by Victor Davis Hanson<\/p>\n
National Review Online<\/em><\/p>\n The attacks on the US embassy yesterday in Cairo and the storming of the American consulate in Libya, where the US ambassador was murdered along with three staff members \u2014 and the initial official American reaction to the mayhem \u2014 are all reprehensible, each in their own way. Let us sort out this terrible chain of events.<\/p>\n Timing: The assaults came exactly on the eleventh anniversary of bin Laden\u2019s and al Qaeda\u2019s attack on America. If there was any doubt about the intent of the timing, the appearance of black al-Qaedist flags among the mobs removed it. The chanting of Osama bin Laden\u2019s name made it doubly clear who were the heroes of the Egyptian mob. Why should we be surprised by the lackluster response of the Egyptian and Libyan \u201cauthorities\u201d to protect diplomatic sanctuaries, given the nature of the \u201cgovernments\u201d in both countries? One of the Egyptian demonstration\u2019s organizers was Mohamed al-Zawahiri, the brother of the top deputy to Osama bin Laden, and a planner of the 9\/11 attacks, which were led by Mohamed Atta, an Egyptian citizen. In Libya, the sick violence is reminding the world that the problem in the Middle East is not dictators propped up by the US \u2014 Qaddafi was an archenemy of the US \u2014 but the proverbial Arab Street that can blame everything and everyone, from a cartoon to a video, for the wages of its own self-induced pathologies. So far, all the Arab Spring is accomplishing is removing the dictatorial props and authoritarian excuses for grass roots Middle East madness.<\/p>\n Ingratitude<\/em>: Egypt is currently a beneficiary of more than $1 billion in annual American aid, and its new Muslim Brotherhood\u2013led government is negotiating to have much of its sizable US debt forgiven. Libya, remember, was the recipient of the Obama administration\u2019s \u201clead from behind\u201d intervention that led to the removal of Moammar Qaddafi \u2014 and apparently gave the present demonstrators the freedom to kill Americans. This is all called \u201csmart\u201d diplomacy.<\/p>\n Appeasement<\/em>: Here are a few sentences from the statement issued by the Cairo embassy before it was attacked: \u201cThe Embassy of the United States in Cairo condemns the continuing efforts by misguided individuals to hurt the religious feelings of Muslims \u2014 as we condemn efforts to offend believers of all religions. . . We firmly reject the actions by those who abuse the universal right of free speech to hurt the religious beliefs of others.\u201d<\/p>\n The Problem? The embassy was condemning not those zealots who then stormed their own grounds, but some eccentric private citizens back home who made a movie.<\/p>\n One would have thought that the Obama administration had learned something from the Rushdie fatwa and prophet cartoon incidents. This initial official American diplomatic reaction \u2014 to condemn the supposed excess of free speech in the United States, as if the government is responsible for the constitutionally-protected expression of a few private American citizens, while the Egyptian government is not responsible for a mass demonstration and violence against an embassy of the United States \u2014 is not just shameful, but absurd. The author of this American diplomatic statement should be fired immediately \u2014 as well as any diplomatic personnel who approved it. Obviously our official representatives overseas do not understand, or have not read, the US Constitution. And if the administration claims the embassy that issued the appeasing statement did so without authority, then we have a larger problem with freelancing diplomats who across the globe weigh in with statements that supposedly do not reflect official policy. Note, however, that the initial diplomatic communiqu\u00e9 is the logical extension of this administration\u2019s rhetoric (see below).<\/p>\n Shame<\/em>: As gratitude for our overthrowing a cruel despot in Libya, Libyan extremists have murdered the American ambassador and his staffers. The Libyan government, such as it is there, either cannot or will not protect US diplomatic personnel. And the world wonders why last year the US bombed one group of Libyan cutthroats only to aid another.<\/p>\n The attacks in Egypt come a little over three years after the embarrassing Obama Cairo speech, in which the president created an entire mythology about the history of Islam, in vain hopes of appeasing his Egyptian hosts. The violence also follows ongoing comical efforts of the administration to assure us that the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt is not an extremist Islamic organization bent on turning Egypt into a theocratic state. And the attacks are simultaneous with President Obama\u2019s ongoing and crude efforts to embarrass Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.<\/p>\n The future<\/em>: Expect more violence. The Libyan murderers are now empowered, and, like the infamous Iranian hostage-takers, feel their government either supports them or can\u2019t stop them. The crowd in Egypt knew what it was doing when it chanted Obama\u2019s name juxtaposed to Osama\u2019s.<\/p>\n Obama\u2019s effort to appease Islam is an utter failure, as we see in various polls that show no change in anti-American attitudes in the Middle East \u2014 despite the president\u2019s initial al Arabiya interview (\u201cWe sometimes make mistakes. We have not been perfect.\u201d); the rantings of National Intelligence Director James Clapper (e.g., \u201cThe term \u2018Muslim Brotherhood\u2019 . . . is an umbrella term for a variety of movements, in the case of Egypt, a very heterogeneous group, largely secular, which has eschewed violence and has decried al-Qaeda as a perversion of Islam.\u201d); and the absurdities of our NASA director (\u201cWhen I became the NASA administrator . . . perhaps foremost, he [President Obama] wanted me to find a way to reach out to the Muslim world and engage much more with dominantly Muslim nations to help them feel good about their historic contribution to science.\u201d) \u2014 to cite only a few examples from many.<\/p>\n At some point, someone in the administration is going to fathom that the more one seeks to appease radical Islam, the more the latter despises the appeaser.<\/p>\n These terrible attacks on the anniversary of 9\/11 are extremely significant. They come right at a time when we are considering an aggregate $1 trillion cutback in defense over the next decade. They should make us cautious about proposed intervention in Syria. They leave our Arab Spring policy in tatters, and the whole \u201creset\u201d approach to the Middle East incoherent. They embarrass any who continue to contextualize radical Islamic violence. The juxtaposed chants of \u201cOsama\u201d and \u201cObama\u201d in Egypt make a mockery of the recent \u201cWe killed Osama\u201d spiking the football at the Democratic convention. And they remind us why 2012 is sadly looking a lot like 1980 \u2014 when in a similar election year, in a similarly minded administration, the proverbial chickens of four years of \u201csmart\u201d diplomacy tragically came home to roost.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a92012 Victor Davis Hanson<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online The attacks on the US embassy yesterday in Cairo and the storming of the American consulate in Libya, where the US ambassador was murdered along with three staff members \u2014 and the initial official American reaction to the mayhem \u2014 are all reprehensible, each in their own way. […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[150],"tags":[1051,161,119,12,229,66,1035,214,236,1048,239,1043,160,232],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p466Sb-7r","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":4674,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/feeding-the-minotaur\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":0},"title":"Feeding the Minotaur","author":"victorhanson","date":"June 14, 2004","format":false,"excerpt":"Our strange relationship with the terrorists continues. by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online As long as the mythical Athenians were willing to send, every nine years, seven maidens and seven young men down to King Minos's monster in the labyrinth, Athens was left alone by the Cretan fleet. The\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "June 2004"","block_context":{"text":"June 2004","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2004\/june-2004\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5561,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/lying-defying-and-demoralizing\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":1},"title":"Lying, Defying and Demoralizing","author":"victorhanson","date":"May 31, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"OBL's three-fold strategy to defeat the West by Raymond Ibrahim Private Papers Like all of Osama bin Laden\u2019s previous messages to the West, his most recent communiqu\u00e9 contains three Ladenese trademarks \u2014 lying, defying, and demoralizing \u2014 that are always present whenever the al Qaeda chieftain addresses the West. That\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":3529,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/al-qaeda-dreams\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":2},"title":"Al Qaeda Dreams","author":"victorhanson","date":"September 21, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"What does Bin Laden want? by Victor Davis Hanson National Review Online We\u2019ve been arguing over al Qaeda\u2019s aims since before 9\/11. Some take Osama bin Laden\u2019s specific complaints seriously. But we shouldn\u2019t, as we learned this month from his latest rambling communiqu\u00e9, which faulted America for seemingly everything \u2014\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "September 2007"","block_context":{"text":"September 2007","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2007\/september-2007\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":444,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/the-rape-of-christopher-stevens\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":3},"title":"The Rape of Christopher Stevens","author":"victorhanson","date":"September 24, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim Frontpage Magazine By obsessing over the 14-minute YouTube Muhammad video and its maker, the mainstream media ultimately exonerates the inexcusable and murderous response of the Islamic world. There is only one question: did those who make this movie break any law? No, they did not \u2014 and\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Libya"","block_context":{"text":"Libya","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/the-world\/the-middle-east\/libya\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":4152,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/deconstructing-bin-laden\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":4},"title":"Deconstructing Bin Laden","author":"victorhanson","date":"January 30, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"by Victor Davis Hanson Tribune Media Services We don't know whether the latest and much-discussed Osama bin Laden tape was recorded recently. But the harangue is still a valuable reflection of the current al Qaeda hierarchy that broadcast it to the world. First, things must be going very badly for\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "January 2006"","block_context":{"text":"January 2006","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/archives\/2006\/january-2006\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":5390,"url":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/an-encouraging-revelation-bin-ladens-latest-message-in-context\/","url_meta":{"origin":461,"position":5},"title":"An Encouraging Revelation: Bin Laden’s Latest Message in Context","author":"victorhanson","date":"December 16, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Raymond Ibrahim Private Papers Full of the same old complaints, threats of retaliation, and victim status role that have become mainstays of al Qaeda propaganda, Osama bin Laden\u2019s latest release would seem to offer nothing new. It dwells on the many \u201ccrimes\u201d the West insists on visiting upon the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Raymond Ibrahim"","block_context":{"text":"Raymond Ibrahim","link":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/ahref=\/index.php\/categories\/angry-reader\/categorylink\/a\/our-contributors\/raymond-ibrahim\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=461"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":463,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/461\/revisions\/463"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=461"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=461"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/victorhanson.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=461"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}