The Truth Exposed

I've mentioned David Horowitz before. He started on the Far Left, but then had a change of heart and moved to the Far Right, where his best work has been in writing about how hard it is to be a conservative in America. To the obtuse, his writing might seem like one trivial complaint after another, but when one looks deeper, one sees a metaphor for conservatives in America.

In his latest article, Horowitz takes on the peace movement. He states; "All the marches were organized by supporters of Communist and other totalitarianisms, and by the fifth column agents of Islamo-fascism. All the demonstrations promoted Iraqi war propaganda -- myths about starving children and about alleged mercenary interests behind American policy; all of them had one purpose -- to disarm the American force already in the Middle East and allow Saddam to fight another day."

So let's count the false or questionable statements.

1). All the marches were organized by Communists and Islamo-fascists. I'm not sure what Horowitz means by Islamo-Fascists, but the rally here in Tallahassee (the only one I'm qualified to comment on), was unaffiliated with ANSWER. I did see several people of apparent middle eastern descent, but I'm not sure you would call them Islamo-Fascist (which is one of those terms invented to attack Muslims while maintaining plausible deniability).

2). Myth's about starving children? It's nice to be able to use the word "myth" to discount an opinion you don't like, without providing any proof yourself. For those interested in this myth, check out this information from UNICEF.

3). "Alleged mercenary interests behind American policy." Again not the magic word--alleged. This is to plant in your mind the idea that these allegations are false, but are they? Even Conservative writers have painted rhapsodic pictures of American Gas prices dropping significantly in the wake of our victory.

4) The goal of the movement is to disarm the US in the face of Saddam's menace. Again the people I talked to were well aware of Saddam's menace, although there were signs that some underestimated him. I heard more than once that if the UN approved a military solution to the Iraq question, they would support it.

Horowitz's argument can be summed up thusly; those who protest the war are marching alongside Communists and are, whether they intend to or not, supporting Saddam's brutal dictatorship. "Today's "peace" movement -- the innocent-intentioned along with the malevolent rest -- is a fifth column army in our midst working for the other side." It ain't necessarily so, Mr. Horowitz.