Growing Left Consensus: “Defending Against Terror Causes Terror; the West is to Blame”

Here’s a quick look at how the left is shaping up rhetorically in the wake of 7/7. Main theme: The U.S. bears significant if not primary responsibility for the London bombings because American efforts against terror in Afghanistan and Iraq are “fueling” terrorism. Bring the troops home now.

Democratic Underground: “All I can think is ‘how convenient’ that this happened to take the light off Karl Rove.” (Echo: The White House had advance notice of 9/11 and wanted the attacks to happen for political gain.)

Tom Hayden: “Before more attacks and more deaths, it is time for Congress to take the initiative from the Bush Administration and hold hearings on an exit strategy from Iraq. It is not acceptable for Donald Rumsfeld to scorn an exit strategy in favor of a victory strategy any longer.” (Points for honesty: Victory is “unacceptable.”)

Andrew Burgin: “What more and more people in Britain and America are now realizing is that their leaders are fueling terrorism throughout the world. The actions of the terrorists who struck Thursday in London are repugnant, but they are the apprentices of those who use their vast firepower to kill and maim on a scale that al Qaeda can only dream of. We say, as the Spanish people did after the Madrid bombings: ‘No to terror — Bring our troops home.’” (Note the familiar “Yes, but…” diction: Of course we deplore the violence, but its perpetrators are amateurs compared with America…)

BBC: “Britain therefore remains in the front line, and the option of withdrawing from Iraq and minimising the risk of further attacks is not presently open to British voters. They have taken their decision and must accept the consequences.” (This wouldn’t have happened if Blair had stayed out of Iraq. Memo to BBC: The U.S. was not in Iraq or Afghanistan on 9/11.)

Blame the Jews: “Why did Netanyahu stay in his hotel room instead of attending the conference? If Scotland Yard didn’t warn him, then who did?” (Another 9/11 retread myth; this time debunked within an hour)

Derrick Z. Jackson, Boston Globe: "The world, of course, shares the sympathies of Mayor Michael Bloomberg of New York, who said the London bombings were a ‘’despicable, cowardly act." Yet every invoking of the innocents also reminds us of our despicable, cowardly killing of innocent Iraqi civilians.Or perhaps you forgot about them. That was by design." (Clue to any "yes, but…" formulation: Whatever follows the comma cancels whatever precedes the comma.)

Democratic Underground Hayden Burgin BBC Blame the Jews Jackson