Bay of Tranquility

Published in El Mundo
(Spain) on 26 May 2010
by Salvador Sostres (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Patricia Gonzalez Darriba. Edited by Amy Wong.
In yesterday’s magnificent article for elmundo.es, Mónica Bernabé explained the perilous tasks that American soldiers perform to prevent the Taliban from sowing the roads with bombs and other mortal traps in Afghanistan. Americans are deemed imperialists so often these days, yet I don’t know if people are aware of the fact that this is their job: preventing people from being killed.

When we discuss the war in Iraq, criticize the Americans and call for George W. Bush to be tried for genocide, I don’t know if people remember that the leaders of the free world brought down a murderous tyrant and established a democracy. What the irresponsible left wing calls resistance is a group of terrorists faithful to Saddam; they are like supporters of Franco trying to destroy our democracy. I also don’t know if people who criticize the recent military actions of Israel are aware of the fact that it is the only democracy in that area. When the right to self-defense is denied to a country, so is the right to exist. Hezbollah is still a terrorist group that is obsessed with the destruction of Israel and despises democracy and freedom.

Freedom, democracy and progress haven’t been easy achievements, nor has the job of keeping them safe gotten any easier. The threats are constant. Islam is an even more serious threat than communism was, not only for Israel and America but for all of us. Every time Israel or America wins a war, they take us away from certain defeat. Every time they bring down a tyrant or work to bring peace to a certain area, the conditions of our bay of tranquility improve. We have sailed that bay for centuries, and we consider it our vested right to do so. We have forgotten the sacrifices we have made to defend and protect that bay.


En una espléndida crónica, Mónica Bernabé explicaba ayer para elmundo.es, desde Afganistán, la labor que realizan los tanques americanos para impedir que los talibán siembren de bombas y otras trampas mortales las carreteras. Cuando tantas veces, a los americanos, se les llama imperialistas, no sé si la gente sabe que ésta suele ser su actividad: la de impedir que la gente se mate.

Cuando se habla de la guerra de Iraq, y se critica, y se quiere juzgar a Bush hijo por genocida, no sé si la gente recuerda que los líderes del mundo libre derrocaron a un tirano asesino e instauraron una democracia, y que aquello a lo que la izquierda irresponsable llama resistencia son terroristas fieles a Saddam, tal como si aquí quedara algún franquista poniendo bombas contra la democracia. No sé si cuando se critican los ejercicios militares que Israel está desarrollando estos días -sin atacar a nadie- la gente sabe que es la única democracia de la zona, que cuando a un país le niegas el derecho de defenderse le niegas el derecho a existir, y que cuando se cita a Hezbolá como fuente se está citando a unos terroristas cuya obsesión sigue siendo la destrucción de Israel y que desprecian la democracia y la libertad.

La libertad, la democracia y el progreso no han sido logros fáciles ni es fácil mantenerlos a salvo. Las amenazas son constantes. El islamismo es una amenaza incluso más grave de lo que fue el comunismo. Y no sólo para Israel y América sino para todos nosotros. Cada vez que Israel o América ganan una guerra nos alejan a los demás de la derrota, y cada vez que terminan con un tirano o que trabajan para pacificar una zona mejoran las condiciones de nuestra bahía de la tranquilidad, ésa que surcamos desde hace tanto tiempo y que consideramos que es un 'derecho adquirido' y olvidamos el deber de defenderla.
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