The Domino Theory Redux!

I don’t know about you, but does Our Leader really think that the Domino Theory is going to fly in Iraq? Didn’t we leave that theory in Vietnam in 1974?

I have personally lost track of the various and many changing reasons that the USA invaded the sovereign country of Iraq, but this latest one, dragged out in the latest speech from our putative leader is ridiculous. That he would say that the Jihadists want to take over countries from Indonesia to Spain and that is why we need to fight in Iraq is so stretching credibility that I really don’t know what to say.

Poor Scott McClellan has to defend this and it isn’t pretty:

Q Scott, all this talk about a radical Islamic empire stretching from Europe across to southeast Asia, even some Republicans are saying that it has the appearance of the President trying to cover up bad policy in Iraq by unduly alarming people.

MR. McCLELLAN: I haven't heard any Republicans say that. Do you have one in mind?

Q A couple in mind, yes.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, do you want to share them with me?

Q You can call them and ask them, but I'm just wondering what you think of that?

MR. McCLELLAN: I -- you made a statement. I haven't heard any Republican make such allegation. So I was just wondering where that came from.

Q What's your response to the allegation that you're trying to cover up bad policy in Iraq by unduly alarming people?

MR. McCLELLAN: It's an allegation by John Roberts.

Q Pardon me?

MR. McCLELLAN: Are you saying it's an allegation by John Roberts?

Q It's not my allegation, no.

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, go and look at what the President said in his remarks. Today's speech is one in a series of speeches that the President continues to make about the war on terrorism. It's important to understand the nature of the enemy that we face. This is a determined and lethal enemy with a clear strategy. The President outlined that strategy in his remarks. He quoted some of the leaders of this radical ideology that they seek to spread. And he laid out very clearly what their strategy is. I think you can go and look at some of the propaganda and comments that terrorists have made, and it clearly shows what their strategy and what their goals and what their beliefs are.

Q Does he really think they could take over countries like Italy, Spain, Austria, France?

MR. McCLELLAN: This is an enemy that is patient, it is determined, and it is lethal. It is a enemy that is determined to spread a hateful ideology. And what they first want to do is try to establish a safe haven. We took away a safe haven from them when we went into Afghanistan and liberated the people of Afghanistan. They want to establish a country that could be a safe haven from which they could plan and plot their attacks and be able to topple non-radical Muslim governments in the Middle East, and then carry out attacks against the civilized world.

That's why the President made the decision after September 11th that we were going to take the fight to the enemy, that the way to defeat this enemy is to take the fight to them and to spread freedom and democracy to defeat their hateful, murderous ideology.

Q But again, does he really believe that they could take over western countries like Spain and France?

MR. McCLELLAN: That's what their strategy -- go back and look at what the President said in his remarks, because he clearly spelled out what their strategy is. I'm not sure that he characterized it the same way as you just did.

Q Does he think that's realistic?

MR. McCLELLAN: Look at his remarks. They very much have a strategy --

Q He warned of a radical Islamic empire stretching from Spain to Indonesia.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- much like the strategy of communism to dominate and intimidate the world.

So, we have come to this. Not only are they scraping the bottom of the barrel of lies, they are now scraping the bottom of the barrel of other people’s lies.

Apparently Cheney was right. Only it isn’t the insurgents who are in the last throes!