From the Department of Repetition Department

Today in a Post editorial, TNR's Peter Beinart saddles up the horse he rode last week in his home magazine. He is, it would appear, a man on a mission, determined to spread the gospel that Islamic totalitarianism is the new "great political reality," akin to Soviet totalitarianism in another age, and that Dems will keep losing elections until they realize this and get tough. I disagreed earlier this week, and I disagree still.

Set aside the fact that Islamic fanatics don't have nukes (yet, four more years of Bush and we'll see) and divisions of Soviet tanks ready to overrun Europe (I'm leaving out Pakistan for the moment, but even if it did become a radical Muslim republic, it wouldn't pose nearly the threat to us that the USSR did). Doesn't it show a startling lack of imagination to say that Islamic totalitarianism is today's "great political reality?" What about the rise of China? What about the declining influence of the West? What about the utter failure of development in Africa? Islamic totalitarianism is significant as a political reality because the Bushies made it that way, elevating it above other important issues for the sake of reelection. Even the Bushies don't think Islamic totalitarianism is much more than a centerpiece for an ad campaign, or they would take a lot of problems in the Middle East more seriously. For instance, if we're worried about IT, why not make good on your economic promises to Pervez, shoring up his position against fundamentalists? Why attack a secular nation (Iraq), while letting a theocracy (Iran) develop nukes? Why not secure Afghanistan from border to border? Why ignore the Israeli-Palestinian conflict for four years?

I hope Beinart doesn't stay on this kick much longer. Dems need a more aggressive, more coherent foreign policy, but they don't need to find it in the pages of the Bush game plan.