[Valin]

Bump for the morning

[LucyT]

^

[quidnunc]

Bookmark for AM

[Cacique]

I posted this on another thread and it bears repeating here;

Most Germans where not "nazis" yet they fought to the death against all enemies of their nation in order to defend their tyrant. I am afraid the arabs (muslims) will only change when they finally, like the germans, sit among the rubble of their destroyed and bombed cities and realize they are following a failed way of life, religion and culture. Until we realize that, we will not win the war against Islam. And, it is a war against Islam, the current terror phase is merely a small part of it.

The only way one defeats a crappy idea is with a demonstration of the crappiness of that failed idea. People in communist countries abandoned that failed system when it finally dawned on them that it was keeping them back from the fruits of modernity and liberty. The muslims must be shown that their desire to spread islam to the rest of the world will only bring them nothing but death and deestruction to their lands and their men, women and children.

[konaice]

When dealing with Arabs:
Present yourself as the warrior who has come to purge their country of the radical Islamists who threaten our nation. Give firm ultimatums and incentives for their cooperation. Then you are more likely to get the cooperation that you need.

Sheeze he took a long time to get around to saying that.

There is a whole lot less substance to this article than it pretends.

[Eagles6]

bttt

[Ninian Dryhope]

"We are out to destroy our enemies."

I like it. You the KISS method. Keep it simple, stupid.

[kublia khan]

"They explain that most Arabs and Muslims view the ongoing conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan as clashes of civilizations, but that we should characterize the current struggles as clashes of systems, to make our efforts more palatable to the civilians on the battlefield."
We have been characterizing our efforts as a clash of systems unfortunately the only people we have deluded is ourselves.
This article is another exercise in hair splitting "Radical Islamist"? When I read their sacred text it calls for all Muslims to act in ways I would call radical. Kill the infidels, if they convert never fully trust them; call me old fashioned but ideas like these especially when they are recorded in "The religion of peace"'s Holy book come across as just a little on the radical side.

[Dustbunny]

Bump for later reading.

[ClearAndPresent]

I fail to see why we should drag this conflict down to their level. We are America, an educated, civilized nation. We should be above this kind of naive idiological jihadism. Why can't we just see this situation for what it is? We have a group of people who are a security threat and we have to protect ourselves and others from this threat. Its the same thing as the police in our country. They don't pretend there's some apocalyptic conflict that they are involved in. They are just doing their job -- arresting those who break the law so society can function. That's all we're doing on a global scale. We do not have to buy into the childish Islamic thought process that this is a battle to defeat "infidels". If we ever want this conflict to end, we need to show the Islamic people that this is not about emotions on our part, but about natural consequences. If you are a threat, you will be taken care of. We don't hate these people, nor are we fighting some kind of radical holy war. We are simply making the world safe by eliminating those who would violate the rights of others. To claim otherwise is to validate everything the enemy preaches.

[taxesareforever]

Please tell me what the difference is between radical Islam and Islam. They both use the same koran which says to kill the infidels. What part of this do people not understand?

[Dark Skies]

Our military is in Iraq and Afghanistan to painstakingly root out and destroy adherents of radical Islam; to kill or capture terrorists and those who assist them; to fundamentally change the Middle East so that it no longer breeds, harbors, or encourages radical Islamist ideologues who base their lives on the death and destruction that they can bring upon others.

Very interesting article. But it ever so slightly glosses over the main point.

"Our world" has been produced by its Judeo/Christian underpinnings. That is why we are altruistic (and why secular Europe is so much less so), that is why we are free and wealthy and educated. The West has problems but that is because mankind is not perfect no matter what the spiritual foundation.

The Islamic world on the other hand has known brutality and tyranny and poverty and pain and injustice because that, in the modern world, is what Islam produces. If Islam could have produced a benign culture wherein its citizens have a moderately fair and fulfilling existence, it would have done so by now. It does not, because it cannot.

Now for the West to think we can package our ways (which clearly are at odds with Islam and Sharia) and sell them to moderate (read apostate) Muslims around the world, we are overlooking the fact that these people may be moderate muslims but they are still muslims. They still have that natural hunger for God, yet when they seek Him, all they have is a road map to Allah (who is clearly not the Judeo/Christian God). Even if the West rids the muslim world of every single fanatic (which of course isn't really possible, IMO), as long as the Quran exists, new ones will be born, converted or attracted from the moderate population.

Bottom line...I think we might have been off the mark to approach this problem ONLY as a military/cultural problem. It is ultimately a religious problem. Islam and Allah want to kill or convert all non-muslims. We cannot force muslims to become secular anymore than we can force them to remain moderate.

Of course, I could be incorrect about this, but I think that as long as Islam lives, it will threaten the non-muslim world. Somehow it (Islam) must be confronted. It is the problem.

[righteousindignation]

Intelligent and Inspirational and I am so grateful to you for your post!

[paulcissa]

Fair & Balanced. Pretty good morning read.

[Carry_Okie]

A clear and rational presentation with a fundamental flaw.

It is about time that we drop the altruism and idealism, and seize upon our role as the most powerful and dominant military force on this planet.

While this may be the most effective way to present ourselves to our enemies, it undermines the fabric of motivation within our troops. It may be a tactically effective presentation, but it is strategically foolish to allow the mindset of our enemies to determine how to conform our own ideals. The blowback within our own nation would only enable more disasters like Waco.

[GSlob]

Huntington was absolutely right.
"whereas in the latter [clash of the systems] we can be either the enemy or the ally and benefactor..."
The notion of "benefactor" and its corollary "gratitude" have different meanings across different CIVILIZATIONS, not "systems". I do not remember anybody accusing Arabic/Islamic civilization of gratitude. Indeed, civilizations ARE the systems - the largest and most stable of them.

[prairiebreeze]

BUMP for later read

[truth_seeker]

later for me