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August 10, 2006
Why Don't We All Consider A Little STFU?

One of the benefits of spending most of the day unable to post -- besides actually getting work done at the office -- is that I can spend a little time gaining perspective on the events of the day. Today that means reviewing the coverage of the foiled plot by Islamists in the UK to bomb a series of commercial flights, an operation that could have killed almost as many people as al-Qaeda did on 9/11. The discovery of the plot and the arrests of the terrorists should have been a cause for celebration -- but instead, people decided to spend the day taking partisan swipes at each other.

Almost no one appeared immune from this impulse. George Bush gave a short and to-the-point statement regarding the necessity of fighting terrorism and managed to avoid partisanship, instead focusing on working together to achieve security. Even before that, though, it seemed like politicos could not wait to use the event to score political points. Joe Lieberman used it to attack Ned Lamont. Harry Reid, John Kerry, and Ted Kennedy all leaped at the chance to bash the Bush administration for diverting efforts against terrorism into Iraq -- and bear in mind that the UK and US stopped the terrorist attack.

And don't even get me started on the media, which couldn't even wait for Heathrow to reopen before trying to figure all the political angles.

Do you want to know what the big story of the day really was? We beat the terrorists -- again -- and saved lives. Perhaps we could have spent the day reflecting on that and the need for continuing vigilance. The politics could have, and should have, waited for another day.

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Posted by Ed Morrissey at August 10, 2006 8:00 PM

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Listed below are links to weblogs that reference Why Don't We All Consider A Little STFU?:

» Politics Can Wait For Another Day from Thinking Right
Captain Ed reminds us that we should have spent the day thankful that the plan was foiled. Instead many of us chose to use it as a chance to take political pot shots. One of the benefits of spending most of the day unable to post — besides actual... [Read More]

Tracked on August 10, 2006 10:21 PM

» The Politicization Of The Foiled Terrorist Airline Plot from The Moderate Voice
From Ed Morrissey on the political charges and innuendo spewing forth or slyly slipping from politicians lips on both sides in light of the foiled airplane terrorist plot:
[Read More]

Tracked on August 10, 2006 11:32 PM

» London: I Question the Timing! from Cranial Cavity
So says a NBC “reporter” Kevin Corke. “Yeah well said because a lot of people here are going to be asking the question, not only today but in the days to come, if, if the administration has known about this potential plot what was ... [Read More]

Tracked on August 11, 2006 1:39 AM

» Terror & the Hyperventilating Left & Right from The Anchoress
After spending some time reading news, opinions and analysis from all over the web and in the blogosphere, I am struck by the way both the right and left lungs of ’sphere are in full-press hyperventilation over the breaking news of the last 20 h... [Read More]

Tracked on August 11, 2006 1:39 AM

» Muslims? What Muslims? from Too Cool for Words
Let's call them "individuals," says TIME. ... Hmmm, what kind of "individuals" would those be? [Read More]

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» Airport Security Update 2 from Strategic Outlook Institute - Weblog
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Tracked on August 11, 2006 4:30 AM

» The bottom line from American Geek
In all of the discussion/analysis/finger-pointing concerning the foiled terrorist plot yesterday, and since, Ed Morrissey puts it into proper perspective. Do you want to know what the big story of the day really was? We beat the terrorists -- again... [Read More]

Tracked on August 11, 2006 8:34 AM

» nutroot-roast from It's All Semantics
noun: 1. A devilish festival typically ending with all participants consumed by hatred [Read More]

Tracked on August 11, 2006 10:44 AM

» nutroots-roast from It's All Semantics
noun: 1. A devilish festival typically ending with all participants consumed by hatred [Read More]

Tracked on August 11, 2006 11:35 AM

» Hitting to all Fields 08/11/06 from Ennuipundit
Leading Off Michael Rubin in the Corner yesterday addressed our engagement with Islam. When it comes to radical Islam, Europe and the United States have mastered the art of repeating mistakes. Not all Muslim groups ascribe to a radical, politicized ag... [Read More]

Tracked on August 14, 2006 5:34 AM

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