Posted on 05/19/2005 5:45:47 AM PDT by SJackson
I'm sorry, I just respectfully disagree.
We know the enemy outside. We'd better get to know the enemy within if we have any hope of winning this war.
Maybe I just don't think all Muslims are represented by the fanatics that rioted - maybe I'm naive, but I guess if I am, then so are all the others in our government and military who are working with the Iraqis and other Muslims to bring democracy to the Middle East and to bring a people out of the dark ages.
If we believe all Muslims are like the ones who rioted, then why are we in Iraq? Isn't it a lost cause from the get go if we think all Muslims are fanatics? And how many Iraqis rioted? The Bush administration is trying to show respect for the Muslim faith NOT for the benefit of the fanatics, but for the benefit of the ones who are not lost to fanaticism - ones we are working with. We are trying to win the respect and hearts and minds of the ones who are not lost to fanaticism.
We are in Iraq because there is a belief in the Bush administration that the more moderate Muslims can be brought, through democracy and freedom, at least out of the dark ages and into a civilized society where the more extreme and fanatic aspects of the Muslim religion are diminished. Rumsfield said yesterday that the more moderate elements of the Muslim faith are growing - I hope he's right. Bush has always felt that the God-given yearning of the human spirit to be free will prevail in the human heart , and that through freedom and democracy, more of the fanaticism will die out. Will this work? Who knows in the end. But if it does, it can transform the Middle East.
I still remember the Iraqi elections - the young woman with a veil over her face, a tear in her eye and proudly holding up an ink-stained finger. I remember the old man who had to be carried to the polls to cast his first vote. I remember the young woman at the inauguration embracing the mother of the young deceased soldier.
Bringing a people from the dark ages into the 21st century is a monumental task - one step forward, two steps back. Bush and our military have worked so hard to win over the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, and it appears to me, have had success. It's a slow arduous process, but if the majority of Muslims can be brought out of the dark ages into some semblance of democracy and a civilized existence, the we are all the better for it. And when a major news publication totally undercuts these efforts, I am sorry, it is a very big deal and bigger to me than any fanatics rioting. The damage done is incalculable - if in the end winning this war depends on winning hearts and minds, then this Newsweak article was devastating to our efforts.
Most importantly, we are dealing with Islam. We are in an ideological and cultural war with Islam. This doesn't need to be a hot war, although it can easily become one. While there are moderate Muslims, they are so only because they are not very devout. When Muslims become more consciously devout, they become more dangerous. It is very distressing to see that no one in politics, other than the far right parties in Europe, want to admit that the problem is Islam.
The only solution, as far as I can tell, is to have better security all around, better intelligence, special military forces, policing, and immigration reform and deportations (en masse if need be). Then add time and hope that as one generation replaces the next, there will be more openness to the West, as we are seeing among the Iranian population. The worst thing we could do would be to attack Iran.
There's no easy solution that is emotionally satisfying. It will take a lot of patience. The only military solution that could possibly work is to just nuke Mecca and Medina. Otherwise we're just going through the motions in places like Iraq.
In the short term, I'm a pessimist. Things are going to get a lot worse. In the long run, I'm an optimist as I think Islam, despite its bluster, is a religion in serious decline and will probably not even exist in 100 years.
"MSM, they are DNC operatives"
I agree. The real story for us domestically is not the Newsweek story. It is the lockstep MSM Monday-morning quarterbacking on the day after supporting and furthering the idea, coast to coast. They have now in essence admitted their collusion in their anti-Americanism voice that is willing to put our troops at even higher risk.
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