Patterico's Pontifications

9/21/2006

Harkin: Muslims Were “Basically on Our Side” After 9/11, Until Bush Squandered All That Good Feeling

Filed under: General — Patterico @ 7:21 pm



Tom Harkin can “understand the frustration” of Hugo Chavez, who called George W. Bush “the devil.” Harkin adds:

We tend to forget that a few days after 9-1-1 thousands, thousands of Iranians marched in a candlelight procession in Teheran in support of the United States. Every Muslim country was basically on our side. Just think, in five years, President Bush has squandered all that.

Charles Johnson has photos of Palestinians who were “basically on our side.” Here is another from BusinessWeek. Here are some more; many more here.

This story reports:

[T]he West Bank town of Nablus, Palestinians cheered and distributed candy to passers-by, and Iraqi television played a patriotic song that began “Down with America!” as it showed the World Trade Center towers collapsing.

As this link shows, Palestinians celebrated in Lebanon:

Dozens of Palestinian refugees today fired into the air with joy at news of apparent anti-US terrorist attacks in New York and Washington, AFP correspondents witnessed.

Guerillas in military fatigues from various factions fired assault rifles and rocket-propelled grenades into the air in the Ain al-Helweh refugee camp at the outskirts of the southern port city of Sidon, one correspondent said.

Camp residents, some still in pyjamas, interrupted afternoon rest to rush down to the streets and fire assault rifles into the air, they said.

At the Shatila refugee camp in Beirut, Palestinian fighters also went out to the streets as soon as they heard the news from their television sets to fire into the air with joy, an AFP correspondent said.

As did Lebanese:

“We’re ecstatic. Let America have a taste of what we’ve tasted,” said Ali Mareh, a Lebanese resident of Beirut.

“People are happy. America has always supported terrorism. They see how the innocent Palestinian children are killed and they back the Zionist army that does it. America has never been on the side of justice,” said Samir, a Lebanese.

Palestinians celebrated in East Jerusalem:

Palestinians who have often burned U.S. flags in protests during their 11-month-old uprising against Israeli occupation also celebrated in the streets of Arab East Jerusalem.

“I feel I am in a dream. I never believed that one day the United States would come to pay a price for its support to Israel,” said Mustafa, a 24-year-old Palestinian gunman.

Several dozen Palestinian youths gathered in Arab East Jerusalem to celebrate as well, honking out wedding tunes on their car horns. “We are so happy that America was hit. America is against us in supporting Israel,” Suleiman, one of the demonstrators, said.

Columnists were thrilled in Egypt:

Ahmad Murad, a columnist for the Nasserist weekly Al-Arabi, wrote, “In all honesty, and without beating around the bush: I am happy about [what happened to] America; I am happy about the great number of American dead.

. . . .

Acting Al-Arabi editor, Abd Al-Halim Qandil also insisted on his “rights,” saying: “Yes, we have the right to rejoice. This was the first step in a thousand-mile journey towards defeating America by a knockout.” Al-Arabi columnist Nur Al-Huda Zaki wrote: “I cannot hide my feelings; I cannot restrain my joy . . .

. . . .

Al Usbu’ columnist Muhammad Mustagab related what he felt as he watched the airliners crash into the World Trade Center: “[Those moments of] exquisite, incandescent hell were the most beautiful and precious moments of my life.”

The Egyptian weekly Al-Ahram ran this gloating quote:

Perhaps this crushing blow, and the scenes of jubilation from around the Third World, will act as a humbling experience once the dust has settled.

A Syrian writer described his feelings of ecstasy:

I felt like someone delivered from the grave; my lungs filled with air and I breathed in relief, as I’d never breathed before.

But he ultimately decided it was a bad thing that innocents died because of U.S. government policy (although hey! at least we got some Jews bloodsuckers!):

I can swear that among the victims in and around the World Trade Center are some who do not deserve mercy, because they belong to the suckers of the blood of the peoples. But a man cannot rejoice at the misfortune of others, or hate in light of the loss of life. My humanity, that the American and Zionist policy tried to numb and contaminate, ultimately conquers the hatred and enmity, and stands by mankind…

Well, good for him, then.

How could Bush squander all that?

29 Responses to “Harkin: Muslims Were “Basically on Our Side” After 9/11, Until Bush Squandered All That Good Feeling”

  1. Every Muslim country was basically on our side.

    No doubt Harkin’s defense would be that the Palestinians don’t count because Palestine is not a country.

    Just kidding.

    aunursa (450951)

  2. I am very tired of the baseless insinuations that we of the Left are historical revisionists.

    Stalin, Dictator Of Russia and Inventor of Space Travel (a646fc)

  3. We can only wish that the American Left had the same patriotism as the Bolsheviks.

    nk (947b03)

  4. We can only wish that the American Left had the same patriotism as the Bolsheviks.

    For some unpatriotic folk, 4 walls is 3 too many.

    actus (10527e)

  5. A-ha! You forgot Saudi Arabia. Fifteen of them were literally on our side.

    Chip (9d0014)

  6. OK, Actus, against my better judgment: What 4 walls?

    nk (32c481)

  7. OK, Actus, against my better judgment: What 4 walls?

    Oh. It’s a reference to a bolshevik — or maybe stalin — quote: 4 walls is 3 too many. 4 walls of a prison is 3 too many for those that we’re just going to shoot (against a wall).

    actus (10527e)

  8. I get it. Thanks. Still, I do not think that it was fear of the NKVD’s machine guns that caused the Russian people to resist the Nazis.

    nk (06f5d0)

  9. Oh. It’s a reference to a bolshevik — or maybe stalin — quote: 4 walls is 3 too many. 4 walls of a prison is 3 too many for those that we’re just going to shoot (against a wall).

    Actus,

    Even a stopped clock (analog actus, I’m sure you seen them somewhere) is right twice a day. That was very close to a point. You’ve been studying?

    Stashiu3 (0da7ed)

  10. Stashiu3, that’s funny that you just told actus he came close to ‘making a point.’

    In another thread, I recommended to actus last nite that he could be more effective if he would attempt to explain himself by writing MORE than one sentence, as opposed to making everyone play a game of “20 questions” to guess what his point is.

    Desert Rat (d8da01)

  11. Iranians aren’t Arabs.

    Angry Clam (132353)

  12. I’m fairly certain Actus is not interested in being more effective. I’m even wondering if Actus is a sockpuppet having fun with the conservative blogs. People have been making recommendations to him for as long as I’ve been reading blogs. He never changes and, if sincere, is to be pitied for his limited grasp of reality.

    Stashiu3 (0da7ed)

  13. OK, I changed the word “Arabs” in the title to “Muslims” just to avoid any further argument on that point.

    Harkin misses that the Iranian people have been big supporters of American for quite some time. It’s just their government that hasn’t been.

    Not so for other Muslim countries.

    Patterico (de0616)

  14. Can’t we just all behave like those kind, loving folks? You know, declare a jihad, issue a fatwa that says 200 hundred H-bombs would be OK (but not 300), and settle this in an afternoon?

    But then, perhaps we should apply some of those corrupt Western values and try a softer approach. Instead let’s just remove a few dictators, send them hundreds of billions of dollars and spend thousands of young lives building democracy.

    The really sick thing is that the Islamofascists were hoping we’d go for Plan A.

    Kevin Murphy (0b2493)

  15. Is America This Stupid?…

    What this really all comes down to is the fact that Bin Laden predicted all of this. He believed that after 9/11 we would not have the balls to take the fight to the enemy. The greatest generation was dead and buried. The new generation are full of cow…

    Flopping Aces (986d71)

  16. Is Sen. Harkin going to be called on this bizarre statement or does the MSM consider him such a joke (albeit a loveable liberal one) that they will ignore him totally ?

    seePea (b6a105)

  17. Ahh.. yes. It was a time of great love for Americans:

    Posted on: Sunday, September 30, 2001 at 02:58:11 (MDT)

    Travel Warning

    The Department of State warns U.S. citizens to defer travel to Indonesia.

    The September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States have significantly added to concerns about the security situation for American citizens resident in or traveling through Indonesia. While the Government of Indonesia has condemned these terrorist attacks, some radical Indonesian groups have attempted to attack U.S. citizens and have threatened to attack U.S. facilities and expel American citizens from Indonesia in the event of U.S. military action in response to the September 11 terrorist attacks in the United States.

    On September 25, several hundred demonstrators in Bogor, a town near Jakarta, stopped and attacked cars they believed to be driven by Americans or Westerners. On September 23 and 24, groups in the central Java city of Solo opposed to U.S. policy undertook “sweeps,” trying to identify American citizens and forcibly remove them from the country. The same groups also attempted to intercept Americans at the international airport in Solo. Other “sweeps” have been conducted in Bandung and Lampung. There have been other threats against American citizens and daily protests at U.S. diplomatic facilities in Indonesia.

    As a result of these concerns, the Department has authorized the departure of all U.S. Government personnel in non-emergency positions and family members in Indonesia. All American citizens in Indonesia are urged to consider their personal security situations and to take those measures they deem appropriate to ensure their well-being, including consideration of departure from the country.

    MayBee (8aec89)

  18. Harkin misses that the Iranian people have been big supporters of American for quite some time. It’s just their government that hasn’t been.

    Not so for other Muslim countries.

    How about Iraqis?

    actus (10527e)

  19. “How about Iraqis?”

    Well, we know Saddam thought 9/11 was a wonderful idea.

    sharon (dfeb10)

  20. Well, we know Saddam thought 9/11 was a wonderful idea.

    So thats one out of a couple of million. Toss in his two sons too. Is Iraq one of those countries whose popuplation hasn’t “been big supporters of America” for quite some time?

    actus (10527e)

  21. […] UPDATE: And spanked by Patterico. This one goes into the file for posterity. Flopping Aces Kicks Harkin. Reader_I_Am from Done With Mirrors is an Iowan who votes. And remembers. WuzzaDem has a moonbat convergence documented. John Hawkins thinks Harkin must not have gotten the memo. Sister Toldjah is not pleased. STACLU thinks it's that memo thing again. A Blog For All thinks Harkin is afraid of the swarm from the base. […]

    Blue Crab Boulevard » Blog Archive » Ahmadinejad and Chavez Get A New Court Jester (a177fd)

  22. Here is letter I sent to my Senator.

    Sen. Harkin,

    Your support in the form of “understanding” with Hugo Chavez is an insult to me and, in my opinion, to the State of Iowa. Your statements, about both past and present Presidents, is always this type of partisan hackery.

    It seems as if your hope is to receive the Bob Dole Lifetime Achievement in Partisan Politics Award, i.e. a party nomination for President. Nothing scares me more than a man of your stature in the Oval Office. You state on 12 Sept 2001, the whole world was behind the US. Yet you fail to ackowledge that on 13 Sept 2001, the free press of the world was stating that we had it coming. You are using a man that you despise to try to explain why the world hates us and are seemingly oblivious to the fact that they have hated us for a long time. 9-11 was not the Islamic world’s first expression of hatred toward us, was it?

    And I would assume that if I can find the energy to read UN resolutions 687 and 1441 and Hans Blix’ final statement to the UN prior to the invasion of Iraq, you can as well. Of particular note, I would direct you to the text in the beginning of 1441 that unequivocally states that Iraq was “material breach” of 687. Then I would note how 1441 explicitly states that the current resolution is a final opportunity for Iraq to comply with the provisions of 687, restated in 1441, and given a 30 day deadline.

    Then I would direct you to Hans Blix’ statements in the UN where he ackowledges that Hussein met the 30 day deadline but that he did not address key questions of WMD from 1441 and that the list of proscribed weapons had not been appreciably reduced. Finally, I would note, (since Blix didn’t) that the mention of the Al Samoud missles indicates the list of proscribed weapons HAD GROWN over the period covered by resolution 687. In fact, a critical review of Blix’ statements indicates that he felt Iraq was in material breach of 1441 but that he would not state as much. The fact that world leaders and politicians like yourself use Blix’s ommission of that key statement indicates a lack of seriousness and committment on the part of the world leaders and the UN.

    It was not Blix’ position to conclude, only to report. It was YOUR job to conclude from his statements that the world’s requirements were not met. You, however, did not have the steel to do so. Bush did. The quote the Des Moines Register has: “I thought they were incendiary comments, certainly,” Harkin said, adding. “Let me put it this way: I can understand the frustration and the anger of certain people around the world because of George Bush’s policies.” Are you saying that policies enforcing what we consider International Law cause frustration and anger among the world’s despots? I would hope so and I would hope that you consider that somewhat desirable.

    However, that is not your intent. That statement in combination with the ‘day after 911′ comment indicates that you feel enforcing international law is not something we should do. Perhaps your point of contention is the “cowboy” or “go it alone” mentality. If so, I would implore you to read and investigate the Oil for Food program.

    Comparing which countries were the preferred suppliers under that program and which countries threatened vetos or withdrew support, you should be able to easily note that the two lists are not much different. President Bush ended a corrupt program that enriched a corrupt and murderous regime that was enriching members of the UN Security Council. Some countries are angry for his interfering in their profit and some are frustrated that a fellow despot was desposed. It is this anger and frustration that you “understand” and offer as validation of Hugo Chavez’ statements.

    I cannot fathom why. It is either blatant ignorance, sympathy for America’s enemies, or partisan hackery. I would love to say that I am withdrawing my support for you but, alas, I have never supported you and never will. However, I have become motivated to actively campaign against you in any future elections and hope you go the way of Daschle.

    I am still a registered Independent. I should really change that. I was never interested in politics prior to seeing the willful ignorance and sheer vitriol of the Democratic party. You and your fellows, Senator Harkin, don’t seem to care how your hatred and vitriol will affect not only this President but also one you may like in the future. Perhaps Chavez felt he could he could make those comments because he knew he would find a receptive audience?

    Thats you, Senator. You are doing a disservice to the office of the Presidency, regardless of who is in the office, and you should be ashamed.

    No reply needed.

    Come next election, I’ll be your Swift Boat, baby.

    1SG Steven Cotton
    US Army Reserve

    y7 (1185a2)

  23. Harkin makes idiots look brilliant!

    Gayle Miller (855514)

  24. I noticed guns pointed at Clinton’s picture in some of those links. Funny, I thought that when Clinton was president the whole world loved us.

    Captain Chaos (36d673)

  25. We can only wish that the American Left had the same patriotism as the Bolsheviks.

    For some unpatriotic folk, 4 walls is 3 too many.

    Comment by actus — 9/21/2006 @ 8:10 pm

    Actus,

    Even a stopped clock (analog actus, I’m sure you seen them somewhere) is right twice a day. That was very close to a point. You’ve been studying?

    Comment by Stashiu3 — 9/21/2006 @ 9:06 pm

    Is snark a point? Because otherwise, it lacks any point.

    McBain! (64bbd9)

  26. It was easy for Patterico to produce the proof that George W. Bush did not throw away wide support in Islam on and after 11 September, 2001, because it never existed. (With the exception of some popular sympathy in the Islamic Republic of Iran, the truth is the opposite. There was such a disgusting global display of cruel hate that it makes the mind recoil.)

    Anybody can do the same. This is straightforward.

    Yet the familiar and ridiculous lies are repeated over and over.

    It makes politics boring when one side is stuck on stupid and on total contempt for the truth.

    David Blue (cfc4e8)

  27. Captain Chaos: “I noticed guns pointed at Clinton’s picture in some of those links. Funny, I thought that when Clinton was president the whole world loved us.”

    Never forget: JIMMY CARTER GREAT SATAN! JIMMY CARTER GREAT SATAN!

    Nobody ever copped more Muslim hate than James Earl Carter.

    Because our enemies will be as nasty as they dare. And with Jimmy Carter (Great Satan) they discovered they could dare anything with impunity.

    David Blue (cfc4e8)

  28. Well did you know JAPAN was on our side in WW I?

    krazy kagu (31c771)

  29. “Because our enemies will be as nasty as they dare.”

    Ditto. Good comment, David Blue.

    nk (41da82)


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