 Brothers Under the Skin By Michael Reagan June 14, 2006
Think about it. Both are operating under the same motivation an unrequited lust for lost power. And both will do just about anything to retrieve it. Remember, under Saddam Hussein's long rule, his fellow Sunnis a distinct minority in a nation with a vast Shiite majority were the kings of the hill and incredibly cruel monarchs to boot. Saddam may have ordered the atrocities, but it was the Sunnis who carried them out, torturing, beheading and otherwise brutalizing the Shia and the Kurds and looting the nation's treasure. They were very well compensated for their services and since being ousted by the U.S. invasion and the deposing of their benefactor they have been unable to accept their current powerlessness. They are, as the liberals like to say, "in denial." They just can't live with their loss of authority and act as if they can somehow regain what they lost by mounting an insurgency against the new Iraqi government. It's a case of "anything goes," as demonstrated by their recent idol, the late Abu Musab al-Zarqawi. Killing their fellow Iraqis - including women and children - by the hundreds, destroying the infrastructure, and depriving their fellow Iraqis of electricity, water and income from oil are all acceptable methods of expressing their lust for power. What it all comes down to is a willingness to tear down their own house if they can't assert absolute ownership of the premises. It's what is known as a "rule or ruin" strategy. Here in America we have a similar situation a political party that for years dominated Capitol Hill. They ruled the roost for so long that they began to believe they had some divine right to control the House and Senate. They got to run the committees, with senior members reveling in the title "Mr. Chairman" with all the perks that went with the title. Only they were allowed to introduce legislation or hire committee staff the minority had to go to them, hat in hand, to get even a tiny minority staff. Thankfully, they weren't able to torture or behead the Republican minority at will, but they never let it be forgotten that they were in charge and if Republicans wanted the key to the men's room they'd have to bow and scrape to get it. Like the Sunni insurgency in Iraq, the Democrats cannot accept their minority status, even though when the GOP took over Newt Gingrich refused to impose the kind of absolute, anti-minority rule his party suffered under the Democrats. They were treated as colleagues, not serfs whose presence was to be barely tolerated. Since then, the Democrats have shown not one whit of gratitude. Like the Sunni insurgency, the national Democrat party and its congressional contingent has demonstrated time and again that they will willingly sacrifice the welfare and security of the American people to get their way. As Michael Barone has written: "It comes down to this: A substantial part of the Democratic Party, some of its politicians and many of its loudest supporters do not want America to succeed in Iraq. So vitriolic and all-consuming is their hatred for George W. Bush that they skip right over the worthy goals we have been, with some considerable success, seeking there -- a democratic government, with guaranteed liberties for all, a vibrant free economy, respect for women -- and call this a war for oil, or for Halliburton. "Successes are discounted, setbacks are trumpeted, the level of American casualties is treated as if it were comparable to those in Vietnam or World War II. Allegations of American misdeeds are repeated over and over; the work of reconstruction and aid of American military personnel and civilians is ignored." In the end, all that matters
to them is regaining the power the American people took from
them in 1994, and, thank God, have kept it out of their hands
ever since.
Look for Mike's new book "Twice Adopted". Order autographed books at www.reagan.com Distributed exclusively to subscribers for publication by Cagle, Inc. www.caglecartoons.com.
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