Bright Green Terror Machine

Liberals have long predicted the most dire consequences from the Bush war on an abstract noun. Arms have been waved and hands wrung over suicide bombers in Manhattan, the return of the draft, or the natural failure of elections in Iraq. I even know a guy who swore left, right, and sideways that we would see martial law prior to the '04 election because it was the only way the Bush cabal could retain power. (He had forgotten this when I chided him gently after the fact - and was anxious to change the subject.)

Well one long-familiar prognostication from the dissenterati has come true in the past couple of days. The Palestinians have voted the Hamas contingent into power, proving in the minds of some that one eventual outcome of a democratic Middle East might be a notable lack of democracy. Based on the terror-happy militarism that animates Hamas - well, it's tough to imagine an orderly succession of power if their fortunes change. It's more likely we'll see Saddam-style 99% "majorities" in the electorate.

So a sheepish response on the part of the Bush administration is appropriate. Certainly there are some who think that Condi, Dick and the gang can do no wrong, and others who would like to see them imprisoned - but we can all agree that sending Hamas into peace negotiations is like letting John Wayne Gacy loose at clown camp for kids. The outcome could be gruesome, and probably not very funny.

Still, the Palestinians voted for these guys. Democracy in the most stable circumstances produces a variety of outcomes in different geographic places even within our own country. From Berkely, California to Baptist, Alabama we've got a plurality of voices, as the peaceheads would describe it. Sure, we don't celebrate our elections with machine guns and face masks, but there's always a bit of fun with the ACLU and Jesse Jackson. Power is usually exchanged every four to eight years, and life moves forward.

This is the part of the post where I draw some grand conclusion - but I ain't got bupkis. Things are still up in the air with the Israeli prime minister and that nutjob Holocaust-denier in Iran. Experts agree it could get ugly very quickly. But one undereported news item - a certain Frenchman may have grown a pair. Against a backdrop of banlieue flambé Jacque Chirac has started to make very stern noises about terrorism, and even threatened to nuke anybody who gets all up in their cheese.

Funny how things change.