This is the week in Washington when two things are happening at once - a last vacation
before the rush of fall and speculation about what the Republicans will do to recover from their annual August
Crawford slump.
In this last week before Congress returns for a short session prior to mid-terms, it is difficult to honestly describe
the election as anything but a toss up.
Two important assessments can be made, however, before the fall madness descends. Since a defiant Iran will dominate
the news, how much support can the United States reasonably expect from Great Britain and Europe?
This week we will look at the keystone - the special relationship with Great Britain.
In her new book Londonistan, journalist Melanie Phillips appraises the U.S.-British relationship post Tony
Blair and George Bush.
"Great Britain," she says, "is America's most important ally. The 'Special Relationship' between
the two countries is no less critical today than when they stood shoulder to shoulder against Nazi Germany. The
United States may provide the muscle to defend the free world against Islamic fascism, but Britain - the originator
of the values that America defends - provides the backbone….Britain is a champion of America to the world, using
its own moral capital as a guarantor of America's good faith."
Things in Britain, the author says, may not be as they appear to Americans. Tony Blair's staunchness and resolve
may be the anomaly, not the norm. For more than a decade, London has been the epicenter of Islamic fascist aggression
in Europe. It has become the major European center for the promotion, recruitment and financing of Islamist terror.
Phillips continues, "Britain has become a decadent society, weakened by alarming tendencies towards social
and cultural suicide. Turning upon itself, it has progressively attacked or undermined the values, laws and traditions
that make it a nation, creating a space that in turn has been exploited by radical Islamism."
At the heart of Britain's decline is the craven agreement among the establishment with radical Islam that if Britain
left them alone, the radicals would confine their violent activities to other countries. Thus July 7, 2005 caught
the establishment in complete surprise. Not only has the London Underground now been bombed, it has been done by
British Boys. Born and brought up in one of the freest, most prosperous and most humane countries in the world,
these British Boys, who were the product of British schools and universities and the humane British welfare state,
behaved in a way that repudiated not just British values but the elementary codes of humanity.
How could Britain be so soundly asleep?
The governing classes - Britain's intelligentsia, its media, its politicians, its judiciary, its official church,
and even its police force - shared a broad and deep pathology that not only allowed but encouraged Londonistan
to develop and thrive. These were the key elements.
Multiculturalism and victim culture. If all values are perceived as having equal weight, then no standards
exist beyond the personal. The outcome of weightless values is the creation of a debauched and disorderly culture
of instant gratification, with disintegrating families, feral children, violence, squalor and vulgarity. The result
is a "moral inversion." Under Islamic Sharia law, for example, if your daughter is raped you should kill
her to restore the family honor. Multiculturalists tend to be neutral in their reaction, not wanting to offend.
Biased media. Taxpayer funded, the BBC exists in a closed loop of its own making. It has long ago given
up on reporting the news and instead concentrates on shaping the news. It is responsible for much of the anti-American
feelings in the nation because of what it does and doesn't publish. It feeds the notion that all of Britain's woes
come from America and that America's woes come from supporting Israel. Thus, European anti-Semitism rolls on.
Immigration and the Judiciary. Without input from elected bodies, the British legal system has declared
an open policy for immigration and a totally closed policy for the expulsion of legal or illegal immigrants found
guilty of British crimes. The judges have supported every form of expanded welfare benefits and loosened rules.
As a result, many radical Imams have come to Britain and lived off the dole as they spread their radical agenda.
To date, the legal system has done nothing to hinder incitement and recruitment efforts of radical organizations
hiding under the umbrella of charity.
The Official Church. Also funded by taxpayers, the Church of England has involved its leadership in efforts
to apologize for everything British and to run away from the Judeo-Christian heritage. As a result, the Church
has created a spiritual void of meaningless equality of thought. The ability to perform moral reasoning has been
lost. Therefore, church intellectuals seem to be unable to distinguish that just because a problem has a religious
character does not mean that all members of that religion suffer from that problem. Islamism is the politicized
interpretation of the religion. It is the dominant strain through the very large Muslim world and there has been
no serious challenge to it. More than silence is called for.
"America's staunchest ally is at a crossroads," Phillips concludes. "The fact that Britain has allowed
the creation of Londonistan poses acute dangers. The special relationship is in jeopardy because of three things
- America, Israel and Iraq." The cultural deformities of moral inversion coupled with victim culture affect
the United States just as much.
Where is the foundation for a defense against Iran? It's moved. Has it crumbled?
Next week? A look at Europe.
September 1, 2006
