Shameful

First of all, let me apologize for my inattentiveness. I was busy, travel, etc., and after all, work is the curse of the drinking classes.

But the header above refers to Charles Krauthammer. What a repulsive little man.

One way to earn immediate criticism is to play the "Hitler card." All you have to do is mention the man's name, and stand back. In many instances, the criticisms are fair, as the objectives and results of Hitler's "final solution" do not find many equals in today's world.

However, there are many instances in which the attacks are not fair. For example, Sen. Dick Durbin NEVER compared our military, etc. to Hitler. There are also many instances in which it is important to discuss the Hitler example in the context of how a developed, industrial society could be duped and then coerced into either actively embracing or passively allowing horrible things to happen.

The flipside of the "Hitler" card is one that starts with the same letter, that being the "Holocaust card." I will leave it to others to debate the general appropriateness of the comparison between these two, but Krauthammer provides a particularly vulgar version of dealing from that side of the deck.

The subtitle to his obnoxious piece on Iran is "For Israel, it's starting to feel like it's 1938 again."

I'm sorry, but how offensive is that? How can anyone reasonably compare the empty and often mistranslated rhetoric of a figurehead president of Iran to Hitler's genocide accomplished after the wehrmacht rolled through Europe?

(you may find the entire stinking piece here)

How is this POSSIBLY like 1938? In 1938, the Jews of Europe were scatted among weak states that quickly fell before the German onslaught, and the state mechanism offered no defense against this hideous onslaught. Today the state of Israel has nuclear weapons and a virtual guarantee of its security from the United States.

How does that compare to the fate of Jews who could only rely on the quickly defeated Poland, the Netherlands, France and of course Germany itself for protection?

In 1938, hadn't we already seen the aggressive force of a country committed to expansion? Do we see that today? No. As a securities lawyer, we call the words of the Iranian president "puffery." In the NFL, it is "trash talking."

After all, the Germans rolled through weak European states and had their way with local populace. Charles, how does that compare with Israel today? The Iranians are AT BEST 10 years away from coming up with the rudiments of a potential weapon (i.e. the United States back at the early stages of the Manhattan Project) that the Israelis--one of the world's most formidable miliary forces-- already have. Israel has a defense system unmatched in the Middle East and backed by the United States.

It is disgusting, Charles, that you would bring up the horrific treatment of European Jews 60 years ago to try and justify insanity in 2006.

Shame on you.