It happens too often that little boys and little girls in
the media of the Washington Beltway attempt to talk as if they were roaring
lions, but ordinary people fail to notice them. This is because the attempts
have become so routine, they are now a part of the “new normal” as the saying
goes. But there comes a time, once in a while, when amid the cacophony of the
feeble attempts, a sharp sound rises and pierces the ears of ordinary mortals.
This happened on March 18, 2013 when the editors of the Wall
Street Journal roared: “Obama's Missile-Defense Reversal” followed by “A tacit
admission that the U.S. will soon be vulnerable to attack.” Actually, the first
quote is the title of their newest piece, and the second is the subtitle. This
alone would make the piece a kind of routine roar that people normally fail to
notice. But what makes it the sharp sound that people have noticed is this
passage: “...one of the biggest switcheroos of the Obama Presidency.”
When big boys engage in a debate, they do not start a new
round by saying they have so far been right or that the opponent has been
wrong. Those who start like this only communicate that they are so insecure
about their abilities, they are trying to claim victory before people have
noticed how badly they failed. And when they go as far as say that the opponent
has committed a “swicheroo,” you realize that what you have here is not a child
imitating a roaring lion but one that is burping what sounds like a lion's fart
or sounds like the puppy's fart he has at home.
And when the debate involves a subject that is as solemn as
national security, and you see the editors of the Wall Street Journal behave
the way that they do, you wonder what happened to journalism in America, and by
extension what happened to America itself. This is the Journal that used to be
one of the flagships of excellent journalism sailing proudly in a sea of
mediocrity, now stooping so low, it disappears below the level of the most
mediocre of publications.
The apparent reason for why the editors of the Journal feel
the way they do is that: “The Pentagon now [is] reversing a 2009 decision …
part of Obama's fantasy of a world without nuclear weapons.” This matches their
view of a world that is inherently evil; one in which lives an America that is
the paragon of exceptional goodness and virtue. The trouble, as they see it, is
that the people of America keep electing a president who fails to see how bad
the world is, thus fantasizes about turning it into something different from
what it was meant to be.
Knowing what the Journal was like in its heyday, you wonder
what happened that has mutilated it so badly. To find out, you read the
editorial to the end where you encounter this passage: “Israel has shown what
modern defenses can do, reducing the damage from … missile attacks last year
with 90% hit rate.” Knowing as does the rest of the world that Israel's real or
imagined contraption has intercepted not 90% of the missiles, not even
one percent of them but zero percent (that's exactly zero as in the big O), you
realize where the mutilation of the Journal has originated.
This being a Judeo-Israeli position that the Journal has
adopted, it contrasts with the position of an American Administration voted into
office by the people not once but twice. It is a position that consists of
using America's power, aura and political capital in the world to steer that
world towards a safer future while maintaining a state of vigilance and
flexibility that allow it to respond quickly to any threat if and when it
arises. And then, you realize that a “grown up” position of this caliber will
never be grasped by the little boys and little girls who populate the editorial
board of the Wall Street Journal.
That happens to you when you read the following passage:
“It's nice to see the Obama Administration finally admitting reality.” And so
you ask: What reality are they talking about? So far, their reality has been
that a bunch of Middle Eastern kids were plotting to set up a Caliphate. This
done, they will bring the Judeo-Christian world to its knees, subdue it
completely and impose Sharia law on its citizens. There was never a talk about
mushroom clouds forming as a result of missile attacks coming from North Korea.
So then, what happened here? you ask. To answer the
question, you face the truth that children have a vivid imagination. They also
have the power to transform what they imagine into a belief so powerful, they
treat it as reality. Simply put, the editors of the Wall Street Journal believe
the lies they formulate.
And true to their nature, they do not stop here. Believing
that they have been vindicated, they now want to build on their imagined
victory, and ask for the positioning of America where they always wanted to see
it. Thus, they go on to say this: “...the growing nuclear and missile threats are
also an argument for building a third antimissile site on the U.S. East Coast
... to guard against an Iranian strike … the U.S. also needs protection against an ICBM threat, sooner rather
than later.” And they go on again with this: “Henry Obering ... recommends that the US
... launch a new 'multiple kill vehicle' program ... also ... develop
technology to strike missiles in their early or 'boost' phase, and space weapons.”
Give them time and they will add to that.
The subject under discussion is a serious one. Those who do the talk at
the Wall Street Journal are little boys and girls who could not tell the
difference between the roar of a lion and the fart of the puppy they play with.
Someone should send them to a journalistic kindergarten where they will
learn how to think and learn to practice their craft the way that adults do.