Three cheers for the Neocons.

At last. A succinct statement of the views of all those right wing ostriches who sneer at the neocons and think it's all about their scheming to advance the domestic and foreign policies of the Israelis.

It's not clear that we are [up to the challenge posed by radical Islamists. Many liberals, here and in Europe, long ago lost the nerve to wage war--or even to defend themselves--against illiberalism. Parts of the conservative movement now seem to be losing their nerve as well. In response to an apparent clash of civilizations, they would retrench, hunker down, and let large parts of the world go to hell in a hand basket, hoping that the hand basket won't blow up in our faces.

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To govern is to choose, and to accept responsibility for one's choices. To govern is not wishfully to await the end of history. To govern is not fatalistically to watch a clash of civilizations from the sidelines.

As Marshall Wittmann of the Democratic Leadership Council observed last week, "We are in the midst of a jihadist offensive. The bombing of [Iraq's] Askariya Shiite Shrine is another indication of the world-wide jihadist offensive against the West. From the cartoon jihad to the Hamas victory to the Iranian effort to obtain nuclear weapons to the attempt by al Qaeda to foment an Iraqi civil war--our enemy is taking the initiative. And the West is on its heels."

"The Long War. The radical Islamists are on the offensive. Will we defeat them? " By William Kristol, The Weekly Standard, 3/06/06 Emphasis added)