Posted on 05/06/2011 7:16:36 AM PDT by Grumplestiltskin
Americans are rightly rejoicing over the killing of Osama bin Laden. The al Qaeda mastermind perpetrated the deadliest atrocity on U.S. soil. The Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks murdered nearly 3,000 of our own and represented the culmination of bin Laden’s war on America. For almost a decade, jihadists struck key targets - the 1993 assault on the World Trade Center, the 1996 bombing of Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, the 1998 attacks on U.S. embassies in East Africa and the 2000 strike on the USS Cole in Yemen. Bin Laden deserved to die for his crimes.
Yet, now that he is rotting in hell, the media and much of the public are avoiding this central question: Who really won - America or bin Laden? The answer is as obvious as it is painful: He did.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtontimes.com ...
My take: Osama bin Laden will become Islam's John Brown.
The World Trade Center attack in 2001 will be embraced by the Islamic world as their version of the Harper's Ferry raid -- a defining and "igniting" moment in their struggle against the infidels. And on which side of history did Mr. Brown end up?
Bin Laden may indeed be dead, but to Islam, "his truth is marching on".
Whether we like it or not.
And I don't.
Just sayin'....
So the logical conclusion is to just let anyone who slaughters Americans live and go unpunished? That’s crazy.
“Osama bin Laden won?” Might be true...if you believe in three round fights, fought in kid gloves with Marquess of Queensbury rules. Personally, I have a little more faith in the US, and (even) in Western Civilization.
Excellent, if uncomfortable, article. Well worth reading.
And I have to agree with the article in every respect. Things would have turned out much better if Bush had ruthlessly smashed AQ back in 2002 and given the special forces free reign to capture OBL at that time.
Now the genie is very much out of the bottle. And I fear that the West does not have the resolve needed to reverse this.
The problem with this is that the Islamofascist are members of the Cult called Islam. Cults have a difficult time surviving the demise of the objected of their adulation. It doesn’t matter if the “God-Man” is hands on are only a figure head, the loss can be devastating.When not if Zawahiri gets blow away, who will lead. The jerk in Yemen, hardly.
“When you buy into something that seems to explain everything, you can soon be coaxed into doing almost anything ”
—Marc Sageman
Mark Twain aka Samuel Clemons said it best: “Don’t try to teach a pig to sing...you’ll waste your time and annoy the pig.” And I might add...spin your wheels.
Bin Laden did nothing more than lubricate the wheels of destiny.
We have been on track for these events to occur for decades, what with population growth in the world being what it is, especially in the muslim world.
As far as Bin Laden achieving his goals (his *original* goals, the ones he was espousing before he realized they might not be so easy to achieve) I don't see how that can be scored any way other than thusly:
1. US out of Saudi Arabia: Fail.
2. End US support for Israel: Fail.
3. Remove US friendly regimes from the middle east: Fail.
Maybe Bin Laden didn’t achieve those goals, but Obama sure as hell has! Every one of them!
“Nonsense. Bin Laden and Al Qaeda didn’t offer a constructive vision of anything”
My reply:
What “constructive vision” did John Brown offer?
What difference did that make, regarding his ultimate impact on history?
UBL won some battles and made some attacks. UBL wanted to draw us into Afghanistan to drain our blood and treasure, he is still winning at that.
But in every other way UBL lost or is losing. jihadists lost Iraq, never toppled the House of Saud, are bystanders to the Arab Spring, and nearly all of their leadership is either dead or broke.
UBL and his Jihadists never learned the essentials of leadership of any group: You must offer a better vision of the future than your alternative.
UBL also revealed himself and his jihadists as dictators with their constant need for enemies as an organizing tool. Islamists eventually will all see that tactic as the sign of a failed strategy.
In my opinion, your comparison of OBL to John Brown makes sense.
After Hitler died, the Nazi movement (cult, if you will) fell apart. The Nazis not only lost their leader, they were thoroughly defeated on the battlefield.
It’s not the same with AQ. New leaders will emerge as long as victory seems possible.
:)
This is going to be a long epic battle. They plan to come here civilly and start Sharia. 100 years from now, our children’s children and children’s children will fighting this battle right here on our streets.
The real battle will be one with spiritual education and with the reality that the 5th Column is strong here.
If on the other hand, you're willing to move the goalposts to award Bin Laden victory, there's really not much point in discussion. Bin Laden failed in achieving his vision. In the final accounting, his efforts were counterproductive to his goals, and his primary achievement was the death and maiming of thousands of innocent civilians, the majority of whom were Muslims, the people he had purportedly set out to help.
Agreed. One problem we have is that many in the West believe that Sharia is just another harmless "diversity" idea. Those people are part of the 5th Column and they don't even know it.
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