Posted on 10/30/2003 4:06:40 PM PST by Lazamataz
At the present time, California authorities believe that at least half of the fires threatening the southern part of that State were deliberately set. In at least one case, witnesses report seeing a man drive a van into the brush, drop something which started a fire, and speeding away. The general conclusion would seem to be, based upon the vast scale of the fires and the large number caused by deliberate arson, that these fires are something more than the usual: that there’s something else at work in this.
I’m going to go out on a limb here: I believe that the present California wildfires were, at least in part, started by either al-Qaeda or individuals somehow affiliated with terrorism, either directly or indirectly. What is going on in California is not merely an ‘act of God’, but rather a deliberate act of war against America. My second belief is this: if the fires were started by terrorists, unless Osama Bin Laden (or whoever is playing him) admits it in a message, no one in the mainstream press will have the courage to step forward and call it ‘terrorism.’ Rather, we will be blandly assured that those who deliberately set many of these fires were ‘acting alone’ out of motives that are theirs alone. Right. And the DC sniper was a white man driving a white van and the Sheik Omar Abdel Rahman was merely a harmless religious leader.
Based upon information gathered from Terror War detainees, the FBI sent out a warning in June that al-Qaeda was planning something just like this. I point this out not with the purpose in mind of setting off a round of recriminations against the FBI: they did their job, they warned the public. Nor do I blame California authorities: what were they to do, station groups of people to guard every single inch of Californian forest? Nor was there any politically plausible measure that could have then been taken by the Federal Government to prevent this. For that matter, if this was done by terrorists, it was probably done by terrorists who have been previously unknown to the Federal Government. But that does not mean that this was unstoppable.
One of the perpetrators of the great drama of last fall, the DC Sniper attacks, is on trial right now. He is a Moslem- one who expressed great admiration for Osama Bin Laden and went so far as to mark the time on the registration forms of the vehicle he purchased for the attacks at 8:47AM on September 11th, 2002- exactly one year to the minute after the first plane hit the first tower. His crimes were committed, if not at the direction of the Islamist terror masters, then in concert with them. For the most part the Islamist conspiracy doesn’t have a formal induction process; neither does it issue ranks or serial numbers. Agents of Islamism can operate within a formal structure or outside of it, it matters little. There is only one war. There is only one enemy fighting in a highly decentralized fashion. Those who take up arms in support of the enemy are soldiers of the enemy and deserve to be treated as such and labelled as such.
The biggest problem is not, I think, active cells of al-Qaeda terrorists who were trained overseas. Certainly, there are still some in the country, but the dearth of major terrorist events in the twenty-five months since September 11th, combined with critical captures overseas and the seeming focus of al-Qaeda high command upon the Middle East, Africa, and South Asia seems to suggest that most major al-Qaeda sleeper cells within the United States, those with known terrorist links, have been rolled up.
Rather, the problem is the freelancers: people like John Allen Muhammad, who are operating in affiliation with al-Qaeda’s goals but are not members of the organization. There is a vast network of al-Qaeda sympathizers within the United States who, as of this moment, have committed no overt criminal acts. Rather, they are operating in hiding, in secret, plotting attacks that only they can know of. These people are the most dangerous because their plots are almost impossible to detect, except by pure luck. These people might be in contact with overseas (or domestic) controllers, but they offer none of the tell-tale signs of being terrorists. They have not been to Pakistan or Afghanistan for special training, nor have they engaged in other criminal activities which would obviously bring them to the attention of the authorities. Many of them are probably American-born coverts to the Moslem religion, such as John Walker Lindh. They, thankfully, have two characteristics which will make them easier to uncover: they tend to attend more radical Mosques and they tend to be outspoken.
This is a war and it is time that we treat it as such. Those Mosques which preach Jihad against America (or Israel) and raise money for terrorist-related causes need to be closed down and the Clerics who run them interned for the duration of the war. A democracy does not cease to be democratic simply because it refuses to let its enemy operate freely within its borders during wartime. The Constitution is not a suicide pact and, in any case, does not inhibit the free operations of the national defense during a war.
Those who openly support al-Qaeda should not be walking the streets free. This is a dangerous hour and those who support the enemy, or sympathize with it, become the enemy themselves. Allowing those who support terrorists to walk free isn’t an exercise in liberty, but rather one in moral cowardice. Known supporters of terrorism, of Osama Bin Laden, of al-Qaeda, of Hamas, of Hezbollah, and of any other Islamist group need to be interned for the duration of the war.
I know that this will bring shouts and scoffs. How dare I, a person of Japanese descent, suggest an internment? Those who laugh have missed the point of why the Japanese internment was wrong altogether. The internment of the Japanese was wrong, not because it is wrong to intern anyone, but because the American and Canadian governments interned everyone. During World War Two, some Germans and Italians were interned as well: but only those suspected of supporting Hitler and Mussolini. Had only those Japanese believed to be sympathetic towards the government of Japan been interned, there would have been nothing wrong with what happened.
I do not propose the internment of all Moslems, far from it. Within American society, the average Moslem has been Westernized and Americanized and less in common with Osama Bin Laden than the average liberal Democrat. Rather, I propose the internment of that minority of Moslems which sympathizers with the aims of Radical Islam, those who would join with the enemies of America in the destruction of America.
We have no way to determine which lover of Osama will start building bombs and which will confine himself to writing screeds in his support and posting them on the internet. It doesn’t really matter: they are both equally guilty.
We need not fear al-Qaeda and its friends if only we can find the will to combat them with sufficient force.
Those Mosques which preach Jihad against America . . .need to be closed down and the Clerics who run them interned for the duration of the war. . . Known supporters of terrorism, of Osama Bin Laden, of al-Qaeda, of Hamas, of Hezbollah, and of any other Islamist group need to be interned for the duration of the war.
Uh oh! Some will wince at that. How dare we deny Constitution rights! It's better we lose our Country. Go figure. So.. like we don't have rights to defend our country?
There's so many good things to emphasize that I'd have to copy most of the article. So I'll just give my thoughts. Supporters of radical Islam are not limited to Muslims. Not all crippling of America requires violent attacks.
There are many reasons we lost the Vietnam war at home while our forces and allies won every battle in Vietnam.
One of those reasons is the support the Communists received from our leftists. Indeed, the North Vietnamese Communists praised the American press as their "most valuable guerilla."
IMO we cannot win the war defending against radical Islam without winning the cultural war also. Look how the left tries to destroy this wartime administration just as they did a generation ago.
Yes, the left has "constitutional" rights to destroy whatever and whoever -- at least they have inalienable rights. We have rights too. We have constitutional and inalienable rights to defend our Country. It's a clash of rights. That means war. Power and will determine whose rights prevail and who survives to dictate what America will be after the wars. The time for polite discussion about "rights" is over. This is war.
We cannot lose these wars. They are for all the marbles.
Hey, just because some eye witnesses saw two guys starting one of the fires is no reason to express the fear that maybe the fires were started by terrorists. I think we should all remain skeptical of this possibility until at least another 300,000 square miles of timber are burned, and a small army of arsonists wearing turbans and carrying flame throwers is spotted by eye witnesses.
Technically this should read "those who advocate the violent overthrow of the government".
Of course those people should be arrested- not just "interned".
I don't see who he wants to intern.
He doesn't say- unless he means those who should be arrested for treason. They are the only ones who would practically fit his standard.
Internment camps for people expressing solidarity with an avowed enemy? During a war? Sure. Worked pretty well in WWII, for the Italian-Americans and German-Americans who expressed solidarity with Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.
For the record, I'm entirely against the Japanese internment camps of the same era -- they rounded up all Japanese, regardless of a lack of expressed solidarity with the Empire of Japan.
So, I take if from your initial 'no' that you do not believe the SoCal fires to be the work of Al-Qaeda -- and from that earlier post, not the work of environmentalists as well.
Al Quada, ELF, ANSWER, Sierra Club - they're all after the same goal when you think about it. IMHO, of course.
If **I** were to select places to begin terrorist wildfires, I would not conveniently locate them so that they affected only relatively sparsely populated and wealthy communities. I'd make sure they hopped the freeways, which almost none of them did.
Secondly, internment is not necessary. Revoking the visas of ALL citizens of terrorist-supporting Muslim states--followed by rounding up and mass deportations--would suffice.
--Boris
Actually, Glen Beck had a wonderful answer to this: Because, in Mexico, all deadwood is collected and used for fireplaces and cooking pits.
Here, we let it sit.
I'm not going to how you found that out.
Well, that's a strike against the terrorist theory.
Secondly, internment is not necessary. Revoking the visas of ALL citizens of terrorist-supporting Muslim states--followed by rounding up and mass deportations--would suffice.
I don't agree with doing that. People who are good and honest would be swept up in this act.
Diabolical is a better word. Osamma's 9-11 plan only appeared to be 'brilliant' because few in America were evil enough to comprehend such an attack, let alone prevent it. I hope that what we have learned about our enemy is that the 'brains' behind his operation are not the human form, they get their inspiration from a darker form of intellect. We have forgotten that evil exists, and we have been reminded that it is alive and well.
Second; his love affair with islam is raising eyebrows all over and if he follows suit like he has on other subjects he will probably say something to the effect that he feels the American people would not agree with a heavy handed approach in whacking islam because it is after all a religion of peace! I know your response to this one and I hope all the real Americans will scream their heads off until he hears the message loud and clear. He is not his Imperial Majesty yet and is subject to the will of the people who elected him. This is my official position Mr. President; stop pandering to our enemies and realize the error of your flawed policy in regards to islam. These are Terrorists out to cut your head off Sir! and I for one am tired of all this silliness and dangerous nonsense with our enemies who daily threatten to attack us in the name of islam. One day they will succeed in a big way for all the B.S. (Bovine Scatology) you love to spread around. Be a real hero And defend America not our avowed Enemy lurking and tolerated in the homeland!
I had to do that one time when I brought a new dog home and he and another woke me by fighting in the middle of the night. I couldn't speak for 2 days but the dogs never fought again.
LOL! As I expected, you make it personal, trying to bait. :o)
Is this the part where I'm supposed to get all upset and post a half a dozen expletive-filled messages for your further amusement. ;^)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.