Smart bombs

After terrorists, most of whom were Saudis, hijacked planes and flew them into the World Trade Center and the Pentagon, we eventually invaded Iraq. Now that terrorists who were of Pakistani descent were caught plotting another hijacking, well, let’s hope this isn’t the reaction:

President: Was this Iran?

Adviser: They were Pakistani.

Vice president: Al-Qaida has links to Iran.

President: Iran is pursuing nuclear weapons.

Adviser: But, but, but … .

Where credit is due. In the emotional response that’s sure to follow, let’s remember how authorities were able to avert this latest terrorist plot. They were tipped off by a member of the Muslim community who reported the suspicious actions of an acquaintance. Plus, the government of Pakistan, a Muslim nation, played a vital role.

A weak defense. Here is Republican Party Chairman Ken Mehlman’s spin on the victory by Ned Lamont over Joe Lieberman in the U.S. Senate race in Connecticut: “Joe Lieberman believed in a strong national defense, and for that, he was purged from his party.”

Got that? If you’re against the war in Iraq, like Lamont, you cannot be for a strong national defense. Then there is the CNN poll released Wednesday showing that 60 percent of Americans are against the war and want to see the beginning of troop withdrawals by year’s end.

So, using Mehlman’s logic, the majority of Americans must not believe in a strong national defense.

Gullible’s travels. Fifty percent of Americans believe that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction when the United States invaded in 2003, according to a recent Harris survey. That’s up from 36 percent at this time last year.

It would appear that the drumbeat from conservative talk show hosts, bloggers and politicians on the recent “discovery” of 500 pounds of chemical munitions in Iraq is responsible for the turnaround. Never mind that the Pentagon, which would love to have that justification for invasion, has dismissed this old, disintegrating cache as unusable.

That didn’t stop U.S. Sen. Jim DeMint, R-S.C., from writing an opinion piece last week stating that these obsolete munitions “could easily fall into terrorist hands.”

Now that is scary, just not in the way he meant it.

Lunging to conclusions. Acting Spokane Police Chief Jim Nicks wrote the following in the department’s August newsletter (emphasis mine):

“Our department is currently under a media microscope. It’s my opinion that the Spokane area has an over abundance of media and a lack of self generating sensational news. In an effort to keep the news interesting, sometimes our media is prone to misrepresent and mislead the public. Unfortunately, some are influenced by this reporting, and respond emotionally before all the facts are known.”

Isn’t the Rule of Holes taught at the Police Academy?