Replies

If we didn't have Muslim allies, the Taliban would probably still control Kabul.

Jim Pavitt, CIA Deputy Director for Operations, Address to Duke University Law School Conference April 11, 2002:

Our war is not against Islam. . .The war in which our country finds itself now, a war which we did not seek but one we are determined to win, is not a war against a people or a war against a faith. It is a war against a terrible distortion of human and religious values. It's not merely a war to defend our way of life, it's a war to defend life itself. To be sure, despair and disappointment are the raw materials of terror, but it's building blocks are ignorance and intolerance. And it is those evils which are fostered by extremists who have nothing to do with genuine piety that produce the fanatical terrorists which can perpetrate the kind of action we saw on the 11th.
As President Bush has said, this will be a long and difficult war. Some of the battles are very visible, others are not. But most are waged by a coalition of nations—Muslim and non-Muslim alike, for we all face a common threat, and all share a deep, deep revulsion for the teachings and tactics of terrorism. Alongside with military and diplomatic coalitions, there's something I think very important and that is a global coalition of intelligence services. From around the world, from our allies and our partners, we receive and we share information. We plan operations together and together in many instances we take terrorists off the streets. . .
http://www.cia.gov/cia/public_affairs/speeches/pavitt_04262002.html

Yes, gratuitously expanding our list of enemies to the extent we can avoid it does not serve US objectives. US objectives should not be deflected by Muslim sensibilities, but Muslim sensibilites to the extent not inconsistent should not be handled in such a way as to in and of themselves deflect US objectives. Granted it is not a carthartic exercise for those seeking cartharsis, but it is a necessary exercise for those seeking the to maximize the odds of this most satisfactory long term results.

But most are waged by a coalition of nations—Muslim and non-Muslim alike, for we all face a common threat, and all share a deep, deep revulsion for the teachings and tactics of terrorism.

But is this true ? What we have heard from most of these Muslim nations is that suicide bombing is justified.

This speech is a continuation of the politically correct mantra which the beltway overlords keep pushing, believing that if they say it often enough, the American public will accept it over our common sense, over what our eyes and ears see and hear.

Sorry, I'm not buying.