Like A Bug On a Hot PlateThat's how
Joel Stein comes off in this interview with Hugh Hewitt. I only caught the tail end of it on the drive home today, but listened to the MP3 download and read the transcript. Hugh did a terrific job of giving the guy enough rope to hang himself, and Joel tied the noose and jumped off the chair.
HH: I know that. But I'm asking you, did you support them when they invaded Afghanistan?
JS: I've had really complicated emotions about Afghanistan. Obviously, I wanted to get Osama bin Laden and take out al Qaeda. I didn't know if that was the best method of doing it at the time.
HH: So, you didn't support them then?
JS: I did not support the invasion of Afghanistan, no.
HH: Did you support the troops when they were in the Pentagon on the morning of 9/11, when the terrorists hit it?
JS: Sure.
HH: And so, what's the difference between supporting them there and not supporting them in Afghanistan or Iraq?
JS: Well, I think I said it clear in the column, too. I don't have a...if you are for the war in Iraq, I think obviously, then you should support the troops. My problem is the people who are against the war and support the troops anyway, I think that's kind of an excuse. I think that's a way of making you feel better about your guilt, and I think that's kind of a lazy form of pacifism.
HH: Did you support the troops when they delivered, say, tsunami relief off of aircraft carriers and via supply ships?
JS: Yeah, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to imply in the column that I don't think we should have a military. What strikes me more than anything else is Stein's inability to understand the nature of the military. It's not as if it can be run on a "Who wants to go to Iraq?" basis. These guys get their orders and they go. You can't say, "Oh, no, I signed up for tsunami relief only."
Michelle Malkin
concurs, as does
John Podhoretez over at the Corner. Hat Tip:
Memeorandum
