11/11 is already a pretty somber holiday, and the explosion of violence in Baghdad is doing little to make the day cheerier. We funnymen are about as welcome today as a circus clown at a funeral service.

Because today is the day when more sober columnists get to point out that this is the anniversary of the armistice that ended the War to End All Wars. And then they say something like, “Gee, for 85 years of uninterrupted peace, there sure has been a lot of fighting going on.” But they don’t say it with quite as much sarcasm. They’re professionals, and they know how to serve up ironies without getting a laugh. Like Kafka.

Or like General Ricardo Sanchez, who offered up this deadpan gem from Iraq today: “The most important message is that we’re going to get pretty tough. That’s what’s necessary to defeat this enemy and we’re definitely not shy about doing that.” Yes, we conquered a nation, bombarded its cities, destroyed its military, took thousands of prisoners, and arrested or killed most of its leadership, but now we’re going to stop being so darned shy and get tough. We’ve been too indulgent, that’s the problem…

Our shrinking violets in the military aside though, isn’t it possible that General Sanchez and his commander in chief might be missing the point? It’s not the conclusion that’s flawed so much as the premise, which is a time-honored method of concealing shaky reasoning.

The premise I’m talking about is this oft-repeated Bushian standby, which he polished up for today’s festivities: “In Iraq, the terrorists have chosen to make a stand and to test our resolve.” See, the terrorists think we’re yeller! Why, they think if they keep on poking at us, we’ll just pack it up and skip town ‘cuz the kitchen’s too hot and we closed the barn door after the straw broke the camel’s back as it was tryin’ to squeeze through the eye of that needle in the haystack……….

…See, if you say it enough you can stop thinking about if it’s true or even what it means. But it does mean something, and it may just be wrong.

You have to think like a higher-up at your local Fanatical Islamist Terrorist Recruitment Center. As long as there are Americans flying over Iraq and occupying the land and displaying overwhelming force and whatnot, it seems to me that recruiting al Qaeda terrorists is a much easier job. As soon as we Yanks leave, whether because we’ve installed a stable government or just given up, the whole recruiting thing becomes a bit more of a challenge. You’d get young men saying things like, “Sure, I hate Israel, sure, I think Sharia Law would be a neat way to govern, but I’ve got stuff I gotta get to…” So to the very fanatics we’re trying to fight, the American occupational force might look a lot like the grit that will form the Islamist pearl inside the oyster of the Middle East. Hell, it worked with the Soviets in Afghanistan.

Overwrought oceanic metaphors aside, the point remains - our worst enemies in Iraq might not want us to leave. They might want us to “get tough.”

Just a thought. I’m not suggesting a conclusion, just mentioning that we might come to one by taking a closer look at some of our premises. Something to think about while we’re manufacturing a whole new crop of veterans who’ll someday have to limp through the 100th anniversary Armistice Day parade.