the necessary enemy of the moment

* billmon:

" The war on Al Qaeda wasn't sweeping enough, so it had to become the clash of civilizations between the West and Islam. Iraq was a great emotional ride while it lasted (i.e. back in the days of mission accomplished) but now that it's degenerated into the dry heat version of Vietnam, it's no help at all -- not just because America is losing, not just because the war is unpopular, but because it's no longer dramatic enough to justify the kind of emotional mobilization that feeds the totalitarian impulse.

So the brown invaders crossing "our" border and daring to demonstrate in "our" streets have become the new Islamofascists -- the necessary enemy of the moment."