America seems to be at war with Fascist Cults. Or, more accurately, Fascist Cults seem to be at war with America, with America not inclined to notice. The more Fascist and Cult-like the organization, the more hostile it is to America. The reason I use the word “organization” is because sometimes these organizations control nations, and sometimes they do not. And, of course, these organizations do not have to be foreign.

The Fascist Cult views each member as a part of an organic whole. Conflict with “The Other” helps keep the whole, whole. As does a Sacred, often apocalyptic, mission. Terrorism can acquire a religious significance. This organic whole is personified in the person of the leader, living or dead. If dead, the effective perpetuation of the Cult seems to require the successor to be either a spiritual or family descendant of the founder (Iran is an example of the former, Syria of the latter, and North Korea of both).

The United States — as the most prominent example of a nation with individual rights and consensual changes in leadership — is a natural magnet for hostility. A leader of a Fascist Cult who successfully “stands up” to the US brings the Cult prestige (Castro, Kim, Khomeini). This is why retreat or “giving in” increases the danger. Deals, when made, are soon broken. Tension with the US is an existential need.

The more fanatical — and therefore incompatible — the Fascist Cults, the easier they can submerge their differences to cooperate against the US (Iran and Korea are current examples or, earlier, Nazi Germany and Imperial Japan).

An example of a weakly organized and centered Fascist Cult is the Obama Democratic Party and the Obama News Media. Obamacrats and newsies do not think Mr. Obama lies to them; they think he lies for them. They are loyal, not to the America that is, but to “The America, washed clean, to Come.” Of course every New America is different, hence a lack of specificity. They are not just herding cats, they are herding Schrödinger’s cats(*). Mr. Obama is, for them, the anthropomorphic personification of that unspecified “New America” and a living policy fudge. In their eyes, Obama gains prestige when he stands up to “the Old America,” rather than standing up to Foreign Fascists (who need to stand up to him).

Fortunately, as the episode with Ted Rall shows, the Obamacrats are currently held together by a “weak force” and are not exactly signing on for political suicide missions, let alone the other kind. Fascist Cults cannot long abide dissent, however, so they either dissolve into numerous cells or become ever more authoritarian.

If the Obama Democrats were a “1″ on the ten point Fascist scale while out of power, I would give them a “2″ thus far, having acquired it. Kim’s North Korea would be a nine. Iran? A seven. Hamas, a six.

Saddam staying in power was fast becoming a defeat for the US on the Iraq front of The Fascist Terror Cult War. Simply by surviving one war with the US, and defying the US for years afterwards, Saddam was winning: gaining prestige and even allies. US defeat on that front would have been complete with a Saddam “break out” from sanctions and eventual acquisition of WMD. That defeat — and it would have been major — was avoided by the Iraq war.

Personally, I was skeptical of turning of Iraq into a model society because, in truth, I did not see the American People as having the patience to do it. Predictably, every suicide bomb was greeted as evidence of defeat. However, Iraqis have been holding a lot of elections so perhaps the idea of consensual government is taking hold. If it does, that will be a major victory for America in our War with Fascist Cults. Assuming, that is, we don’t lose it at home. hdgreene: