I get a newsletter from Lionel radio show. This might be a interest to you.
Well, they've done it again. They bombed three underground trains and a bus injuring over 700 and killing at least 50 innocents in London. This time they are a group calling themselves "The Secret Group of al Qaeda's Jihad in Europe." Kinda catchy. As the Washington Post reported, al Qaeda is more of a "brand" than a cohesive structure. Bin Laden is recruiting jihadists via the internet and encouraging them to act freelance, if you will. The complexity of terrorism grows exponentially.
"ALL THE ROADS LEAD TO RIYADH." Ali al-Ahmed of the Saudi Institute based in Washington authored that phrase. And it underscores the complicity that Saudi Arabia enjoys in worldwide terrorism. The Saudis are the moneybags of terrorist cells and attacks. Saudi clerics are the fanatical followers of Wahhabism that teaches and promotes jihad against the world. Madrassas continue to train and inspire new terrorists and Islamic fanatics. Remember terrorism is an ideology, not a person or place. It's defined as follows: The unlawful use or threatened use of force or violence by a person or an organized group against people or property with the intention of intimidating or coercing societies or governments, often for ideological or political reasons
Saying that you're fighting terrorism is like, as my dear friend Roy Barnard says, catching smoke with your hands. Terrorism is a tactic, a method, an ideology. Fighting terrorism is akin to fighting hatred, prejudice and the like. What we're doing is fighting the proponents of terrorism, those who utilize it as a methodology. But be not mistaken, the epicenter of terrorist funding and provocation is Saudi Arabia. They are front and center. Don't let anybody kid you. Terrorism is not a country, but if it was, the capital would be Saudi Arabia.
Iraq was a diversion. It was on the neocons' drawing board for years. 9/11 was used as an entree and the administration took its eye off the ball in Afghanistan where bin Laden was and probably is. Read for yourself what these fine folks advocate; it's crystal clear. These are the architects of this war, be not mistaken.
www.newamericancentury.org/ To say that this administration is cozy with Saudis would be an understatement. Remember Bush's lovey-dovey hand-holding with Crown Prince Abdullah? Not to mention that Bush's daddy is a principal in the Carlyle Group. What? You haven't heard of these characters? Please see
www.hereinreality.com/c arlyle.html. James Baker's law firm, he a principal as well, is representing the Saudi government in a lawsuit filed by the families of 9/11 victims. Can you say "thick as thieves"? How can you expect this administration to come down hard on the Saudis? No, Bush targeted Iraq.
WHAT DO THEY WANT? They want a lot of things. Don't hold your breath, bin Laden, nobody's advocating a change in our policy, at least not this commentator, nor will it happen, but let's look at what they've said.
They want us out of the Middle East. Period.
They want us to sever all ties with and support of Israel, our ally and the only democracy in the Middle East. This will never happen.
They want us specifically out of Saudi Arabia which contains their two holiest sites, Mecca and Medina.
It's not that they hate us, per se, or our freedom, whatever the hell that means, they view us as infidels via our policy. The President has repeated the oft-cited mantra that they hate our freedom and liberty. Now before you dismiss this seemingly fatuous and pathetically simplistic statement, there is a grain of truth to it. Be not mistaken, the radical Muslim who deplores our morals, or lack thereof, who advocates the subjugation of women (can you say "Saudi Arabia"?), does in fact hate us. They view us as profligates and any people not aligned 100% with their radical Islamic views are hated. Funny, Pat Robertson doesn't seem as crazy anymore. (I can't believe I just said that.)
THIS IS ABOUT ISLAM, PERIOD. I hate the way that so many people trip over themselves when they qualify that not all Muslims are bad or terrorists. No duh. But be not mistaken, the people that attacked us on 9/11 and Britons last week always cite their faith whenever they attack. Sure, there are many Muslims who deplore these activities - I wish Muslim leaders would be more demonstrative in their denunciations, but that's a different issue - but how many times do you have to hear the name of Allah invoked before you make the connection? Religious fanaticism is a mental illness, and we have our share of evangelical nuts in this country to make the point crystal clear. Just read what many Islamic zealots have written over the years. I know, I know, this sounds a tad harsh but the reality is harsher.
THE WAR IN IRAQ HAS NOT MADE THE WORLD SAFER - EXHIBIT A, LONDON. Here are some excerpts from the bumper sticker, cookie-cutter conservative playbook.
It's better to fight them there than here.
There hasn't been a 9/11 since 9/11.
Iraq is the hotbed of terrorist funding and incitement.
As to fighting them there than here, this is just plain specious reasoning. To suggest that international terrorists are diverting their attention from attacking us here in this country because they're sidelined in Iraq just makes no sense. Al Qaeda is an international conglomerate of terrorist groups that have now morphed into myriad splinter groups. There are tens of thousands of new and improved terrorists all over the world that have been inspired by our adventure in Iraq which is now the spring training site for terrorist tyros. To suggest that a sleeper cell is postponing attacking Cleveland with a suitcase bomb because they're tied up in Iraq is nonsense. What confounds me the most is why there haven't been more attacks against us and the world. But just wait, I'm afraid to say, they'll be coming to a theater near you soon.
There has not been a 9/11 since 9/11. What?! (Note the interrobang.) The nonexistence of a fact or occurrence means nothing. One can't extrapolate or deduce why a non-event is a non-event. These terrorists, er, they are very patient and methodical. They waited eight years to attack the World Trade Center after the 1993 bombing.
And finally, Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Repeat: Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. To be sure, Saddam was a bad man who killed his own people. But remember that he was and is a secular Muslim at best. In fact, he was a Socialist. He loathed bin Laden and vice versa. Let's put this canard to bed once and for all.
THE SEEDS OF RADICAL ISLAMIC HATRED OF THE WEST MUST BE UNDERSTOOD. As I've mentioned repeatedly, former Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara in the documentary "The Fog of War" has stated that one of the lessons he learned in Viet Nam was to understand the enemy. McNamara admits that he never understood the real fact of Viet Nam - to them it was a civil war. Don't love them, empathize with them. Know what their beef is. A firefighter friend of mine, a retired Lieutenant with the New York Fire Department, pointed out by analogy that a fireman responding to a blaze must know the source and type of the fire - chemical, grease, accelerant-fueled. Just attacking a fire without any clue as to what the source of the fire is could prove deadly to the firefighters and the inhabitants of the building. Identify the enemy.
So what do we know of the fire that is engulfing the world, radical Islam? Well, not much. They have an imperial ambition, to spread the radical Muslim agenda worldwide as the predominant religion. For an excellent disquisition on the subject, please refer to Efraim Karsh, the head of the Mediterranean Studies Program at King's College at the University of London. He provides in The New Republic (tnr.com) a number of historical perspectives.
The destruction of the Ottoman Empire at the end of World War I did nothing to dilute their imperial ambition to spread Islam internationally.
Etched in the genes of radical Muslims is the notion of humiliation and shame. Many have repeatedly referred to the colonialization of the Middle East. The West has been seen as the Satan and their Exhibit A is Iraq itself which was gerrymandered by the British in 1922.
Karsh writes that some still "unabashedly pine for the restoration of Muslim Spain (or Andalusia as it was commonly known) and consider their 1492 expulsion from the country a grave historical injustice - as if Spain's Muslim rules were its rightful owners and not colonial occupiers living thousands of mile from their ancestral homeland."
Karsh further reminds us of the words of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, remember that nut?, he was the paterfamilias of the Iranian revolution. He spoke of spreading the Islamic revolution all over the world, not just in Iran.
Our affiliation with Israel is oft-cited as a justification for a jihad against the Satanic infidels - us.
This is not the time for partisan carping. We're in a war and will be in said war forever. Repeat: forever. So here's what we need to do. Pay attention.
Concentrate on real homeland security. Allocate resources that will adequately fund border patrols, protect railways, subways and the like.
Dispose of once and for all this silly color-coded risk scheme. Why is there even a green level? Low? Are you kidding me? Low?! (Again with the interrobang.) We will forever be on heightened alert.
We must demand accountability from the Muslim world. They have for too long been let off the hook as to their failure to denounce what is being waged in their name.
Demand that Saudi Arabia denounce and renounce once and for all the very terrorists that they are in fact inspiring and tutoring through their madrassas and take affirmative action in stifling Wahhabism. Think about it, what would a country or religion think if we taught, via state-sponsored didactics, in our schools anti-Muslim ideology?
Read everything you can on what's actually occurring. Forget the Fox News Channel and the Hannitys and the Rushes. They're cheerleaders and an echo chamber for the administration. They're scripted, predictable and are mere stenographers for this President.
Get out of Iraq. I don't care how, but I do care when. Now. They're liberated, fine. Let's get out.
Retool and integrate our intelligence agencies. No more turf wars and the like.
Reallocate funding to protect our borders and railways. Provide adequate funding for first responders who will certainly have to address our next terrorist attack - and it will happen.
Remain vigilant in not ceding our civil liberties in the name of this war on terrorism. Remember Jose Padilla? He was the American citizen who's been in custody for over three years, charged with nothing heretofore and without counsel. For more information, please refer to
www.chargepadilla.org/.
Remember and note the brave Americans that have been killed. Bookmark this site:
icasualties.org/oif/.
This infra is an installment from the Center for American Progress. This is a fabulous site that provides the unvarnished truth about the war in Iraq and the putative war on terrorism. The excerpted piece provides an excellent adumbration of the issues I've addressed. Its eloquence requires its being cited; I couldn't have said it better myself. And that's saying something.
www.americanprogress.org/