OK, in case you didn’t know, a small bomb was detonated in New York’s famed Times Square, just outside the door of a USMC recruiting office.

Now, I admit when I heard this, my first inclination was similar to many of my blogging peers, that the anti war activists had decided to take their show to the big apple, in a big way.  Hot Air summarized it well:

Given the escalating protests over military recruitment, it seems inevitable that people would bomb those who seek to protect the nation and fight our enemies. This morning, unknown attackers bombed a Times Square military recruitment office.

…

Now the movement has decided to morph into domestic terrorism. Of course, the people responsible will claim that they bombed the office during the night to keep anyone from being hurt. That’s exactly the same kind of rationalization that people like the Weather Underground and the SLA used at first, anyway — that terrorism was justified by their politics. In fact, a few like William Ayers and Bernadette Dohrn still claim that.

As it turns out there are two twists that make this both likely and unlikely:

First this:

Police now say that the bomb was “roughly similar” to two other bombings in NYC, at the Mexican and British consulates. They have some clear video of the incident as well:

Officials said that in today’s attack, a man bundled in a gray hooded jacket or sweatshirt and wearing a backpack was seen riding a bicycle around the recruiting station and acting suspiciously moments before the explosion. Video footage from a surveillance camera showed a bicyclist dismounting, approaching the recruitment center, then returning to the bike and riding away before the explosion occurs.

Interesting. It fits closer to Bob Owen’s analysis. And I’ll say this much — if so, then my original post jumped to conclusions. The anti-war protesters have turned to intimidation and vandalism, and if unchecked will proceed to violence. However, this may not have had anything to do with the anti-war movement, and I should have been a little more circumspect about that this morning.

Ed takes the high road and eats a little crow, just in case.  As it was, the truth may not be so far from his original assertion, as this shows:

‘We Did It’ Letters Eyed in NY Bombing

Capitol Hill offices received letters Thursday containing a photo of the Times Square military recruiting office before it was bombed and including the claim “We Did It.”

The manila envelopes contained a photo of a man standing in front of the recruiting station before it was bombed. The photo was the kind commonly sent as a holiday greeting card, according to a Democratic aide who spoke on condition of anonymity because the matter is under investigation.

The message on the card: “Happy New Year, We Did It.”

The envelope also contained a packet of approximately 10 sheets of paper that seemed to be a political manifesto railing against the Iraq war and a booklet. The aide didn’t know what the booklet was. A second aide, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, said similar letters arrived in as many as 10 offices.

So while a least one Daily Kos conspiracy hack rants that this is just a Rove-ian type misdirection campaign done by conservatives to make liberals look bad, the reality is that there have been more similar acts by the liberals than the conservatives.

Now, let’s pause for a moment.  I need to say right now that I am assuming nothing.  I deliberately waited to blog this until I knew more, which let me avoid the crow supper Captain Ed had to endure.

But.

I have to point out the obvious.  Liberals love to take their rhetoric to extremes, including pretty harsh wishes of death and suck on places like Kos, HuffPo and DU.  Couple that to the extent of the recent attacks and protests against our military recruiters and you get a situation where these anti war activist, regardless of the fact that they come in many flavours and ideologies, will be lumped together into a faceless mass of raving thugs bent on doing harm to the Military. 

And the recent protests in Berkeley only add more weight to that over-generalization.

I truly believe that some anti war activists are sincere.  I think, personally, that they are deeply misguided, and that they are unknowing tools of our enemies who encourage and exploit their passion. I know several people who are deeply anti war that are clear and rational, and most importantly, law abiding.  They personally despise the extremists.

But as the majority seem to be the Code Pink type of semi-deranged, longing for the 60s, activists, they will unfortunately have to contend with that generalization.

One final note, to the anti war activists.  I recognize the human cost of war, and I despise it.  War is a place where even the winners lose.  I think the computer in the movie Wargames correctly stated it:  The only way to win is not to play.

But that assumes that both sides have the same values.  That assumes that both sides recognize the futility of violence.

You may not like it, but the fact is that the enemy gets a vote.  They have the choice too.

So disarming our Military will not bring about peace if the groups or countries that hate us are not likewise drawn to disarm.

There is also the fact that sometimes war is necessary, and is fought for the right reasons.  Sometimes the human cost is worth it when the alternative is considered.

And regardless of any of that, as long as the world is in a state of unrest, our Military has to stand ready to respond if we are threatened, and they cannot do so when they are harassed by liberals who cannot see the forest for the trees in their zeal.

Final note to the bombers:  You closed one station briefly.  Big Deal.  The war goes on, the recruiting goes on and the Military goes on.

All you have done is make the anti war element look dangerous and deranged.

More on this as it develops.

Trackposted to The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary’s Thoughts, Right Truth, Shadowscope, Stuck On Stupid, Pursuing Holiness, Adeline and Hazel, third world county, Woman Honor Thyself, DragonLady’s World, Pirate’s Cove, Celebrity Smack, The Pink Flamingo, Dumb Ox Daily News, , Stageleft, Right Voices, A Blog For All, 123beta, Cao’s Blog, Big Dog’s Weblog, Conservative Cat, Diary of the Mad Pigeon, Wake Up America, Nuke Gingrich, Allie is Wired, McCain Blogs, The World According to Carl, Blue Star Chronicles, Global American Discourse, Gulf Coast Hurricane Tracker, Wolf Pangloss, CORSARI D’ITALIA, and The Yankee Sailor, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.

Trackback URI | Comments RSS