Posted on 10/02/2001 9:47:56 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
TownHall.com: Conservative Columnists: Cal Thomas
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Cal Thomas (back to story)
October 3, 2001
Will they fool us twice?
You know the old saying, "Fool me once, shame on you; fool me twice, shame on me." How does that apply in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 act of war against our country?
The attack was successful primarily because Americans did not take seriously the words and actions of religious fanatics: much written in the Arab press, sermons by radical Islamic clerics, published interpretations of the Koran and Islamic law, various terrorist acts, including the assault on the U.S.S. Cole and the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center. In all of these, the fanatics didn't just telegraph what was coming; they shouted their intentions.
Too many Westerners thought they weren't serious. Too many appear not to believe them still. President Bush is among many voices claiming Islam is a "religion of peace." Sen. John McCain, R-AZ, told Fox News that the Koran "is a book that teaches many of the same principles as Christianity." Maybe so, but it isn't those principles that caused thousands to die on Sept. 11. It was the other ones taught by fanatical clergy and believed by brainwashed young men. These principles we must understand and oppose.
Historian Paul Johnson worries that "creeping appeasement" will weaken our national resolve and make us vulnerable to future such attacks. "One central reason why appeasement is so tempting to Western governments is that attacking terrorism at its roots necessarily involves conflict with the second-largest religious community in the world," Johnson writes in the Oct. 15 (cq) National Review. The word "Islam," he notes, does not mean "peace" but "submission." Johnson calls Islam "an imperialist religion, more so than Christianity has ever been, and in contrast to Judaism."
Reading selected verses from the Koran in the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks is instructive. Sura 5, verse 85 prophesies an inevitable conflict between Muslims and non-Muslims: "Strongest among men in enmity to the Believers wilt thou find the Jews and Pagans." Sura 9, verse 5 adds, "Then fight and slay the pagans wherever you find them. And seize them, beleaguer them and lie in wait for them, in every strategem (of war)." The Koran insists that no matter how mighty a nation is, it must be fought "until they embrace Islam."
Just as earlier generations were forced to familiarize themselves with the ideas that produced communism, Marxism and other political philosophies whose adherents sought to enslave vast numbers of people, non-Muslim Americans would do well to read what motivates terrorists who claim to act in the name of Islam.
While some Muslims appear on television saying suicide is against the teachings of the Koran, others are motivating young men to conduct suicide missions using a different message. Sheikh Yussuf al-Qaradawi, a leading Sunni religious authority and spiritual leader of the Muslim Brotherhood, is among the clerics who teach that martyrdom operations are permitted under Islamic law in some circumstances. Appearing on a television program in Qatar Sept. 16, he warned that Islamic law prohibits any Moslem nation from entering into any alliance or agreement with a non-Moslem nation.
The secular West does not understand the Bible, much less radical Islam, which is increasingly embraced with America's detriment in mind. While secular and moderate Muslims do not appear threatening, the growing number of extremists who take the Koran as a declaration of war against all non-Muslims has become a clear and present danger, not only oversees, but increasingly in our own country.
Fundamentalist Muslims believe the Koran teaches them not to befriend Jews and Christians. Surat Al-Maidah 5:51says, "O ye who believe (Muslims), take not the Jews or the Christians for your friends and protectors. They are but friends and protectors to each other. And he among you who turns to them (for friendship) is of them."
Fundamentalist Muslims also believe the Koran commands them to fight Jews and Christians: "Fight against those who believe not in Allah, nor in the Last Day, nor forbid that which has been forbidden by Allah and His Messenger (Muhammad) and those who acknowledge not the religion of truth (Islam) among the people of the Scripture (Jews and Christians) until they pay the Jizyah (a special high tax to be paid only by Jews and Christians who do not renounce their faith and convert to Islam) with willing submission, and feel themselves subdued." -- Surat At-Taubah 9:29.
Does this sound like something Americans should not fear? If our leaders and too many of the rest of us believe so, terrorists could well fool us twice.
©2001 Tribune Media Services
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There is no God but God, and Jesus Christ is God's only-begotten Son.
One of the problems that comes from taking time is that it allows smarty pants college kids the time to get together and play "Protester!" (always a favorite liberal media news game show).
| We ARE looking pretty pathetic after a few terrorist murder on OUR soil the most casualties ever, & we have YET to do NADA!!
People want the President of the United States to defend them. He said he would. They put their confidence in him, and they gave him a political mandate to do whatever it took to keep this from happening again. If he's still making threats and doing nothing when the next attack comes, he might as well resign on the spot. He will never regain the people's trust. |
All the time this is going on, Iran and Russia are building up the artillary and arms of the Northern Alliance, while we stand by for bigger fish to fry. I don't really know what to think, this scenario seems plausable, but that is the rub, we just don't know what's going on.
We didn't have the military necessary to fight Germany, Japan and Italy at the start of the war either. World Wars take a while to get going. Put your investment capital in military hardware companys cause there's gonna be a lot of action. The so called extremists are soon to be the majority in the Middle East and they already weild an inordinate level of power and influence. Don't worry too much about the fifth column, they make a lot of money during modern military confrontations and this one is going to be big. Very big.
causes the rest of the Islamic world, including a huge fifth column, to rise up against us in unison
Do you seriously doubt that this is going to happen sooner or later anyway, no matter what we do?
Like it or not, we do not have the military capacity to conquer the entire Middle East and squash our fifth column simultaneously.
That is not an argument for waiting until they have manufactured several hundred nuclear weapons and have perfected their biological weapons capability. It is an argument for not attempting to conquer the Middle East. We don't want to conquer the Middle East anyway. "Conquering" is not on the list of our objectives. We don't even want the damned place. But Arm'ageddon tired of hearing that things will only get worse unless we learn to tolerate the occasional murder of several thousand of our citizens. What beautiful noises do you intend to make if they next spray nerve gas in three cities simultaneously and kill two million people? How many cheeks are we supposed to turn before we do something that won't make them mad because it will make them dead?
Who said we are waiting? Bring forth either proof, or else retraction, of that outrageous calumny. The moment we discover the existence of a bio or chem plant, it will be bye-bye for that plant. Heard what Bush said about "smoking them out"? Our satellites can see ground maneuvers just fine.
I don't dispute that he's making threats and talking tough. I'm just saying that he's setting people's expectations by doing that, and if the terrorists attack again before he actually does anything, all that tough talk will sound like it was so much hot air. My opinion is that he is running a very serious risk of losing the people's confidence in his leadership, by listening to all the people who think we should be 'reasonable' about these 7,000 murders. I don't think people want to be reasonable about this. I think they want it stopped. And they want it stopped before it happens again. Woe unto Bush if he's still waiting for Colin Powell to produce another coalition partner when the Sears Tower goes down.
And if it happens, people like you will be at the forefront of the vanguard to tear that confidence down.
No, if there is a second attack national fervor will quadruple, but it won't be "down with Bush."
| No need to hurry. Given the talk about bin Laden "gaming the next two or three moves", you have to at least suspect that the next bin Laden atrocity has been pre-timed to respond to our response. We might as well finger all the sleepers we can, defend all the potential targets we can, and line up all the allies we can. Then, as Drudge says, "Push the damn button" -- and let it be a big button. |
For all I know, they are going to turn the place into a parking lot tonight. But to say that 'so far we are waiting' is hardly an outrageous calumny requiring proof; it is a fact that we can all see. I just hope we're not still seeing it when another massacre of American citizens takes place. I don't think that will go down too well.
Take some Thorazine to get off your LSD omniscience trip. Bush: "...missions, secret even in their success ..."
Sounds like just what the doctor ordered for Afghanistan...
Nonsense. That's the last thing I want to see happen. That's why I'm concerned that Bush is putting himself in a spot where he will appear to have done nothing should the terrorists attack again. You think that will double America's resolve. I agree it will double our resolve to do something, but the guy who didn't do anything won't be one of the beneficiaries of that.
you fool [etc.]
Lose the argumentum ad hominem. If you have no counter-argument, then pass.
Well why don't you just pre-dispose everybody you can to go that route if that should happen. With friends like that who needs enemies.
The timetable is ours. Not theirs. The moment the Taliban starts nodding off... mark my words... WHAM
Oh, sh1t. That one made the hairs on my neck stand up. I can go you one scarrier though. Add this to your sentence above after 'partner'... "and while setting up a Palistinian State ...
Wonder why I doubt the sanity behind your current set of posts? This is one reason. Anything that gets near the Sears Tower will get shot down from the naval yard on Lake Michigan.
True words.
My personal belief is that there are currently two sets of plans being drawn up. There's the one we're following now, the relatively dovish Powell vision of coalition-building and limited strikes and all that, and a second, far more hawkish set of plans that Bush will invoke if any other major terrorist act occurs on American soil. And I'll bet all the US envoys currently overseas are making damn sure that every leader over there knows it.
A similar thing was done during the Gulf War, when we made it clear through back channels that any use of biological or chemical warfare on Saddam's part would lead to at least equivalent attacks on Baghdad, if not a nuclear strike. And Saddam got the message.
That is true. And I don't doubt that he intends to do what he said he would do: get bin Laden dead or alive. I'm just saying that there's a wild card in this deck that he can't control, and that has to do with with when the terrorists make their next move. I don't think people want to see another 10,000 dead before our military tries to take the terrorist leadership out.
But somehow I don't think the Pallies will take such a deal anyhow. They want a piece of Jerusalem, which will never be granted.
On another point, what are we telegraphing to the world by declaring at this juncture that Arafat needs a state? The embrace of a terrorist such as Arafat during a declared War on Terrorism is beyond belief.
They hit the Pentagon, fer crissakes. I understand your zeal here, but don't try to sell the idea that every tall building in the United States is now so well protected that nothing can hit it. That way lies hubris, and with it another downed building. We can be careful, and we can be on the lookout, but if suicide bombers want to hit something badly enough, they will be tough to stop.
I think the right way to stop them is to have them called off by their superiors, and the way to do that is to make it real clear to their superiors that entire countries will disappear if this happens again. It would be nice if we could do that by explaining it to them in words. Let's hope that works.
I agree, that's the only way it will stop.
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I agree. I think Bush has allowed the voices of restraint and coalition-building to position him for a huge fall. If he is still walking softly and talking a big stick when the terrorists strike again, all the confidence and goodwill that came his way after the attack of September 11 will turn 180 degrees, and come after him so viciously that he won't even know what him.