Date Archives → September 2006

How to defeat the Islamist way of war

From “NO WIN – The Boston Globe”

If the “global war on terror” is unwinnable as currenty conceived, what is to be done? For the United States, here’s a five-point alternative strategy.

First, terminate actions that are self-evidently counterproductive, above all by extricating ourselves in an orderly way from Iraq.

Second, revive in modified form the Cold War principles of containment and deterrence, incorporating explicit security guarantees for Israel, much as the United States has long guaranteed the security of Europe, Japan, and South Korea.

Third, initiate a new Manhattan Project to develop alternative sources of energy, thereby increasing US freedom of action and reducing the flow of wealth to the Persian Gulf, wealth that ends up subsidizing the Islamist cause.

Fourth, through police action, in collaboration with our allies, redouble efforts to dismantle the organizations comprising the radical Islamist network.

Fifth, patiently nurture liberalizing tendencies within the Islamic world, not by preaching or threats of regime change, but by demonstrating at home and inviting Muslims abroad to witness, the manifest advantages of freedom and democracy.

Qaeda-led group vows "jihad" over Pope's speech

 One has to marvel at the irony of Muslims rioting and raging over the Pope’s intimation that Islam is a violent religion that forces conversion through violence:

An Iraqi militant group led by al Qaeda vowed a war against the “worshippers of the cross” in response to a recent speech by Pope Benedict on Islam that sparked anger across the Muslim world.

“We tell the worshipper of the cross (the Pope) that you and the West will be defeated, as is the case in Iraq, Afghanistan, Chechnya,” said an Internet statement by the Mujahideen Shura Council, an umbrella group led by Iraq’s branch of al Qaeda.

“We shall break the cross and spill the wine. … God will (help) Muslims to conquer Rome. … God enable us to slit their throats, and make their money and descendants the bounty of the mujahideen,” said the statement.

…Another militant group in Iraq, Ansar al-Sunnah, also vowed to fight Christians in retaliation.

“You will only see our swords until you go back to God’s true faith Islam,” it said in a separate Internet statement.   [Source: Qaeda-led group vows “jihad” over Pope’s speech ]

This is almost too ironic to be true. Could this be a CIA ruse? 

Blair tells Haaretz: Folly to ignore Iran's threats to Israel

 Superb Interview reproduced at length but not entirely:

Western leaders are increasingly aware of the global nature of the struggle against Islamic extremism led by Iran, but within Western public opinion “there is a big battle to be won.” This somber assessment was offered here Sunday by British Prime Minister Tony Blair, in an interview with Haaretz. The British leader, who just recently announced his intention to step down within a year, acknowledged that his own domestic political difficulties were closely tied with this “ideological battle” for British and Western hearts and minds. After a day of prodding Israeli and Palestinian leaders to get back on the negotiating track, the prime minister treated his interviewers to some flashes of the old Blair magic, interspersed with philosophical, almost wistful reflections on the vicissitudes of international affairs and political fortunes. 

Olmert has forgone the West Bank disengagement


The important thing is to try and get a negotiated agreement because that in the end is the only way forward. Now, in Israel people will be very skeptical, not to say cynical as to whether it is possible at all. There is one major strategic question that has changed in the whole of the international community. People everywhere now see this global movement of extremism, they see Iran putting itself at the head of it, and there is a huge strategic interest that includes America, Europe, Israel and any Arab and Muslim countries that want a modern future – there is a huge strategic interest in making sure that that extremism doesn’t succeed.

Did the Lebanon war sharpen this consciousness?


Yes, I think it did, and though obviously, for obvious reasons because many innocent people died – many innocent Israelis, many innocent Lebanese – and the destruction of so much in Lebanon is terrible, of course. And so while the conflict was going on, it was very difficult for people to think in terms of anything other than stopping the conflict. But I think that there emerged from that a clearer notion of how this came about and how Iran and to an extent Syria are pulling the strings and ensuring that there is such conflict. And so I think there has been that greater clarity.

… greater clarity in your mind. But what makes you think in the minds of other European leaders?


Because I think amongst the leaders in Europe I think it is clear. Amongst the people in Europe and Western opinion there is a big battle to be won. I mean, I’m being just honest about this. And I think there is a desire not to face the fact that we are fighting a global struggle. There are all sorts of issues to do with America and whether people want to be associated with America. And I think there is sometimes a naivete about organizations like Hezbollah and the activities of Iran. I’m just being frank. I think there is a battle, and it is important that we take our case out and win that battle.
And one part of winning the battle is making the case as to why Israel is entitled to its security and why it’s important to revitalize the Palestinian process.

How can Israel fend off the erosion of its legitimacy, the proposed indictments of Israeli officers… academic boycott in Europe and in UK in particular?

The two things are: To give people a real sense of strategic clarity about the threat that we face, and secondly to be the people who are striving to revive the Palestinian process. We may not succeed, but we should always strive.

With the recent arrests of suspected terrorists in the UK. These are people who grew up in the UK, in the welfare state, with no experience of any form of oppression or occupation. Did you ask yourselves what went wrong, what you did wrong?

Well, they become like that. It’s not necessarily what have we done wrong, because part of the problem of what you have in Western opinion is that Western opinion always wants to believe that it’s our fault and these people want to have a sort of, you know, grievance culture that they visit upon us and say it’s our fault. And so we have a young British- born man of Pakistani origin sitting in front of a television screen saying I will go and kill innocent people because of the oppression of Muslims, when he has been brought up in a country that has given him complete religious freedom and full democratic rights and actually a very good job and standard of living. Now, that warped mind has grown out of a global movement based on a perversion of Islam which we have to confront, and we have to confront it globally.

And as I said recently in my L.A. speech, the first way to win a battle is to realize you’re in a battle. That’s part of the trouble: We don’t yet really understand this is a global movement and it requires a global strategy to beat it.
One other point – you can’t beat it simply by security or military means. This is an ideological battle. It’s got to be taken out to the enemy. And that’s why I say it’s important for us always to be the ones who have got a political strategy running alongside the military strategy. We should never, ever, whatever the technical difficulties, let the political strategy fall away.

We in our paper see your political difficulties and the battle of ideology as very closely linked. We have witnessed with a certain amount of sorrow your inability to inculcate this awareness in your own public opinion and among Western European opinion.

Yeah, but you know in the end sometimes it takes people a long time to wake up. And sometimes these struggles go over a whole generation, almost. It’s less important what my position is – but as you say rightly, I expect it indicates that we’ve got a big job to do.

But I think that underneath opinion is changing. On the surface I agree at the moment, no, it isn’t. But underneath people are beginning to see it change. Now my own view is that if we were able to revive the Palestinian process that would be a huge part of persuading opinion that the one issue where even quite moderate Muslims just feel frustration and anger – that we were dealing with it now.
…I know from the Israeli point of view how frustrating it is to be told, you know, this is an issue that in the interest of the world has got to be solved… and you worry in Israel that maybe our interests get sacrificed in the course of finding a solution. I hope that I’ve done enough to prove that I will never sacrifice the security of Israel in that way. But I do genuinely believe that our job has got to be to build that alliance of moderation and empower the moderate Muslims and Arab voices.

…Regarding Iran, do you agree with the comparisons to the 1930s that we often read about?

When you have the President of a country as powerful as Iran say those things, it may be very foolish of us to assume he doesn’t mean them. And when he’s also trying to acquire a nuclear weapon, then I think the warning signs are pretty clear… I think for a president of a country to say they want to wipe another country off the face of the earth and at the same time he’s trying to acquire a nuclear weapons capability – if we don’t get worried about that, future historians will raise a few questions about us and about our judgment.

Source: Blair tells Haaretz: Folly to ignore Iran’s threats to Israel – Haaretz – Israel News

Muslim anger at…who cares?

Yet again “Muslims” are up in arms about a perceived slight, this time from none other than the Pope.

Of course the mad Mullahs are rousing up the mobs, committing hate crimes against churches and yet again trying to attack anyone who comments on Islam is any way that is less than positive.

Salman Rushdie, the Time magazine cover, the cartoons controversy, now the Pope!

Free speech is under vicious attack. The frightening thing is that the Islamists and their Western leftist fellow travellers are attacking the strongest points – the press, the pope, super power governments.

Sod them.

Islamists are violent, brutal and murderous slaughterers of the innocent. Every day the most hideous libels, insults and threats pour forth from the Arab media and its “street” – orders of magnitude worse than anything ever to have been said about Islam by any Western leader or representatives.

When the “Muslims” the BBC is referring to show some good faith – as we repeatedly do when faced with murderous violence from Islamists acting in their name – I will have some sympathy for their sensitivities.

When they come out in utter rage at those from their communities who slaughter us, then I might give a damn about their hurt feelings.

Whilst your sticks, stones and bombs are shattering my bones, how can I give a damn about my words that “hurt” you?

BBC NEWS | Europe | Fresh criticism of Pope’s remarks