Far Right Sells Iraq War to "Values Voters"

[laststeamtrain]

Far Right Sells Iraq War to "Values Voters"

Bill Berkowitz

<snip>

The "Forgotten Americans Coalition" is composed of a number of veteran conservative leaders, including the American Family Association's Dr. Don Wildmon, Christian Broadcasting Network's Robertson, the Free Congress Foundation's Paul Weyrich, and Tim LaHaye, the co-author of the wildly popular "Left Behind" series of apocalyptic novels, and his wife, Beverly, the founder of Concerned Women for America.

<snip>

"It doesn't exist except to issue 'messages' to true believers and to make it appear in the media that there is more support for a failed foreign policy than really exists," he told IPS. "It smacks of a desperation move to shore up support even among religious conservatives, whose support for the war seems to be melting faster than the polar ice cap."

<snip>

The declaration, entitled, "The Tragic Consequences of a U.S. Withdrawal From Iraq", is FAC's first public project. It says in part that "The Iraq war must be seen in the broader context of Islamo-fascism's war on America and Western Civilization... If we pull out now, or announce a timetable for withdrawal, the region will be destabilised and Israel further endangered. Iran and Syria, two legs of the axis of evil, will become far more powerful..."

"It took 20 years to recover from the demoralising experience of our failure in Vietnam," the document reads. "How will we convince young Americans to enlist in the next effort to combat terrorism, if -- by withdrawing now -- we tacitly admit that more than 3,600 of our service men and women died in vain?"

"The coalition's declaration shows us how closely top religious right leaders have hitched their wagon to the star of neoconservative militarism," Clarkson observed. "These leaders have made it clear, like Bush, that there is no going back. They are also at considerable pains to try to show that the religious right's concern about domestic culture has anything to do with an unjustifiable war on the other side of the world."

<snip>

Americans United's Rob Boston also connected the founding of FAC to the 2008 U.S. presidential election. "Gary Bauer undoubtedly also wants to use the war on terror to energise the far-right base in advance of the 2008 election. They need some new issues. You can only pass so many constitutional amendments banning same-sex marriage in the states, and the immigrant-bashing is getting a little tiresome," he noted.

<more>

http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=39360

[tanyev]

1. Oh, if only we could forget about them.

But it's impossible when they keep popping up and shrieking their insanity to anyone who will listen.

[msongs]

2. these people HAVE a strategy....their opponents do not nt

[pretzel4gore]

3. 'nothing fails like success when working for the devil'

That's the far rite's biggest problem; if they succeed, they lose, because Iraq costing $200 million/a day and the dollar is looking misty eyed at the Peso, and bush is 'Jesus with a hard-on'... their whole spiel is dreary and distatesful and ugly, appalling all but the foolish

[Rageneau]

4. When the Rature comes, the only people left in Iraq will be Blackwater and KBR.

Even the Muslim Iraqis are better Christians than those guys.