Islamic Fascism Update...

Whoa - so for those of you who thought my post on Islamic Fascism was a little loopy, or whatever, the AP picked up on the meme today. And yeah, it was rough and needs work, and maybe I'll get around to fixing the post and making it an essay or something. But for now, it's kind of a cool feeling to see something I noticed popping up in the news.

Republicans target 'Islamic fascism'

WASHINGTON - President Bush n recent days has recast the global war on terror into a "war against Islamic fascism." Fascism, in fact, seems to be the new buzz word for Republicans in an election season dominated by an unpopular war in Iraq.

Bush used the term earlier this month in talking about the arrest of suspected terrorists in Britain, and spoke of "Islamic fascists" in a later speech in Green Bay, Wis. Spokesman Tony Snow has used variations on the phrase at White House press briefings.

Sen. Rick Santorum R-Pa. [And total wanker - ETS] , in a tough re-election fight, drew parallels on Monday between World War II and the current war against "Islamic fascism," saying they both require fighting a common foe in multiple countries. It's a phrase Santorum has been using for months.

And Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Tuesday took it a step further in a speech to an American Legion convention in Salt Lake City, accusing critics of the administration's Iraq and anti-terrorism policies of trying to appease "a new type of fascism."

White House aides and outside Republican strategists said the new description is an attempt to more clearly identify the ideology that motivates many organized terrorist groups, representing a shift in emphasis from the general to the specific.

The White House on Wednesday announced Bush would elaborate on this theme in a series of speeches beginning Thursday at the American Legion convention in Salt Lake City and running through his address to the U.N. General Assembly on Sept. 19.

To me, it's typical Republican behavior - projection. Like the media is controlled by liberals. Like the terrorists don't care about killing innocent people. Point out the 'fascism' of your enemy and maybe the people won't notice your own. Kind of llike a criminal who yells 'Stop Thief!' when you catch him (or her) picking your pocket. And people just lap it up.

It's sad.