Posted on 10/24/2006 9:27:19 AM PDT by AnnaSM
"It seems that the US is having a hard time winning the hearts and minds of Arabs and Muslims, but an equally serious problem can be observed in the intellectual circles of America where some have had a difficulty coming to terms with the terminology of the War of Ideas. If the educated elite of the United States is incapable of identifying the ideology and the strategy of the Jihadists five years after 9/11, we not only have a problem with handling the War in Iraq, but also with the future of American national security as a whole. An article published in Newsweek magazine on October 13, 2006 illustrates this problem. "
(Excerpt) Read more at familysecuritymatters.org ...
The Mainstream media is radically stupid. They'll be the end of us all.
How do you steal the hearts and minds of people who want to kill us?
If the educated elite of the United States is incapable of identifying the ideology and the strategy of the Jihadists five years after 9/11, we not only have a problem with handling the War in Iraq, but also with the future of American national security as a whole.
And we need to depend on the "educated elite" for our security, WHY?
Us poor unwashed masses are incapable of thinking for ourselves, or protecting ourselves?
Long, but excellent.
America has NO IDEA what it is fighting against.
The Liberals, for instance, keep comparing Iraq to Viet Nam, but they fail to see that with Viet Nam, when we withdrew, life went on as usual here in the US, but if we withdraw from Iraq we will have terrorism here on US soil until we either submit to Sharia law or win a full out civil war with the Muslim population.
...With a knife.
Give them state secrets.
MT: "They are ideologically animated by pan-Islamic concerns. They believe in using force to facilitate the restoration of the Caliphate. They have ideas of forming a regional caliphate covering Southern Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore, the Philippines, and maybe even northern Australia!"
He goes on to say that the larger goal is the creation of a universal caliphate.
Bush is only five years late on this.
Save
One way can be found here
Imperial Grunts: The American Military on the Ground
by Robert D. Kaplan
http://www.amazon.com/Imperial-Grunts-American-Military-Ground/dp/1400061326
Great insight on special ops., September 23, 2005
Reviewer: Gaetan Lion - See all my reviews
Robert Kaplan spent the second half of 2003 touring with special ops counterinsurgency US military teams in the Philippines and Afghanistan. Given their under cover nature, these special ops interventions are not covered by the press. Thus, Kaplan brings a huge amount of intelligence and insight on this nearly mysterious subject.
The book is fascinating on a couple of levels. The first one is that the U.S. military contrary to what everyone believes has a rather effective counterinsurgency apparatus. Since 9/11 we have all read about the ineffectiveness of our lumbering military complex. Many have recommended the military develops small, flexible teams that could be rapidly deployed where they are needed at a much lower cost than sending aircraft and tank fleets. But, these experts are recommending something that already exists: our nearly unknown counterinsurgency teams. And, these teams will play an increasingly important role in fighting the Islamic insurrection and terrorism.
The second insight that is most interesting is the strange profile of the men who staff these teams. They look like buffed up thugs. But, they are well educated with college and occasional masters degrees in engineering, linguistic, and political science. They are anti-establishment and love their independence from the Pentagon bureaucracy. They have beards, and do not wear soldier's helmets, but caps instead. They feel the helmets don't protect them anyway, so they would rather be comfortable. Finally, they are Christians. They explain their maverick profile by stating that in general the more educated the more risk averse one becomes. This is unless one has religion. Their religion allows them to have a sense of mission greater than themselves and to take on risk that secular people would not take. Finally the beard thing is to fit in with the local Muslim population. This is because their goal is to befriend the local population, assist them in building infrastructure including schools and hospitals. And, by doing so attempt to isolate the violent fundamentalist elements.
Not all is perfect with these teams. Kaplan mentions they suffer from lack of linguistic skills that hinders their integration with locals. That's not a surprise. Pashto, Persian and Arabic dialects are not readily taught in the U.S. Nevertheless, after reading this book you feel that the political return on investment on these special ops is far greater than in investing in more tanks.
_________________________
And yet one more
Three Cups of Tea: One Man's Mission to Fight Terrorism and Build Nations . . . One School at a Time
by Greg Mortenson
http://www.amazon.com/Three-Cups-Tea-Terrorism-Nations/dp/0670034827/sr=1-1/qid=1161709628/ref=sr_1_1/104-1207478-3799909?ie=UTF8&s=books
From Publishers Weekly
Starred Review. Some failures lead to phenomenal successes, and this American nurse's unsuccessful attempt to climb K2, the world's second tallest mountain, is one of them. Dangerously ill when he finished his climb in 1993, Mortenson was sheltered for seven weeks by the small Pakistani village of Korphe; in return, he promised to build the impoverished town's first school, a project that grew into the Central Asia Institute, which has since constructed more than 50 schools across rural Pakistan and Afghanistan. Coauthor Relin recounts Mortenson's efforts in fascinating detail, presenting compelling portraits of the village elders, con artists, philanthropists, mujahideen, Taliban officials, ambitious school girls and upright Muslims Mortenson met along the way. As the book moves into the post-9/11 world, Mortenson and Relin argue that the United States must fight Islamic extremism in the region through collaborative efforts to alleviate poverty and improve access to education, especially for girls. Captivating and suspenseful, with engrossing accounts of both hostilities and unlikely friendships, this book will win many readers' hearts.
The problem is way to many people make the erroneous assumtion that the Salafists/Wahhabists/Takfirists represent the mainstream of Muslim thought.
Bush is only five years late on this.
?
Using the word caliphate.
Ah! Yet one more light bulb moment.
The "winning hearts and minds" start of this was the tip off that the author has no idea of why we are in Iraq to begin with or what our mission is. Why bother to read further or waste even one second with someone so far "off the beam"?
Whether we "understand" the proper use of the term "caliphate" or not, is of no significance when dealing with a backward culture who's only stated purpose is to annhilate every single infidel on the planet.
We seek to obliterate this intransigent enemy completely and where ever they may be found.
But in no way are we out to directly harm innocent civilians and others caught up in this dreadful task.
That's all the foreign mind needs to know. No more.
How we plan, assemble,execute these tasks is up to us. Others can figure it out for themselves. That we have a nation in which there are certain citizens who are opposed to war is of no consequence to our mission and it's execution. Not any one of us charged with this task enjoys even one second of it, but fully understand that it is our sworn duty and obligation to perform the task.
Foriegn intellectuals may pontificate as much as they wish on our wisdom or lack there of. We will totally ignore their opinions and entreaties as is our wont.
Those who disagree are free to use the very freedoms of expression we enjoy to try to dissuade us and to further their plan to divide our citizens. It is of no avail.
As a country and a people, we intend to stay the course.
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I suggest that you read the linked article. It is on target.
Bush has failed to fully convince the American public of the stakes. He has yet, until very recently and very selectively, to paint the full picture, to elucidate in the clearest of terms that AQ, IJ, MILF, Hamas, Hezbollah et al are not limited in their ambition to anything less than true islamic global dominance, the creation of the caliphate.
Putin said it in early 2002. The Singapore PM said it in December 2001. Bush just said it.
Axis of Evil is catchy in a Madison Avenue way but it limits, by its very definition, the threat to three countries and ignores the caliphate-dreams that drive those terror organizations that are not bound by nation-state borders.
The author makes the case that we should all understand that to our enemies the word caliphate is a source of race/dogma pride comparable to if not stronger than the term Third Reich was to Germany in the 1930s. And that the goal is the same.
Your statement that..."That's all the foreign mind needs to know. No more."...is naive and smacks of the same hegemonic and dismissive attitude that 'the foreign mind' finds so objectionable.
It is encouraging that you "get it" so clearly.
That will make victory all the more exsquisite.
Oh, you're that kind of freeper...have a nice day.
It seems one of our biggest problems is winning the hearts and minds of a substantial portion of the American people, even before the Arabs and Muslims.
It's hard to win the hearts and minds of the willingly ignorant with facts. Liberals are by and large a lost cause, as they deal with emotion. So, here are some (emotional) rallying cries (facts, by the way) we should use to enlist them in the fight...
...The Caliphate will take away your right to an abortion!
...the Caliphate will execute homosexuals!
...the Calipahate will ban alcohol!
...the Caliphate will take away your welfare and make you beg for a living!
...the Caliphate will keep you from "living in"!
...the Caliphate will treat all women like dogs!
...the Caliphate will make you pray 5 times a day!
There. That ought to snare some Liberals onto our side!
Blunt, but it's a good point. Winning the hearts and minds of people who want to kill us is secondary to protecting ourselves from them.
Yep! That kind.
Love of country. Honor our fallen.
Respect our leaders and support them to the end.
Give no quarter to those who would adopt supercillious
disrespect for their fellow citizens.
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