Mike Murray essay -- Against All Enemies

23 October 2008

Against All Enemies, Foreign and Domestic

--by Mike Murray

Every dogface, every swabie, every airman who joins the military in defense of our great nation begins his or her service by promising to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” Every enlistee takes that oath. Every officer does, too.

The next president of the United States will similarly be required to swear that he will “to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States." It is understood that, as Commander in Chief , he will likewise be pledging to protect Americans against all enemies – foreign and domestic.

One can’t help but wonder: If the next president is Barack Obama, how will he in good conscience be able to make such a promise?

Consider two of the people with whom Obama has regularly consorted: Rashid Khalidi and William Ayers. The first was a part of a foreign terrorist organization, the second, a domestic one.

Khlalidi worked as a spokesman on behalf of the Palestinian Liberation Organization (PLO) while it was designated by the U.S. State Department as a terrorist group. On numerous occasions, Khalidi has excoriated Israel as a destructive, “racist” state. He has many times expressed support for suicide bombers, terrorists who have murdered scores of innocent Isralis – women and children among them.

Despite that, Barack Obama (along with fellow Woods Fund board member William Ayers) has funneled money in the form of grants to an Arab group represented by Khalidi. Moreover, Barack and Michelle Obama have spent “many pleasant evenings” in the home of Khalidi and his wife, enjoying dinners and conversing about “the plight of Palestinians.” At a farewell event that was held in Chicago for Khalidi (prior to his leaving for a teaching position at Columbia University), Barack publicly lauded Rashidi, and thanked his friend for “opening my eyes.”

In exactly what way did Barack Obama have his eyes “opened” by Rashid Khalidi? And precisely what does that illumination mean for America, for the Middle East – and for the world – should Obama achieve the U.S. presidency?

Then there is William Ayers. Ayers was a member of the Weather Underground (formerly the Weathermen), a domestic terrorist organization that operated during the 1960s and 1970s. The radical group claimed responsibility for bombing the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon. Weathermen members also were convicted of unsuccessfully attempting to ambush a Brinks truck, in the process killing two police officers.

In 1970, three Weathermen died while working on an explosive device in the basement of a Greenwich Village (New York) townhouse. One would-be bomber accidentally connected two wires, which prematurely completed an electrical circuit and detonated 60 sticks of dynamite. One of those who died in the explosion was believed to have been romantically involved with Ayers.

The Weathermen formed as an offshoot of the Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Among that group’s members was Bernadine Dohrn – a young lawyer who was intelligent, charismatic, and attractive. (She was so physically appealing, in fact, that her FBI “ Most Wanted” poster became a prized acquisition for many males who had no interest in her subversive activities.)

Dohrn thrived at SDS and rose to prominence there. But SDS was a non-violent group. And some of its members – Ayers and Dohrn among them – hankered to do more than merely participate in sit-ins and peaceful protests. So they formed the Weathermen, a group that would not be constrained by pacifist dictates.

When their subsequently violent activities drew the attention of U.S. law enforcement officials, the Weathermen “took to the mattresses.” They morphed again – this time into the Weather Underground (a title which reflected the fact that they were in hiding). From SDS to Weathermen to Weather Underground. From relatively peaceful protestors who only heaved a “stink bomb” now and then, to domestic terrorists whose mission included constructing and detonating deadly devices.

Obama’s defenders say that we should lighten up about all that. After all, they say, young Barack was only 8 years old when William Ayers and Bernadine Dohrn (who have been married for many years now) carried out their nefarious acts. It was a very long time ago, they remind us. Decades have passed since government buildings were bombed, since policemen were killed.

Perhaps. But how long ago was 2001? That’s when Ayers and Dohrn, interviewed by several media outlets (including the New York Times), refused to apologize for their violent past – or to express even the slightest remorse for the devastion caused by it. In fact, they stated for the record that they wished they had “done more.” The Times interview was published on September 11^th. Yes, that September 11^th: the very day that terrorists bombed New York’s twin towers.

Obama was a good deal older than eight on that day. He had long since graduated from Columbia University and from Harvard Law. And he had been – for fully five years – an Illinois state senator. He was plenty old enough, and plenty educated enough, to know better. Nevertheless, he continued to count Ayers and Dohrn among his friends.

Contrary to Obama’s current claims that Bill Ayers is just “some guy who lives in my neighborhood” (in Chicago’s Hyde Park), his ties to Ayers are deep and complex. They have served together on the board of the Woods Fund. And via his executive role in another organization, Obama approved grants to groups championed by Ayers.

When Ayers published a book, Obama supplied a glowing endorsement for it, calling it “searing and timely.” Obama was no child when he did that favor for his friend, the unapologetic terrorist.

During the third and final presidential debate of this election season, Barack Obama seemed to deny an oft-told story: that he began his political career in the living room of the home of Ayers and Dohrn. That denial runs contrary to the memories of many. And it conflicts with the photographic evidence that some claim to posssess.

Perhaps Obama was engaging in a bit of Bill Clinton-style legalese (they’re both lawyers, after all). Maybe it’s all in how you parse your words, in how you decide what “the meaning of is is.” Perhaps it was the second fundraiser (rather than the first) held on Obama’s behalf that Ayers and Dohrn hosted. Whatever. That’s a distinction without a difference. Not a material one, anyway.

It boggles the mind that a person of Colin Powell’s stature, a retired Army general who devoted his life to defending his country, could endorse Obama for president. Obama, after all, counts among his friends people like Rashid Khalidi, William Ayers, and Bernadine Dorhn. Khalidi supports the activities of foreign terrorists. Ayers and Dohrn are themselves unrepentant domestic terrorists. Dohrn once considered herself a “revolutionary Communist” (perhpas she still does). And as recently as 2002, Ayers referred to himself as a Marxist and an “anarchist.” An anarchist is someone who wishes to overthrow his government – by unlawful means.

Because of his habit of consorting with known terrorists, Barack Obama would have difficulty getting hired into even the lowliest of jobs at the Pentagon or the White House. He couldn’t pass the requisite background check. (Forget Cryptographic, Top Secret, or Secret; considering his associations, Obama wouldn’t even qualify for a Confidential security clearance.)

It is hard to accept that such a person could become America’s next Commander in Chief. It is even harder to accept that General Powell thinks it reasonable. Desirable, even. While Powell’s endorsement of Obama will no doubt curry him favor in liberal circles and in the media (a redundancy, to be sure), it has further diminished him in the eyes of millions who had once admired him.

Colin Powell lost the respect of many when he allowed Lewis (“Scooter”) Libby to twist in the wind over something his own subordinate did. Libby took the fall for actions related to the “outing” of Valerie Plame as a CIA agent. But in point of fact, it was Powell’s own assistant – Richard Armitage, Deputy Secretary of State – who revealed Plame’s identitiy to the media. Powell knew that but kept quiet, thereby enabling Democrat partisans within the Justice Department to conduct a witch hunt against a George Bush loyalist.

It was a sad performance by a man who traced many of his career opportunities to Republicans in general, and to the the Bush family in particular. It was George H.W. Bush, after all, who tapped Powell as his National Security Advisor, and who also promoted him to the military’s top job: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. And it was his son, George W. Bush, who further elevated Powell by naming him Secretary of State.

Powell’s role in the Plame fiasco amounted to personal betrayal. Even worse, it was criminal in the eyes of many. Knowingly allowing the feds to pursue and prosecute the wrong man was – at the very least – a dishonorable act. It was not the behavior of the Colin Powell many once knew.

Powell was a hero during the Vietnam conflict. He was then a guy any soldier would love to have covering his back. But Powell has changed over the years. As he has climbed the ladder of success, he has become less guided by principle (“duty, honor, county” ), more enticed by opportunity. He has learned how to work the angles. He has figured out how to manipulate members of the media – even as they manipulate him.

His repudiation of Republicans during this election season reveals that Powell’s tranformation is complete. He has sold out; he has chosen the path of least resistance. He has joined the side that is winning. Powell will never again have to sumon the courage to stand up to scoundrels such as Harry Belafonte, who once referred to him as a “house n****r." Now that Powell has done the expedient thing, he can relax. He can bathe in the glow of praise that is sure to follow from everyone on the political left.

It is troubling that Colin Powell has chosen to stand with Barack Obama – and by extension with William Ayers, Bernadine Dohrn, and Rashid Khalidi – rather than with John McCain. It is even more troubling that Obama, who under normal circumstances would not be permitted to get anywhere near the Pentagon or the White House (because of his ties to terrorists), could very well become our next president. And that, if so, we Americans would be forced to rely on a person of questionable character to protect us from all enemies, foreign and domestic.