay. Many Paraguayans fear that the U.S. is planning to build a base there even though Paraguayan President Nicanor Duarte has assured them that nothing like that is in the offing.

There has been a limited U.S. military presence in South America in an effort to curb the drug traffic for quite some time. Much of the action traverses Paraguay, which is smack in the middle of South America. The problem we face is that the very sophisticated networks the drug trade have developed for their smuggling operations into the U.S. are being used by terrorist organizations to smuggle people and weapons.

The people pictured here burning an American flag in the street have no concern for the safety of Americans or the future of our nation. Not only are they telling us that they want us out of their country, but are indicating with their behavior, including the blatant disrespect for the American flag, that we cannot trust them not to be complicit in aiding terrorism.

Nevertheless, we need to operate under a policy that respects the sovreignty of our neighbors but demands the same respect from them.

American anti-war protesters are comparing our current situation in
Iraq to our involvement in Viet Nam more than three decades ago. A lot
of of these protesters also identify themselves as former Viet Nam War
protesters who have easily slid back into the role this time around.
All comparisons of Viet Nam with Iraq aside, there is a crucial
difference between then and now.

When Jane Fonda sat atop a North Vietnamese tank in Hanoi, there was
no chance that the North Vietnamese, or even the Chinese for that
matter, could launch an attack on U.S. soil. In the meantime, the world
has gotten a whole lot smaller. In Iran, Sean Penn tries his hand as a
foreign correspondent.  He sat in a restaurant listening to Mehdi
Rafsanjani, son of the former Iranian President lie to him while
Iranians burned American flags in the streets. For example, Rafsanjani
told him, “There are four or five dissidents only who are currently in
prison.”

That is not surprising since they don’t waste jail space on lawbreakers. Here’s an excerpt from iranchamber.com:

Under
Islamic law –that is, the Shari’a– Iran’s punishment for prostitution
has been severe. On 3 July 1980, two women accused of prostitution were
buried up to their necks and then stoned to death. In a similar case in
1997, three women were stoned to death in public after a court found
them guilty of adultery and prostitution under Iran’s Islamic law.

In
response to questions about Iran and nuclear weapons, Rafsanjani dodged
the issue with a question, “Why does the U.S. administration continue
to pressure and pry into our business?"

So what it boils down to is that ambitious dictators and
totalitarian regimes have the resources and capabilities to wage war
around the world like never before. By all accounts, Iran and North
Korea will soon have the capability to launch missles with nuclear
warheads. China already has that capability and having just
participated in joint military exercises with Russia, it would be
reasonable to imagine that they might be able to expect some help from
Russia in that respect.

And 9/11 proved that our enemies don’t require sophisticated weapons
to inflict significant losses here on American soil. Americans who burn
American flags with the thought that they’re contributing something
useful to the mix should think again. If your mantra is "Stop the war,"
whether you want it or not, the war will eventually come to you.

As it turns out, American flags are not the only target for flag burners. It appears that there are some in the Republic of Korea (South Korea) that have a fondness for burning North Korea’s flag.

Prime Minister Lee Hae-chan issued a warning to anyone planing to burn North Korea’s flag at tomorrow’s Liberation Day ceremonies, "We cannot allow these unidentified groups to damage or burn things including North Korean flags. It cannot be tolerated anymore, politically and legally."

This obvious deference to North Korea coming on the heels of a controversial statement by Unification Minister Chung Dong-Young is not encouraging. Mr. Dong-Young said Thursday during negotiations with the United States, China, Russia, Japan, South Korea and North Korea that North Korea had a "natural right" to persue a peaceful nuclear development program. The aim of the negotiation was to reign in North Korea’s nuclear program.

What’s troubling to me is that South Korea’s government has no sensitivity whatsoever to it’s citizens burning American flags even though Americans fought and died for their liberation. South Korea’s Grand National Party vice spokesman Koo Sang-chan commenting on the Prime Minister’s remarks said, "Inter-Korean relations have changed a lot, and the North Korean delegation is our guest. It is not a good idea to burn their flag in front of them. But it is awkward that Lee should have made those remarks. He did not raise his voice when the flags of the United States, more than 50 years an ally to South Korea, were being torn and trodden upon."

I am by no means an expert on foreign policy, but South Korea’s sudden chuminess with North Korea seems mighty suspicious. Right now, South Korea is benefiting tremendously from exporting goods to the U.S. market. For example, Hyundai has just invested heavily in a state-of-the-art plant in Alabama. If I were a Hyundai investor, I would be a little nervous.

I was reading today about a group of commie youth in Russia (makes sense) that was burning a home-made paper American flag in front of the U.S. consulate in the city of Ekaterinburg. The small group that calls itself the Russian National Bolshevik and Communist Youth met in front of the Consulate on the Fourth of July for a fun day of picnicing, protesting and burning American flags.

They want Americans to leave Russia and they are against U.S. policy, although they didn’t specify what policy they are against. A representative explained her groups actions this way, “The American flag that we burned had 50 swastikas on it instead of 50 stars, because we equate U.S. policy to that of the Nazis,” said Ludmila Zhuravleva.

Well, to begin with, the Nazis were Socialists and the United States is not, at least not yet. However, Socialism is a popular ideology with many right here in the U.S.that burn American flags and oppose U.S. policy. Secondly, Americans living in Russia are by no means shaping the policy of that country, so what their ouster would accomplish is a mystery to me. And lastly (we save the best for last), a group that apparently would like Russia to return to those heady days of Communist rule should remember that while Hitler was busy having approximately nine million people murdered in the name of his Socialist ideals, Joe Stalin was exterminating approximately 20 million of his own people in the name of Communism. Confusing? You bet!

As it turns out, Ludmila and her gang of thrill seeking Communist American flag burners has something in common with people who burn American flags the world over – a distinct inability to think.