Irey Outlines History of Anti-American Jihad

Diana Irey addressed the Republican Jewish Coalition in Philadelphia today. Here's some of her most potent statements:

The world in which we grew up ended 27 years ago, on November 4, 1979, when hundreds of radical Muslim students overran and occupied the American embassy in Teheran. For 444 days, the world watched and waited, as a radical Islamic regime held hostage not just 52 diplomats in a fortified bunker, but, in fact, an entire nation thousands of miles away.

Democrats would have you believe that this war against the Islamic jihadists started because of President Bush's policiess. This statement of fact proves beyond a doubt that that isn't true. Only a hyperpartisan Democrat would argue with Ms. Irey's opinion. In fact, I expect some to do exactly that.

The seizure of the American embassy in Iran in November 1979 by Muslim extremist students was the first shot fired in what is now, clearly, a war with radical Islam determined to destroy the West and reestablish the Muslim Caliphate along a crescent that stretches from Spain to the Middle East.

This isn't theory or opinion; it's stated fact straight from the lips of UBL and Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.

The seizure of the American embassy in Teheran in 1979 was followed by the suicide truck bombing against the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut on October 23, 1983, which cost us the lives of 241 young soldiers, the deadliest single-day death toll for the Marine Corps since the battle of Iwo Jima in World War II. That attack was carried out by the same Hezbollah terrorists who rain destruction on northern Israel. They were funded, trained, and equipped by Iranian Revolutionary Guards. And what did we do? Ronald Reagan chose to listen to the counsel of men who advised withdrawal.
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What we did not know at the time, and only learned later, was that the assault on the American forces was conducted by forces trained, equipped, and funded by the then-virtually-unknown al Qaeda. And what did we do? Bill Clinton chose to listen to the counsel of men who advised withdrawal. After that, the attacks against Americans overseas began coming faster and faster:

Diana Irey didn't mention that the advice Presidents Reagan and Clinton got to withdraw came from the same man: John Murtha. It's been 23 years since Murtha told President Reagan to leave Beirut but Murtha's advice is the same: We can't accomplish our objectives militarily. It was bad advice then; it's horrible advice now. It's been 13 years since Murtha said "There's no military solution. Some of them will tell you [that] to get [warlord Mohamed Farrah] Aidid is the solution. I don't agree with that."

The American embassy in Teheran. Beirut. Word Trade Center One. Mogadishu. The Khobar Towers. American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya. The U.S.S. Cole. Each time, our response was muted. Each time, terrorists learned a simple lesson: they could kill Americans with impunity.
President Bush has determined that enough is enough. In his speech following the terrible attacks of September 11, he declared that it would be the policy of the American Government to defeat these terrorists, and that we would no longer tolerate other governments allowing terrorists to operate from within their nations. "You are either with us, or you are with the terrorists," he said.
I support the President.

I think most Americans agree with the President that Iraq is a war that we must win. I also think that most Americans think that it was a mistake because we haven't won. I suspect that they're saying something like "Mistake or not, we've got to stabilize Iraq or else Iran installs a puppet regime that controls vast oil reserves."

Withdrawing from Iraq now would send a message to other governments as well, that America is an undependable ally, and that it is safer to cut a deal with the terrorists than to count on us.

Absolute fact. Frankly, anyone can break a promise. It takes people of genuince character to keep one's promise through challenging times. Because he isn't willing to keep his promises in difficult times, John Murtha proves that he's a nobody. He isn't a trustworthy man when it comes to Iraq.

Technorati: Election 2006, Diana Irey, Murtha, Clinton, Reagan

Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog