Bush, and His Use of "Appeasement"

Democrats are rebuking President Bush for saying in his speech to the Knesset, here, that to “negotiate with terrorists and radicals” is “appeasement.” The Democrats took it as a slap at Barack Obama. What bothers me is the continual reference to Hitler and his National Socialists, particularly the British and French accommodation at the Munich Conference of 1938.

What Hitler was demanding was not unreasonable. He wanted the German-speaking areas of Europe under German authority. He had just annexed Austria, which was German-speaking, without bloodshed. There were two more small pieces of Germanic territory: the free city of Danzig and the Sudetenland, a border area of what is now the Czech Republic.

Hitler's demands were not unreasonable? Nevermind these countries had their own land and were separate from Germany. I'm sure many people had an issue with this. People in Canada speak English, so what do you think their reaction would be if we tried to annex them? Do you think they'd be pissed at people who said "our demands are not unreasonable"?

The step that must be taken now is for the two sides to talk, so that they can make a deal that both will accept, and that each side will enforce against its radical elements. In that context, to continually bring up Hitler, the Nazis, the Munich Conference and continually use the word “appeasement,” is wrong.

What you're doing right THERE is appeasement. You're saying that giving someone land because they want it and are willing to go to war over it is the right thing to do. It's not. It's giving into a bully who's only language they understand is force. You anti-war folks just don't get it. Yes, you want to avoid war when you can, but sometimes, war is necessary. You'll do anything you can to avoid war, including giving up on your principals and your way of life. Then you wonder out loud why Republicans and those with a backbone look at you with disgust.

To use those comparisons is to assert that it is morally questionable even to talk to the Palestinians. It is to give an excuse to seal them off, cast them out, to deny that they have any just claims. And they do have just claims.

They lost all "just claims" when they did this:

When they elected Hamas as their government, they lost their right to their claims. When they celebrated putting bombs in civilian areas in Israel, they lose their right to their claims. When they put a Mickey Mouse imposter on TV to talk about hatred towards the Jews, they lost their right to their claims.

Appeasement is when you do whatever is necessary to avoid a fight with a bully, even when you see that the right thing to do is to stand up to them. Unfortunately, the Left and anti-war folks are filled with appeasers. Wonder why you're known to be spineless and weak? That's why. Want to know why you're looked upon as soft on crime and terrorism? That's why. Want to know why I don't like you? That's why.

Travis
travis@rightwinglunatic.com