Posted on 09/03/2004 1:54:33 PM PDT by Nachum
There was never any reason to feel pity for the Chechnyan militants. Clinton's people had their own obscure reasons for wanting to go to war in the Balkans to help Muslims and to support the Chechnyan Muslims. Didn't understand it then, don't understand it now. The only good thing is that after 9/11, America understands what the Serbs and the Russians have always known -- being nice to aggressive Muslims is not the answer...
"I hope the Russians will now question their decades-long policy of supporting the Arab/moslem world against the US and Israel."
Funny you mentioned that, I was debating that same point with someone earlier. I totally agree with you.
When the Romans were unable to reach an accomodation with an enemy, and had found the enemy so intractable as to be incapable of keeping a peace agreement, they would, after conquering, kill every living thing in the enemy's territory: men, women, children, dogs, horses - everything.
The Romans did not do this out of savagery, but because they had determined over the course of hundreds of years that such measures were the only effective means of causing barbarians to fear Rome enough that they would stop committing depradations on the fringes of the Empire.
Hmmm. Perhaps, but if so I believe it will be short-lived. Putin is taking them in the wrong direction and squashing freedom of speech. An example is this Yukos ordeal. It tells any intelligent investor that the free market is still a very long ways away in Russia.
I think this kind of attacks on her soil make the bear want to go back to the communism days very much.
Now if we only had the Russian leadership thinking the same way as this guy!
"Chechan militants" doesn't explain what the 10 Arabs were doing there --- half the killed "militants" end up being Arabs. Maybe Chechans are like Black Muslims --- recruited by the Arabs to be used when Arabs decide the time is right.
To me, the mulsim clerics already are a huge problem. You never know when one them will decide to pick up arms and join the global Jihad or simply began preaching that kind of message.
I don't know if the Balkans are important in the WOT or not, to be honest. But the amount of money poured into Bosnia and Kosovo from the Middle East during that conflict by the same "relief organizations" that we have become familiar with in the post 9/11 era leaves no doubt as to the importance that many aggressive-minded Muslims themselves placed on their toe-hold in Europe.
My overall point is that the Clinton administration had no concept of the implications of Islamic militancy as a world-wide force, and didn't calculate this into their decisions. I don't think that the WOT can be separated from the larger phenomenon of Islamic expansionism (not that I think that's what you're saying). I don't know whether the current administration agrees with this, but even if they did, they wouldn't be able to state it publically.
The Arab world seems to be the seed-bed of extremism, but the rest of the Muslim world, regardless of ethnic background, appears to contribute its share of foot-soldiers to the cause, too. Islam is not a religion of peace, and the tendency of its adherents to be drawn into violence against non-Muslims (or at least to silently tolerate it) is no accident, but I do agree with the assertion that most Muslims just want food on the table and a roof over their heads, just like every other human being.
A Daschle defeat would help create the impression of a larger Bush mandate, that's why it's so important, I think.
The Hajar al-Aswad (the Black Stone) is not your average rock, it has a weird history. The animist Arabs worshipped that meteorite long before Islam. Mohammed simply took possession it, kissed it, and it's still being effectively worshiped in the annual Islamic rituals.
Now days it's set in gold and hangs on a wall of the Holy Kaaba. Muslims making hajj are supposed to try and kiss it like Mohammed allegedly did, or at the very least wave at it as they do the ritual 7 circles around the Kaaba. (I swear I'm not making any of this up, you can research it for yourself.)
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According to Islamic lore the meteorite dropped at Adam's feet after he was expelled from Eden. It was white originally, but turned black from absorbing the sins of men.
BTW, if you ever wondered what else goes on during the hajj after they try to kiss that filthy rock, it gets even more bizarre. The faithful get to run seven times between Mt. Safa and Mt. Marwah (which aren't mountains, just rises in the desert), and then they proceed to Mina, a few miles from Mecca. That's where they do "The Throw". They throw pebbles over their shoulders at 3 stone pillars that represent devils.
You can imagine how many accidents and deaths occur annually to Muslim pilgrims during all this, particularly because the Saudi hosts aren't exactly famous for their organizational abilities.:)
My prayers and sympathy are with the Russian people
You are saying "Islam is the problem." And, you are correct. "Moderate" Islam exists only in theory.
http://www.tiscali.co.uk/reference/encyclopaedia/hutchinson/m0046651.html
Alania
Autonomous republic in the south of the Russian Federation, on the border with Georgia; area 8,000 sq km/3,088 sq mi; population (1992) 695,000. A new constitution was adopted in 1994 and the republic took its former name of Alania. The capital is Vladikavkaz (formerly Ordzhonikidze). Alania lies on the northern slopes of the central Caucasus, and its main rivers are the Terek, the Gizeldon, and the Ardon. Its industries include mining and metallurgy (lead, zinc, silver), maize processing, timber and woodwork, textiles, building materials, distilleries, food processing, and hydroelectric power generation.
History
Alania, part of the region of Ossetia, was annexed by Russia in 1774. Under the Soviets, it was made part of the Mountain Peoples Autonomous Republic in 1920, became the North Ossetian Autonomous Oblast in 1924, and an autonomous republic from 1936. The republic was occupied by German forces in 1942.
The inhabitants are primarily Sunni Muslims.
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