November 22, 2006

Where in the World is the Thanks?

The week of Thanksgiving is a time to appreciate and give special thanks for the blessings of America, our opportunities and our freedoms. We should be grateful for the men and women who serve in our volunteer military. Without their innumerable sacrifices, our nation would cease to be the beacon of hope for her citizens and billions more across the globe.

Yet we must also remember that Lady Liberty will always have her friends and enemies, both at home and abroad. The actions of America’s enemies and sunny-day allies serve as permanent reminders that a vigilant defense of our freedoms is required if we wish to give thanks for generations to come.

During his recent trip to Asia, President Bush met with leaders from Indonesia, China, South Korea, Vietnam and Russia. A key point of their discussions was the potential threats posed by Iran and North Korea acquiring the capability to launch nuclear weapons. China, however, has shown no desire to condemn North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il’s recent nuclear tests or his plans for future weapons proliferation. Though the United Nations Security Council passed a resolution banning the transfer of goods or funds that could aid North Korea’s nuclear ambitions, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao stated: “The UN Security Council resolution should not be randomly interpreted and should not be expanded.”

Our trade policies allow China to continue its communist charade, denying its own people economic freedom and human rights. But when our national security and Asian stability is at stake, the Chinese are content to allow, even encourage, North Korea’s nuclear ambitions with impunity.

When Bush visited Indonesia, the world’s most populous Muslim country, nearly 13,000 protestors greeted him with chants of “war criminal” and “terrorist.” They certainly have short memories. After December 2004 when a major earthquake and tsunami leveled parts of Indonesia, killing thousands and leaving even more without basic infrastructure, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) pledged over $400 million to help Indonesia recover, along with millions in direct aid from other U.S. entities.

To the south of our border, Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez is once again rattling his rhetorical sabers, this time from the podium of the United Nations. In a September 20 speech to the United Nations, Chavez called President Bush “the devil” and added, “The United States empire is on the way down and it will be finished in the near future, for the good of all mankind.” Chavez makes no effort to hide his allegiances with kindred spirits Fidel Castro and Iran’s madman President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. At the same time, Venezuelan-owned Citgo Petroleum Corporation sells gas in the U.S. through a network of nearly 14,000 gas stations.

In Germany, civil rights groups this month filed suit seeking war crimes charges against U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez, former CIA Director George Tenet and others. The suits brought by the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) allege abuse of prisoners at Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo prisons.

The U.S. freed the German people first from the hell fires of Hitler and again when we pulled back the Iron Curtain hung by the Soviet Union. How does Germany respond to decades of U.S. generosity? By deteriorating into a socialist democracy overrun by Islamic fascists, and filing frivolous charges against the very nation that restored its freedoms.

During his trip to Asia, President Bush met with South Korean President Roh Moo Hyun. Though the U.S. has led diplomatic efforts to bring sanctions against North Korea in the U.N and Asia, President Hyun told Bush that South Korea wouldn’t be “taking part in the full scope” of sanctions to halt the North’s nuclear weapons program. South Korea’s reluctance to help the hand that helped defend it in the 1950s from Soviet-backed communism is an indication of another short memory.

In a 1974 speech, Ronald Reagan said, “I have always believed that there was some divine plan that placed this great continent between two oceans to be sought out by those who were possessed of an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage.” We are also sought out by those who want to use, abuse and destroy us.

Uncle Sam has got to stop being Uncle Sucker. As Americans we must always be thankful for our blessings, but never naïve and never complacent. There are enemies all too willing to destroy our freedoms to fuel their lust for dictatorial power.

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