They're only a couple of weeks away, but the elections in Britain and their accompanying arguments could be a replay of the parry and thrust back in the 1930s when Neville Chamberlain thought he had discovered the key to Peace in Our Time, namely appeasement, but a Tory backbencher by the name of Winston Churchill wasn't about to give up without a fight.
This time it's the Labour Party's leader, Jeremy Corbyn, who's waving the white flag, claiming that the British have brought the current wave of terrorism on themselves by daring to oppose it abroad. "Many experts," says Labour's leader, "including professionals in our intelligence and security services, have pointed to the connections between wars our government has supported or fought in other countries, such as Libya, and terrorism here at home." There's a term for this kind of illogic; it's called blaming the victim.
As for the Brits' current and, let's hope, future prime minister--Theresa May--she took some time off from an international conference on ways to combat terrorism to respond to Mr. Corbyn back home. And her tone was defiantly Churchillian: "There can never, ever be an excuse for terrorism," and "the choice that people face at the general election has become starker."
Mr. Corbyn's weak-willed words must be a great comfort to the remains of the British terrorist wing that the bobbies are sweeping up now. For the message he's sending these killers is clear enough: Terrorism pays. But it's a message that only invites, not deters, more terror on British shores.
Hail Britannia, the one that civilized people throughout the world have learned to know and respect over the years and centuries. And not this craven counterfeit Jeremy Corbyn would replace her with. For the old lioness can still roar and, Lord willing, will do just that when the results come flooding in election night.
Editorial on 05/31/2017