Michael Moore, Fantasy, and 9/11

Mark Stein, one of my favorite writers (he is linked on the left under Others), has written a take-down of Michael Moore and his Fahrenheit 9/11 mockumentary. Note: The Jerusalem Post link requires registration.

Stein’s premise is that Moore’s premise is

Whatever the question, the answer is Bush. The message of Moore’s film is: Get rid of Bush this November and all the bad stuff will go away.

This despite the fact that all of the planning for 9-11 was done during the Clinton Administration and the principals were learning their flying trade while it looked like Al Gore would be elected.

It has been noted by many commentators that Bin Laden and the al-Qaida leadership did not expect the United States to react as strongly as it has against Afghanistan and later Iraq. They expected to strike at the heart of “The Great Satan” and its response would be to lob a few more cruise missiles at their bases in the Afghan mountains. They had good cause, considering Clinton’s reaction to their previous efforts. It was only the Taliban who were concerned about a massive response. It seems when you lead a country you have different views on things than when you are basically countryless. For a concise synopsis of the planning and execution of 9-11 see this Springfield, MO News-Leader article.

Stein drives home the point in his article that from al-Qaida’s viewpoint, Bush is irrelevant. Their strategic plan targets Western Civilization in general. Stein notes that the “West” is the target, not just George Bush.

I use the term in the widest sense to mean not just swaggering Texas cowboys but sensitive left-wing feminists in favor of gay marriage – is to survive, it will only be after a long struggle lasting many decades.

Bush was just the first Western leader to take a definitive stand against radical Islam and recognize the long term strategic implications of the situation. In direct contrast to this approach, Michael Moore seems to think Bush is the Sudetenland and that his defeat along with a Kerry policy change will appease al-Qaida and radical Islam better than it did when the same approach was attempted on Hitler by Neville Chamberlain in 1939.

Stein closes his article with

Now go back to watching Fahrenheit 9/11 and kid yourself that this will all go away if Bush, Cheney, and Rummy are thrown out this November.

There are many people speculating that al Qaida will try to do something to influence our elections in November. To say that you would have to believe that they prefer Kerry over Bush. If they wanted Bush to be re-elected they would do nothing. Indeed, they would back off everything, including their activities in Iraq, leading up to the U.S. election to make it appear Bush was succeeding. That does not appear to be the case.

Whatever happens, it seems clear that in additional to being filled with lies (now counted and detailed – thanks to Parableman for the link), Moore’s mockumentary misses the primary point. Its not about Bush. Its about us, all of us.