×
THE FLYTRAP THEORY FOR DUMMIES. Think Progress lets Dick Morris explain it to us:
Last night on Hannity and Colmes, right-wing pundit Dick Morris also claimed that we need to keep U.S. troops in Iraq so that terrorists don't come to the United States. But he argued that we need to put "Americans right within their [terrorists'] arms' reach" so that they have the opportunity to "kill Americans" there. He added that therefore, "they don't have to come to Wall Street to kill Americans. They don't have to knock down the Trade Center. They can do it around the corner, and convenience is a big factor when you're a terrorist."I have always found the flytrap theory ethically distasteful, because the flytrap was set in someone else's backyard and the trap is not just a trap for capturing the flies but also something that attracts them and makes them multiply. But this interpretation at least has the benefit of added clarity: Maybe the reason why the Iraq surge was needed was to keep the trap replenished with Americans.Setting aside all ethical qualms, does the flytrap theory work? I am not at all sure, given the terrorist attacks in London and Madrid and the apparent function of the Iraq occupation as a breeding ground for more terrorists and more anti-American hatred in the Middle East. Only more time will tell.
--J. Goodrich
