[RLK]

The evil part of Islam is manifestly NOT a religion of peace. The evil ones are seeking to gain control of the entire religion. We should not make it easy for them to do so.

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The evil one's name was Mohammad. Control took place nearly 1,500 years ago.

[EternalHope]

Communism was/is evil. But we had Russia on our side in WWII, and it's a good thing we did. That we had to defeat communism later does not change the FACT that defeating Hitler would have been much more difficult if Russia had not been in the fight too.

We are in a similar position now. We MUST HAVE bases if we are to defeat Iraq, and that means we MUST HAVE allies in the Middle East. Once Iraq is neutralized, Iran is likely to change without our having to fire a shot.

At that point, the entire balance of power will have changed. Saudi Arabia can either toe the line, or they can be next in line to fight us. They know they would be a pushover, so they would toe the line.

In other words, this whole thing becomes a lot easier if we can keep the Muslims from uniting before we do the job in Iraq.

The Islamists know this, and are doing everything they can to prevent it from happening. They are desperate to unite Islam against us before we irreversibly change the balance of power.

The most important strategic issue RIGHT NOW is the attempt to unite Islam against us. We are doing everything we can to prevent this from happening. Based on the level of insanity manifest in much of the Muslim world, the outcome is very much in doubt. We should not do anything that helps unite an evil foe against us.

See post 71 for related comments.