The Thud Heard Round the World

That thud, that "thumpin" you heard was the sound of Bush's balls hitting the ground after the 11/7 election. The world heard it too. And saw its ill effect immediately. RUMSFELD! And while Bush's long time supporters continue to hold our individual collective breath waiting for him to pick them up off the ground, our enemies around the world are wasting no time rolling over the Bush Doctrine. The reverberations from the election of a pacifist Congress are coming fast and furious.

VDH HERE: For five long years many of us have praised this administration’s constancy and idealism, in removing the Taliban and Saddam, and then staying on to do the hard, the easily caricatured work of democratization. The liberal hawks have long bailed. The paleos have turned venomous in their criticism. Many of the neo-cons have sought escape by blaming the flawed occupation for ruining their supposedly perfect three-week take-down of Saddam. But there are millions of us still out there who, Jacksonian in spirit, close ranks and will support our troops wherever they are. But we simply cannot ask Americans to die in Anbar province while talking to the Iranians and Syrians who are doing their best through surrogates in killing them.

And so now the axis strikes back. Robert over at TIA Daily writes;

Here is the first big reverberation from the 2006 election: sensing American weakness, Syria is moving to brutally reconquer Lebanon.

Hours after Gemayel was murdered, his killers issued a communiqu calling themselves the "Fighters for the Unity and Liberty of Greater Syria." They said that they killed Gemayel because he was "one of those who unceasingly spouted their venom against Syria and against [Hizbullah], shamelessly and without any trepidation." Gemayel, they threatened, would be the first of many victims. As they put it, "Sooner or later we will pay the rest of the agents their due..."

Clearly the killing of anti-Syria pro Democracy leader Gemayel was the act of an emboldened Syria;

Killing seen as bid by Damascus, Tehran to hit U.S. role in Mideast

The brazen assassination yesterday of Christian Cabinet minister Pierre Gemayel has pushed Lebanon's fragile democracy, heralded by the United States as a model for the region, to the brink of collapse.
Coming amid moves by Syria and Iran to improve relations with Iraq, the killing also was seen by analysts as part of a coordinated attempt to push the United States out of the Middle East.

But really, what is Syria but a puppet, Iran's organ grinder's monkey and Iran is certainly feeling emboldened.

IRAN: WORLD SHOWING SIGNS OF 'AHMADINEJADISATION' SAYS PRESIDENT

"Many of the world's countries are waiting for our signal to follow our example of good governance," Ahmadinejad said in a recent speech, apparently also a reference to "Ahmadinejadisation".

The president's conviction of the importance of his international stature seems to have grown through forays such as letters he wrote to US President George W. Bush and Gernam Chancellor ANgeal Merkel.

The Iranian president has repeatedly described himself as the "saviour of the world" and the "spokesman of the disenfranchised". At a dinner gathering to mark the breaking of the day-time fast during the recent Muslim holy month of Ramadan, he told those with him that he has a direct lineof communication with God, or Allah.

Iranian self-confidence may thwart U.S. talks

TEHRAN (Reuters) - Reveling in President George W. Bush's electoral thumping, his woes in Iraq and his difficulty in pushing through U.N. sanctions against Tehran, Iran feels it has a strong hand to enter any talks with "the Great Satan".

But Iran's self-confidence could be the biggest hurdle to productive dialogue because Tehran will set conditions on security and its nuclear program that Washington will not stomach, analysts say.

Bottom line, America was sold a bill of goods for years. America was lead to believe things were going poorly, badly in fact, in almost everything. The brilliant, busting, burgeoning economy (4.4% jobless rate!) was derided, Iraq was depicted as "another Vietnam" (not according to our troops), and the fact that we have not had another Islamic attack since 9/11 is astonishing. The MSM and the left continually insist there is no enemy, refuse to speak of the global jihad and calls anyone that does speak of Islamofascsim "racist" or "fearmonger". But all you have to do is go to the airport to board a plane with your one 3-1-1 plastic bag and stand on security lines to get to the security line and you know this is some serious imaginary enemy.

I spent the better part of my day traveling and I can tell you its fookin torture.

Robert Tracinski in TIA Daily writes;

The Fantasy World of the Realists

The old foreign-policy "realists" have tried to claim the 2006 election as a mandate for their policies, the centerpiece of which is to negotiate with Iran and Syria over the terms of our surrender in Iraq.

But there is also an attempt to push back against the realists and deny them a victory. For its part, the Bush administration has tried to work itself out of the trap of being pressured to follow the exact recommendations of the Baker-Hamilton commission—which is expect to present the realist conventional wisdom—by promoting an internal Pentagon report that will come out at the same time.

Meanwhile, the pro-war intellectuals on the right are going to work on the project of discrediting the realists. Christopher Hitchens weighs in on this, and the article below is another example, though from a more conventional, center-left "idealist" outlook, which seeks to save "humanitarian interventions" as a foreign policy goal.

But the good news is that the main line of attack being taken against the "realists" is that they are unrealistic, basing their policy recommendations on diplomatic fantasies, while flying in the face of the facts and ignoring the actual results of their past policies.

"Unrealistic," George Packer, The New Yorker, November 20

Bush need not be told, he is still our elected President. He must pick up the dropped ball and follow through. He must push through the UN (the collective negation of humanity) appointment of John Bolton (I assure you the world is watching that as well.) Oh and while we're at it, sign this petition.
If you think Iraq was going badly before, you ain't seen nothing yet. Al-Qaeda Blamed for Attacks on Shias that Kill 150 in Baghdad.
Stand tall, stop apologizing, stop appeasing and do the right thing. I am sure I was not the only American that winced during this exchange this past May;

Question: which missteps and mistakes of your own you most regret?

PRESIDENT BUSH: Sounds like kind of a familiar refrain here -- saying "bring it on," kind of tough talk, you know, that sent the wrong signal to people. I learned some lessons about expressing myself maybe in a little more sophisticated manner -- you know, "wanted dead or alive," that kind of talk. I think in certain parts of the world it was misinterpreted, and so I learned from that.

Me? I loved that kind of talk. It's the only thing the enemy understands and respects.

Contuinued at ATLAS SHRUGS here