Melanie Phillips:
Senator Jon Kyl of Arizona well describes the fundamental split between two diametrically opposite views of the world and how to deal with the greatest issue of our time that are now fighting for supremacy. The choice is between fighting terror and defeating it, or making an accommodation with it that guarantees it will eventually defeat you. On the one side is the Bush administration; on the other is the United Nations. Its Secretary-General, Kofi Annan, wrote to President Bush, Tony Blair and Iraqi interim Prime minister Ayad Allawi to voice his concern:
'at the "prospect of an escalation in violence," particularly the reports of major military offensives being planned for Falluja. "Ultimately," Annan argued, "the problem of insecurity can only be addressed through dialogue and an inclusive political process." It boggles the mind that a world leader could display such naivete in the face of efforts by thousands of insurgents and foreign fighters to terrorize and impose a Taliban-style rule in Fallujah, complete with summary executions. Reaction from those on the ground was swift and angry. "I don't know what pressure he has to bear on the insurgents," Allawi said in an interview with the BBC. "If he can stop [them] from inflicting damage and killing Iraqis, then he's welcome." '
Allawi subsequently sent Annan a strong letter telling him where to put his inclusive dialogue. The terrible thing is, as Kyl comments, Annan's approach -- along with all the anti-war, anti-US hysteria throughout the west -- merely gives heart to the terrorists and will result in yet more violence as they try ever harder to prevent Iraq's free society from ever being born. The free world is fighting with one hand tied behind its back.
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