The famous 1988 election spoiler and longtime social activist Jesse Jackson deserves an unprecedented action from this magazine. Mr. Jackson deserves a toast. Everyone, please raise your glasses:
Here’s to those that say they do,
Here’s to those that say they don’t,
Here’s to those that say they will–
And later decide they won’t.
Before we even begin to question Jackson’s motives and exactly what he allegedly planned to accomplish by visiting Afghanistan’s ruling Taliban, we must start at the most fundamental question: has Jesse Jackson lost his mind?
All of Jackson’s humanitarian accomplishments have been involving hostages. He has shown a remarkable ability to convince “evil doers”–to use a Dubya term–to release people that have been held against their will. A religious leader convincing someone to do such a thing makes sense. Clinton made great use of Jackson’s abilities over the last 8 years.
It is widely known that Bush does not like Jackson after republican operatives exposed Jackson’s affair and illegitimate child. The Administration wanting Jackson in a cave is besides the point:
Not a single skill possessed by Jackson has any application to US retaliation against Afghanistan.
There is nobody to be released from Afghanistan except for bin Laden. That’s not a mission of compassion. Osama’s release from Afghanistan is to stand trial for the murder of 7000 people. He won’t be captured easily and Jackson has absolutely nothing to contribute.
Initially, Cyberista thought that Jackson was the recipient of a hoax. Plenty of hoaxes have been floating around the Internet since minutes after the attack. Jackson’s history of actively designing his own diplomatic missions makes for a very good hoax. In the early hours, the Taliban was reported to have requested Jackson’s assistance. Shortly afterwards, the reports out of Afghanistan were complete denial–and probably complete confusion.
It wouldn’t have been a problem if Jackson had called an immediate press conference to deny his wishes to “mediate” the problems between the US and the Taliban. He could have easily claimed himself to be a victim of spam and simply end the matter. Instead, he chose to buy the proverbial pizza that he didn’t order. Unfortunately, this pizza is topped with extra political poison.
The fact remains that two giant towers were destroyed by terrorists on September 11th. The Bush Administration, along with the overwhelming majority of the country, has considered the matter to be an act of unspeakable violence–possibly an act of war. Reagan established in the early ’80s that the United States will never negotiate with terrorists. This is not a new policy. It is the Reagan Doctrine.
