WHO ARE AIDING TERRORISTS NOW?

Remember when, during the lead-up to the second Gulf War, Vice President Dick Cheney and a host of right-wing conservatives accused left-wing critics of the Administration's drum-beat for war in Iraq of being traitors who were giving comfort to our terrorist enemies? Remember the constant stream of emails accusing anti-war activists of being terrorist sympathizers or un-American because their dissent and cries for military restraint supposedly encouraged Middle Easterners to believe they could make a difference by joining the terrorist jihad against America? Well, it seems those same conservatives have now joined the un-American crowd aiding and abetting foreign terrorists.

Newsweek has reported the since vocal opposition to the proposed building of a Mosque and Islamic Cultural Center near Ground Zero erupted from the bowels of right-wing conservatives in America, Islamic terrorist websites have experienced a sudden and substantial jump in the number of people visiting their websites, pledging contributions and seeking ways to aid and assist with the jihad against America. Once again, American arrogance and stupidity will end up costing us lives, liberty, and no doubt, billions of dollars that could have been better spent elsewhere.

In the months leading up to George W. Bush's invasion of Iraq, anti-war critics questioned the decision to invade Iraq because Iraq had no connection to the September 11th terrorist attacks. Critics warned that any U.S. invasion, which was not seen as justified in the eyes of most of the world, especially in the Middle East, would serve as a rallying cry for radical terrorists who would use the unjust actions of the United States to convince others to join their cause. By invading Iraq without legitimate justification, the U.S. played right into the terrorists' hands, and tens of thousands lost their lives, thousands more were maimed and crippled, and trillions were wasted on a war effort that left Iraq no better, and certainly a lot more unsafe for the average Iraqi citizen, than the day we invaded. All the while, terrorists used our actions to recruit more soldiers for their sadistic jihad. You'd think the lessons of Iraq would have taught us something. Apparently not!

With America withdrawing combat troops from Iraq, terrorists have been searching for another excuse to bolster their recruiting, and once again, conservatives in American have handed them one on a silver platter. Instead of standing tall on the principle of freedom of religion, the supposed bedrock of our nation, a loud and angry chorus, led by the most conservative of politicians and political pundits, has arisen to vehemently deny peaceful Muslims in America the very right we claim to hold sacred. It's no wonder terrorists are reaping a windfall at our expense. America just doesn't seem to learn from its mistakes.