"Since the horror of 9/11, we've learned a great deal about the enemy. We have learned that they are evil and kill without mercy - but not without purpose. We have learned that they form a global network of extremists who are driven by a perverted vision of Islam - a totalitarian ideology that hates freedom, rejects tolerance, and despises all dissent. And we have learned that their goal is to build a radical Islamic empire where women are prisoners in their homes, men are beaten for missing prayer meetings, and terrorists have a safe haven to plan and launch attacks on America and other civilized nations. The war against this enemy is more than a military conflict. It is the decisive ideological struggle of the 21st century, and the calling of our generation."
Journalists of all ilks will analyze and comment on the remarks made by the Imperial Fear Monger on the fifth anniversary of September 11, 2001, but none will do so as succinctly and with such prescience as H. L. Mencken did many years ago:
"The whole aim of practical politics is to keep the populace alarmed - and hence clamorous to be led to safety - by menacing it with an endless series of hobgoblins, all of them imaginary."
What else is there to be said, other than happy birthday, Henry?
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