Jim Geraghty at NRO relates a conversation he had with a young man in Turkey. The attitude towards America and Palestine is uninformed and puerile. It also displays the evil that Michael Moore has wrought. Excerpt:
Turkish fellow: There is no one in Turkey who is anti-American, we are only anti-Bush. I hope you tell the American people that they don’t need to worry about another 9/11.
[Oh, good.]
Turkish fellow: …as soon as the Palestinian issue is resolved.
[Aw, crap.]
Me: Oh, really? What makes you think that?
Turkish fellow: I think much good will come from this. It is terrible that so many people died, but it is good that Americans have been taught a lesson, and now they understand how the rest of the world feels.
...
Me: I think if you’re looking for a humbler America to result from this, you’ll be disappointed. I think Americans are frightened, angry, and very, very determined to make sure nothing like this happens ever again.
...
Turkish fellow: But you understand why so many people follow bin Laden? You go to Syria, you see photos of Mohammed Atta on the walls. Osama is like a legend. He is a rich man, who had a billion dollars, who could live in a big house and with lots of servants and women, and he chooses to live in a cave…
Me: Yeah, yeah, he’s seen as Robin Hood, except that he kills thousands of innocent people.
Turkish fellow: It was terrible that so many people died. But it was such a… spectacular sight! America is so powerful, and has such vast armies, and yet only 19 men, trained as pilots, could create such an amazing vision, of each plane hitting the tower, and then each tower falling, one after the other…
Me: Yes, I remember, thank you, it was the worst day of my life.
...
Turkish fellow: Why hasn’t the U.S. caught bin Laden?
Me: If I knew where he was, you think I would be here? I would be collecting the reward.
Turkish fellow: You think America can’t find him? With all their resources and armies and —
Me: He’s one guy and it’s a big world. He’s somewhere in northern Pakistan, probably, but it’s tough terrain, with unfriendly locals, and he’s one guy. Surely you’re not suggesting that the U.S. knows where he is and isn’t trying to capture him?
Turkish fellow: Did you see Fahrenheit 9/11?
Me: Oh, [expletive deleted]. Don’t tell me you’re getting all this [expletive deleted] from a Michael Moore movie. My friend, I hate to tell you this, but there was a lot that wasn’t true in that movie. There were a lot of half-truths, innuendos, selective editing, and then outright lies.
Turkish fellow: Well, why did Bush let the bin Ladens leave on those planes?
Me: Have you ever heard of a gentleman named Richard Clarke?
Turkish fellow: No.
Me: He worked in the White House, and handled national-security policies. He was the one who authorized the departure of those planes, not Bush or Cheney or Rumsfeld. Perhaps it would have been good for the FBI to talk to those people more extensively or a second time later. Richard Clarke eventually resigned and made many critical comments of President Bush. But you notice that Michael Moore didn’t bother to mention that this guy was the one who authorized those planes leaving.
...
Anyway, this is one guy. He was friendly, genuinely interested in Americans, and I’m sure he thinks that by talking to me, he’ll help the American people understand that fixing the Palestinian issue will end terrorism. And I don’t want my recollection of this conversation from a few days ago to come across as this great breakthrough — I don’t think I really changed this fellow’s mind on much.
So chances are, he probably still thinks the Sept. 11 attacks were good because they taught Americans a lesson.
And of course, he loved Fahrenheit 9/11.
No comments:
Post a Comment