Posted on 01/19/2007 3:08:45 PM PST by Bokababe
Few years before 9/11— a brutal attack on American civilians that some analysts believe was a direct consequence of deeply flawed U.S. foreign policies — the writing on the wall was both read and correctly interpreted by those who have the eyes to see and the ears to hear.
James George Jatras, a former policy analyst at the United States Senate and a Director of American Council for Kosovo belongs to those few and far-between capable of properly interpreting the ominous signs. In February 1999, before the U.S.-led NATO bombarded Serbia for three months, demanding that Serbian troops relinquish control of their southern province of Kosovo and Metohija in favor of the rampaging Albanian Muslim terrorists. James Jatras wrote Insurgent Islam and American Collaboration — a painfully straightforward, damning analysis showing that something as tragic as September 11 was bound to happen.....
(Excerpt) Read more at byzantinesacredart.com ...
Excellent point.
"Perhaps it has been so long since Western Christians have had to defend themselves physically as Christians (as opposed to Americans, Englishmen, Germans, etc.) that they just do not understand those for whom it is a current concern."
Truer words are rarely found...
Good piece.
Pingaroonia
I am a member of a national evangelical catholic Lutheran discussion group, which includes all kinds of people from leading lights of the Lutheran evangelical catholic movement through GenX pastors to laypeople like me. To my initial surprise, this is a generally pro-Serbian group, even if not to the degree that I am. And the group has a great respect for Orthodoxy, some have real Orthodox connections, and several are prospective Orthodox converts.
In contrast, liberal protestants I know, whether Lutheran or not, often display a real hostility toward Orthodoxy. And of course they are generally Serbophobic. This includes everything from mainline/lameline mis-leaders to parish pastors to laypeople. Liberal protestants are also ultra-"tolerant" towards islam, and some are fawning dhimmis. They would classify Jim Jatras as a "bigot", and some have in fact done so in writing.
Western anti-Orthodoxy splits the Holy Church, and our civilization. Even of there were no islam, it would have devastating spiritual and cultural consequences. But with the ruthless jihad being fought against us on all fronts (not just military), Western anti-Orthodoxy is downright suicidal!!!!
Orthodox ping. Comments?
Comments?
BUMP
For centuries, Orthodox Christianity had served as a kind of "buffer" between Islam and Western Europe. Because Western Europeans didn't live in border areas or areas conquered by Islam, they (especially the British) romanticized Ottoman Turkey and the Arabs, as "exotic & exciting". Because Western Europeans had not had to defend their homes or lands from Islam (since the 17th century) as their Eastern Christian brothers had, Westerners deluded themselves into thinking that Islam was "peaceful" and "no threat to them" -- after all the West was so technologically advanced, what could the Islamics do them that they didn't allow? They were safe -- too safe --so safe that they were bored.
Additionaly, Eastern Christians who had barely survived hundreds of years of Islamic subjugation (and who only did so by fighting tooth and nail for their freedom, with no help and often being betrayed by their Western Christian cousins) were immediately dismissed as "backward" and "primitive" -- as though they were some sort of "mentally retarded" poor Christian cousins --someone to be tolerated, but not respected, someone to be ordered around, but never listened to, (with the exception of Greece) they were just "Russia's pawns" and the Balkans was the world's chessboard.
Ultimately, the combination of a romanticized view of Islam, a warped and disrespectul vision of Eastern Christians and a false sense of security, led the West to tell Eastern Christians that they were "no longer needed as that buffer between East & West" -- that they were to be sacrificed so that the West could deal directly with Islam because the West was so sure that it could do a better job of handling Islam than Eastern Christians could. Serbs, who were once referred to as "Guardians of the Gate" were told that "no gate was necessary". That "Gate" was treated like the Berlin wall -- some archaic remnant of a past time that needed destroying so that we could "all come together" like a Beatles' song.
The results of these arrogant decisions are obvious. Islam is taking over Western European daily life. The West has been so safe for so long, it doesn't know how to fight back. It's so empty of a spiritual reason for living that it has no convictions to even bother protecting anymore. So it drifts aimlessly, occasionaly realizing that its civilization is coming apart at the seams and feels overwhelmed by a sense of panic, but the panic passes and the anasthesia of arrogance sets in. The only thing that annoys them is the voices of the Eastern Christians -- many of whom they have labeled as "radical" and "nationalist" -- screaming at them to stand up and fight, but then they go back to sleep, once again lulled by that false sense of security until they wake.
Jatras (both the Colonel and his wife) were very right on all the issues that took place there. But just like the ex-Marine officer and top-ranking weapons inspector in Iraq said in 2003 that Saddam didn't have the WMDs, the Jatrases were snubbed and buried from public view. They wree not politically correct and did not follow the "official truth" fed to the masses. The serbs should eternally be gratful to these people.
"(with the exception of Greece)"
For a VERY short period of time mostly during the cold war era up to the Vietnam war. Since then its been nothing but the same old patronizing. I was in Greece during the bombing of Belgrade. I was simply astonished at the arrogance of the American tourists there shooting their mouths off at every chance about how Serbia was getting what it deserved and that the Greeks had to "drop your old hatreds of the Muslims" and "how can Greeks who invented democracy support the genocidal Serbs?" and "you Greeks better get with the program; you've chosen the wrong side."
Funny thing was, aside from some drunk Germans, I didn't hear that from any other nationalities there that Holy Week, only Americans.
["In February 1999, before the U.S.-led NATO bombarded Serbia for three months, demanding that Serbian troops relinquish control of their southern province of Kosovo and Metohija in favor of the rampaging Albanian Muslim terrorists."]
I would have to grade the words above as an "F" (i.e. failure). That is, what is written (above) is a sentence fragment. Where's Hoplite to detect this? :)
Thanks for the ping. Bump for later read as I am preparing for St. John (Sveti Jovan) Slava celebration later today.
I'm an American...and God help if I hear another American saying those things supported by the MSM...."Serbia getting what it deserved"????? WE STARTED THE WHOLE THING starting in 1948....and stirred up the pot in Bosnia and working with ISI, using Muh. from Afghanistan to keep it going....Don't get me started.
"I doubt if the West fully understand the dangers of moving away from our Christian based society. This movement, IMO, is really the drive of secular and Christian liberals who tout equality of religion. You won't find EO kissing Korans or appeasing Muslim dictators. In the end this will come home to our destruction. We've grown too fat."
This article and in many ways the particular phrase you quoted, is among my greatest fears. Orthodoxy has lived for many, many centuries under the heel of the Mohammedans. We know what needs to be done to survive. But nobody listens in the West. The West has no conception of what it is up against or what life will be for Christians under Mohammedanism. If the Mohammedans finally triumph in parts of the West, we'll survive. I fear that Western Christianity and its essential tenets and elements may not.
"I'm an American...and God help if I hear another American saying those things supported by the MSM...."Serbia getting what it deserved"?????"
One night my family and I were eating at a sidewalk place in Naphlion during the Kosovo war. We were discussing the war with an Irish couple at the next table. On the otherside were a group of Americans who began arguing with us about the war. When they found out I was an American, I was given a lecture on patriotism and called a traitor. By the way, the whole group were Republicans.
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