We can have a war on drugs (which is absolutely unwinnable) or a war against the Jihadis, but it’s nuts to think that we can have both.

Want a criticism of the Bush administration? Here’s one: the blindness of the drug warriors is appalling, and has set us back dramatically in the real war.

Four-hundred-and-forty-one years ago:

The lessons for us today, almost five centuries hence, are equally important. The same enemy exists today. Instead of galleys he uses airliners, and instead of Janissaries he uses suicide bombers. He hates and fears western civilization, and seeks to convert or enslave us. We have to meet him and engage him everywhere he is, just as the Knights did. What it will take to win against him is what it took to win at Malta: preparation, skill at arms, leadership, and above all faith and an iron will.

This has truly been a long war, and no immediate end is in sight.

Terrorism is not a leading cause of death. As Tierney notes in his column today (subscription required):

Outside of Afghanistan and Iraq,

He gives Khatami exactly the amount of respect he deserves:

Governor Mitt Romney today ordered all Massachusetts state government agencies to decline support, if asked, for former Iranian President Mohammed Khatami

Gerry Adams is meeting with Hamas.

Reminds me of the old joke about the guy walking down the street in Ulster, when he feels the barrel of a gun against the back of his neck.

“Now would you be Protestant, or would you be Catholic?”

Thinking quickly, he says, “I’m a Jew!”

There’s a pause, and then, “Begorrah, and I’m the luckiest Palestinian in Belfast.”

And then there’s the variation.

“So, then would you be a Protestant Jew, or a Catholic Jew…?”

I’m sure that any minute, we’ll see editorials railing against radical Islamists about this:

FAR-RIGHT extremists have adopted the tactics of Islamic jihadis by posting videos on the internet in which they threaten to behead British Muslims.

The films show balaclava-clad white British men brandishing guns, knives and clubs, calling on all Muslims to leave Britain or be killed. One appears to be a soldier who has served in the Gulf.

In one film, a man tells Muslims to “go home” or risk being burned alive. He threatens, “I’ll cut your head off”, and claims to have “comrades” across Britain who have “had enough”.

Any minute now.

[SOUND=”Crickets Chirping”]

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And aren’t that thrilled with their government. Someone at the WaPo (in the travel section) got off script:

What took place over the next fortnight astonished me. Everywhere I went — from the traffic-choked streets of Tehran in the north to the dusty desert town of Yazd in central Iran, to the elegant cultural centers of Isfahan and Shiraz — I was overwhelmed by the warmth and, dare I say it, pro-Americanism of the people I met.

Ponder the irony of that last statement for a moment. While much of the rest of the world seems to be holding their collective noses at us Americans, in Iran people were literally crossing the road to shake an American’s hand and say hello. Who knew?

Initially, when Iranians asked me where I was from, I’d suggest they guess. But this game quickly proved too time-consuming — no one ever guessed correctly. So instead I would simply mumble “American.” And then their faces would light up. For better or worse, Iranians are avid fans of America: its culture, films, food, music, its open, free-wheeling society.

Which reraises the question. How to punish a rogue, tyrannical government without harming its people?

Walid Phares notes the most recent rejoinder to those who keep their heads in the sand, and don’t believe that we are at war with an enemy whose ultimate goal is world domination:

…the

The group that kidnapped and converted the Fox News guys has declared that they will attack all non-Muslims in Gaza and “Palestinian” territories. They call themselves “Holy Jihad Brigades.” Gee, consider: names like this, and Hezbollah (Party of God).

Good thing this isn’t a religious war. Lord only knows what they’d call themselves if it were.

Really, this was just an idle question:

…what would they say at Turtle Bay if Iran offered up “peacekeeping troops” in south Lebanon? Since they don’t formally recognize Iran’s role in the war, how would they refuse? For that matter, why wouldn’t they accept an offer from Syria to help “police” its border with Lebanon?

Well, now we know the answer:

U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan said Friday that Syria has pledged to step up border patrols and work with the Lebanese army to stop the flow of weapons to Hezbollah.

Well. That should sort things out.