Right here if you want it.
Personally, I’d recomment the Merkava
Posted on 11/30/2003 7:46:01 AM PST by SJackson
Oh, good gosh! What a major typographical error! I hear tell that even Mossad and Shin Bet are afraid of them!
(Gonna have to keep looking over my shoulder till this one blows over....)
Yes, well, here they might give me Rubidoux in Riv.Co. Not much of an empire, but, it will be mine. :-D
Considered by many? lol.....many Arabs, perhaps. Funny how these nutballs always believe that Jews are the ones pulling the strings, even from postions lower on the ladder of power -- Wolfowitz more influencial than this boss Rummy, Perle more than Bush himself, etc.
Oh, and interestingly, this Muslim's rant is virtually indistinguishable from the rants of many call themselves "paleos."
Right here if you want it.
Personally, I’d recomment the Merkava
Middle of the night, driving rain, lightning walking about... I had turned in for the night, but work in the towing & recovery line is when and where you find it, so I turned out, fired up the '73 Weldbilt, and headed out.
Pouring rain and high winds- could hardly see to drive- I turn down Green Swamp Road, and the first part is paved.
So far, so good... start reading house numbers- the number I had was 'way far away, and sure enough, the paved road turned to graded dirt.
About halfway down the dirt road- the number I sought was 'way down the line- my headlights started flicking. Stopped, checked fuses & breakers- all OK.
I roll on- lights still flickering, but on enough that I can sort-of see to drive.
A mile or so of this, and while still looking for a number that has yet to come up, I pull up to two kids walking in the rain....son of a gun! They were the ones who called me, so they pile in, soaked, of course.
They tell me their car is "yonder over the railroad tracks" and I get a sinking feeling that the road is going to get a lot worse- and sure enough, "yonder" the road changes from graded, county-maintained dirt to... a logging road.
Ruts a foot deep. High center. Ditches on either side flooding over the road.
Even though the wrecker has dual rear wheels and a Dana-70 locker, I am very dubious that we can get through, and naturally the car is not near, but a mile or so "yonder..."
Well, we slip & slide until we find this junky old blue Camaro nose deep in a ditch- how the Devil they got that far before getting stuck is a wonder.
I hitch a J-hook to the axle, start winching- and the wrecker starts sliding into the ditch.
This is not unheard-of, so I get out the Scotch blocks, jam the wheels, and drag her out.
I get these 2 boys unditched, remind them that my fee ( as I had on the phone ) was $20... and had a few bad moments when they went through all their pockets, the glove box, and the back seat, and managed to scrape up 20 $1 bills... just barely.
I made them go ahead, in case they got stuck again, drove back to the barn, and forever more called that particular call to Green Swamp Road "the ride to Hell and back again."
And the headlights needed new circuits run to fix that flickering problem...
Ahh, a man and his Empire! 
That being said, the man is absolutely serious. And, what's worse, his audience in the Middle East takes him seriously. Al-Ahram is the voice of Egypt and a powerful media influence across the region. Even when they're spewing this kind of nonsense...
Sobering thought: Islamic society is crazy -- stark, raving, incoherently, certifiably insane.
Yes, you are right, and knowing that I would have to say I was speaking facetiously. Even with the evident incredulous tone in the man's commentary, even on his own part, it's concerning that an article like this, coupled with his other work, is directed towards a more educated audience and not the simple of the "Arab street," who would be expected to believe something like this unquestioningly.
We wonder how Bush opponents, in country and overseas in the EU and the Middle East, can believe some of the incredible things they do, yet this is why.
I am reminded of WW II. A war between America and Japan was probably historically inevitable and unavoidable. But it lasted longer and cost far more blood and treasure, on both sides, than anybody anticipated.
The cultural gap was so immense the parties quite literally didn't understand each other. The Japanese had no military concept of "strategic retreat", for example. Thus, they thought us cowards when we retreated before their superior forces. And, once the tables were turned, they stood and foolishly fought to the last man.
The Japanese had no idea that, once they had executed a brilliant tactical victory at Pearl Harbor, we would continue to fight and not sue for peace -- leaving them alone to pursue their Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere. That we would then harness our entire industrial capacity to the war and spend four years grinding them into a fine powder -- from India to the Aleutians -- came as a total surprise.
For our part, the doctrine of "unconditional surrender" may have extended the war unnecessarily -- as it ran counter to the Oriental concept of "face".
With this perspective, Islam's enormous misperception of the United States, its goals and resolve, are quite likely to make the WOT an even more extended and painful encounter for all concerned. Any sign of weakness on our part will be misread...and only heighten and extend the war. And, clearly, we need to effect more than a "regime change" in the Middle East.
The proper term, I think, might be: Attitude Adjustment.
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