“Weakness Invites Aggression”

Ilan Goldenberg observes that it’s a bit odd that anyone would think Frank Gaffney, a comically ignorant hack, is a credible surrogate with which to go after Barack Obama:

Observe that there’s absolutely nothing in Obama’s record to back up the claim that Obama would be “unmistakably” unwilling to use military force in the defense of the United States. He was at pains to say during his 2002 anti-war speech, “I’m not opposed to all wars, I’m opposed to dumb wars.” Nor is there anything in his record to suggest that he would somehow pursue budgetary policies that leave the country defenseless — in fact, he seems to be aiming for a higher level of military spending then I’d regard as prudent.

The entire “weakness invites aggression” worldview is something that’d really be worth looking into at some length. Presumably the truth of these dictum explains why Canada has been subject to so many more terrorist attacks than has the United States. Or it explains why France took advantage of the ongoing political crisis in Belgium to invade and conquer the Walloon portions of that country. And, conversely, it explains why Bush’s belligerence and militarism have managed to convince North Korea and Iran to give in to our non-proliferation demands. I dunno.