WFTFW (AIBOI)

In an op-ed on energy independence, the redoubtable neocon magus Frank Gaffney Jr. introduces a new term for the decisive ideological challenge of our time:

Last week, President Bush addressed the nation to describe a "way forward" in the War for the Free World and its Battle of Iraq.

Very nice! I like it much better than "War on Terror," "Global War on Terror," or "Global Struggle Against Violent Extremism."

Not long ago, Stephen J. Hadley said, "We need to dispute both the gloomy vision and offer a positive alternative." And he's right. It's not enough to say what you're against; people want to know what you're for. That's why "Coke Adds Life" is a better slogan than "Coke Will Annihilate Pepsi and the Vermin Who Drink It."

Of course, WFTFW (AIBOI) is a bit wordy, but it's still a vast improvement over "The Struggle Against Ideological Extremists Who Do Not Believe In Free Societies Who Happen To Use Terror As A Weapon To Try To Shake The Conscience Of The Free World" (TSAIEWDNBIFSWHTUTAAWTTTSTCOTFW), which Bush test-marketed back in 2004.

The rest of Gaffney's piece isn't quite as exciting, but it's worth a look all the same:

[O]ur society and economy...are at risk of grievous disruption if either of two things happen: (1) There are disruptions in the supply of oil from overseas sources and/or (2) the price of oil products goes through the roof.

Don't laugh...it could happen!

Gaffney's prescription is basically ethanol, methanol, and hybrid cars, along with "production of advanced, high-performance lithium-ion batteries." That's in line with the recommendations of the Set America Free Coalition, which was founded by R. James Woolsey in one of those odd moments when he wasn't cashing in on the War for the Free World and its Battle of Iraq, or demanding that we bomb Syria.

Just for the record, the SAFC is a bit too captivated by biofuels and coal-to-liquids for my tastes. And I also worry that these neocon dingbats will use whatever credibility and visibility they gain by pushing for energy independence to promote things like preemptive war, EMP fearmongering, and dubious geoengineering schemes (in fact, EMP alarmist Lowell Wood is now touting himself as the man who'll save us from climate change with geoengineering).

That said, who among us does not love lithium-ion batteries?