How To Trick A Liberal

Ask:

Would you agree that the current state of support for terrorism in the world is due to George Bush's policies and his invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan?

After they answer "Yes" -- which of course they will -- read them this:

Support for Osama bin Laden and suicide bombings have fallen sharply in much of the Muslim world, according to a multicountry poll released on Thursday. The survey by the Pew Research Center examined public opinion in six predominantly Muslim nations: Morocco, Pakistan, Turkey, Indonesia, Jordan and Lebanon. It also examined views in nine North American and European countries as well as in India and China. In all, more than 17,000 people were questioned either by telephone of face-to-face.

"There's declining support for terrorism in the Muslim countries and support for Osama bin Laden is declining. There's also less support for suicide bombings," said Pew Center director Andrew Kohut.

"This is good news, but still there are substantial numbers who support bin Laden in some of these countries," he told a news conference.

In Morocco, 26 percent of the public now say they have a lot or some confidence in bin Laden, down from 49 percent in a similar poll two years ago.

In Lebanon, where both Muslims and Christians took part in the survey, only 2 percent expressed some confidence in the Saudi-born al Qaeda leader, down from 14 percent in 2003.

In Turkey, bin Laden's support has fallen to 7 percent from 15 percent in the past two years. In Indonesia, it has dropped to 35 percent from 58 percent.

...

A similar picture emerged when respondents were asked whether suicide bombings were justifiable. In Morocco, 13 percent said they often or sometimes could be justified, down from 40 percent in 2004.

In Indonesia, 15 percent expressed that view, down from 27 percent in the summer of 2002. Support for suicide bombings also fell in Pakistan and dropped dramatically in Lebanon.

And then watch them splutter.

Bush's fault? Fair enough, sir.

Add insult to injury by mentioning this quote from a world-renown expert on gaining or losing support from masses of people:

When people see a strong horse and a weak horse, by nature, they will like the strong horse. -- Osama bin Ladin

PS: It spoils the fun a bit, but in the interests of accuracy, it should be noted that support for sucide bombings increased in Jordan (and only Jordan among the surveyed nations), rising from 43 to 57%.

And in both Jordan and Pakistan support for bin Ladin increased:

However, in Jordan, confidence in bin Laden, who took responsibility for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States and many other attacks, rose to 60 percent from 55 percent. In Pakistan, it went to 51 percent from 45 percent.

That's margin-of-error type stuff, though.

Liberal baiting aside... have Muslims finally begun recoiling from the horrors that many have been supporting? One can only hope.