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Still Unprepared Against Terror
HUMAN EVENTS ^ | 12/03/2008 | Robert Spencer

Posted on 12/03/2008 1:11:06 AM PST by neverdem

Why was India -- a nation that has suffered enormously from terrorism in the past seven years -- unprepared for the Mumbai attacks? And why are America, Britain and most of the rest of the civilized world equally unprepared even now, so many years after 9-11?

London’s Telegraph reported Monday that “the former head of Britain’s SAS has revealed that Britain is not adequately prepared for a Mumbai-style terror attack. He said hundreds of civilians would have been massacred if such an assault was carried out in this country.”

The primary reason for this unpreparedness, of course, is the unwillingness or inability of government, law enforcement, and the mainstream media to confront the ideology of the jihadists and the Islamic doctrines that provide the foundation for that ideology.

Instead, it is an ironclad dogma in the American public square that the overwhelming majority of American Muslims decisively and unequivocally reject that ideology and doctrine and have nothing but abhorrence for the jihadists. Thus it is unsurprising that it was a Kuwaiti journalist, rather than an American one, who in the wake of the Mumbai attacks dared to observe that the Emperor has no clothes: “Unfortunately, we have yet to see a distinguished popular condemnation in the traditional Arab or Muslim communities that strongly rejects what is happening in the name of Islam.” So wrote the Kuwaiti columnist Khaled al-Jenfawi.

Underscoring this imperial nudity is the fact that as the full magnitude of the Mumbai carnage was still unfolding, some Muslim leaders as they condemned the attacks appeared principally concerned that they would hurt Islam’s image. Inayat Bunglawala of the Muslim Council of Britain lamented that “a handful of terrorists like this bring the entire faith into disrepute.” Likewise Kazim al-Muqdadi, a lecturer at Baghdad University, complained that “the occupation of the synagogue and killing people in hotels tarnishes the Muslim faith.”

How to polish this tarnished image? One way might be to end the duplicity that is all too common. For example, Saudi Arabia announced that it “strongly condemns and denounces this criminal act” in Mumbai. However, Jonathan Fighel of Israel’s International Institute for Counter-Terrorism observed that the Saudis had been sending financial support to the jihadists in Kashmir, the brothers-in-arms of the Mumbai attackers. “This demonstrates,” noted Fighel, “exactly the double game and, I would say, the hypocrisy of the Saudi regime.”

Of course, there is one thing they could do about that that would actually begin to make people think better of Islam. Imams could begin to saturate mosques and madrassas with the message that jihad warfare is never justified, that the imperative to subjugate unbelievers under the rule of Islamic law must be decisively rejected, and that peaceful coexistence as equals with unbelievers is to be maintained indefinitely. But they do not. They continue to play the same double game that the Saudis do.

Hamas leader Khaled Mash’al recently declared that “the day will come, within several years, when this world will change, submitting to the Arab Islamic will, Allah willing.” If Islamic clerics stopped talking about making the world submit to Islamic law and began to teach genuine tolerance of unbelievers and acceptance of them as equals, Islam’s image might begin to improve.

If Muslim leaders worldwide energetically condemned all those who maintained belief in the Qur’an’s literal words of war and in the traditional Islamic doctrines regarding jihad warfare (whether by hot war or by stealth), as well as declaring beyond the fold of Islam anyone who wished to impose Shari’a upon unbelievers by force, and if those leaders demonstrated their sincerity by actions instead of mere words, informed non-Muslims might begin to think better of Islam.

Until they do, how can we?

These things will not happen. Instead, Deepak Chopra and others have rushed to blame the West for the Mumbai jihad massacres -- while at the UN, Islamic states have successfully pushed through a resolution criminalizing “blasphemy,” i.e., criticism of Islam, while ignoring one that was introduced denouncing violence committed in the name of religion. That in itself is telling.


TOPICS: Editorial; Foreign Affairs; Politics/Elections; War on Terror
KEYWORDS: globaljihad; gwot; islam; jihad; robertspencer; sharia; terror; wot

1 posted on 12/03/2008 1:11:06 AM PST by neverdem
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To: neverdem
World leaders are just going to have step up and declare the jihadists just what they are; evil, ignorant, and dangerious. Being silent is unfair to Muslims that want to coexist and everybody else, for that mater..

We can wipe terrorists by the butt load, but with out widespread condemnation the extremist block feels justified.

2 posted on 12/03/2008 1:38:38 AM PST by oyez (Justa' another high minded lowlife.)
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To: neverdem
The premise of being prepared for terrorist attacks is mistake in its foundation. It is reactionary, not proactionary. It hands the initiative to the enemy, who can pick and choose soft targets at will.

The only way to win the war that we are in is to win the war, not mop up after the battles. We must hold each Islamic Nation responsible for its citizens actions. They choose to be Islamic Nations under Sharia Law, they must be held accountable for their citizens just like every western nation is responsible for its official government representatives.

Accordingly, Pakistan just openly did an act of war on India, India not only has the right, but the responsibility to hold Pakistan responsible, up to and including the possibility of a full scale military attack on Pakistan.

We accordingly should sue Saudi Arabia for damages done on 9-11, including the option of erasing Mecca with a nuclear exchange if that is what it takes to make these Islamic Nation reign in their radicals.

To continue to follow the method of attempting to harden every soft target in the free world will make the world not free.

Which is why I suspect we have taken the obviously foolish approach of trying to do so. Islam is being used as and excuse by a much larger set of wicked leaders to take our freedom away. It is pretty foolish to believe that Nations that cannot build airplanes are declaring war on Nations that put men on the moon a generation ago, and getting away with it.

3 posted on 12/03/2008 1:44:12 AM PST by American in Israel (A wise man's heart directs him to the right, but the foolish mans heart directs him toward the left.)
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To: neverdem

“Why was India — a nation that has suffered enormously from terrorism in the past seven years — unprepared for the Mumbai attacks? And why are America, Britain and most of the rest of the civilized world equally unprepared even now, so many years after 9-11?

London’s Telegraph reported Monday that “the former head of Britain’s SAS has revealed that Britain is not adequately prepared for a Mumbai-style terror attack. He said hundreds of civilians would have been massacred if such an assault was carried out in this country.”


The movie the “Final Option” was about the 1980s SAS raid at the (London Embassy?) it was successful and the star in it was an actual reserve unit SAS member or trainee or something.

The US and Britain may not be “prepared” for something that no country is “prepared” for but they can sure react quickly. India did not do that.


4 posted on 12/03/2008 1:47:55 AM PST by ansel12 ( When a conservative pundit mocks Wasilla, he's mocking conservatism as it's actually lived.)
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To: ansel12

Sadly, I don’t think that free government can exist in a nation where a sizable chunk of the population are willing to murder their fellow countryman in the name of ideology or religion.

You can prepare all you want, but if India houses a ten million strong religious minority that encourages and justifies these kind of attacks, there isn’t much you can do.

Israel has alot of experience with this; you can imprison terrorists, kill their leaders, dry their finances, but as long as the population supports them they will always come back.


5 posted on 12/03/2008 2:17:30 AM PST by zarodinu
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To: ansel12

He was TA SAS, or ‘Territorial Army’- the equivalent of our Army Reserve. I think I have a copy of that somewhere. I remember the two MPs (Ministers of Parliament) at the end talking about how there were ‘many more’ such incidents (of terrorism) planned. It was a pretty strong indictment of the New Left, especially for it’s time.

I have to wonder exactly what one would do to ‘fully prepare’ a republic for a major incident of terrorism. You have to strike a balance with liberty. As such- we’ll always be primarily reactive- which puts us at a disadvantage. You can use your Intelligence capabilities to proactively break up plots as you discover them, and you can respond rapidly when something does go down, but you can’t shake down everybody that you see in the street. The enemy will always be able to exploit their ability to move freely among us.

I would be surprised if the absence of major, successful terrorist strikes in this country since 9/11 was the result of lack of trying on international terror’s part. Perhaps we have struck that balance.


6 posted on 12/03/2008 2:18:56 AM PST by Riley (The Fourth Estate is the Fifth Column.)
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To: neverdem
>"why are America, Britain and most of the rest of the civilized world equally unprepared even now, so many years after 9-11? "

Because we choose to co-exist with the murderous children of satanallah, instead of incarcerating/destroying them. As long as mecca isn't a glow in the dark glass parking lot, we all remain targets of the war declared 1400 years ago.

7 posted on 12/03/2008 2:51:00 AM PST by rawcatslyentist (I will stand with the Muslims ~B Hussein Obomunist ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Verito Possumus~Verified Sleeper!)
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To: neverdem

Although clearly there were security lapses in this whole India mess, to be fair - just how DOES one prepare for something like that? I mean, if kids willing to die are ready to mass into hotels, shopping malls, city centers, train stations, bus depots, sports venues etc. etc. etc. with the intention simply to mow down anyone and everyone they see... how do you prevent it without hiring the entire labor force of the United States to guard everything, everywhere and stand watch on every street corner, 24/7?


8 posted on 12/03/2008 2:57:58 AM PST by Jack Hammer (here)
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To: American in Israel

Excellent post. I totally agree. In the USA, we have allowed Political Correctness and Multiculturalism to take root. These ideas are much like chaff that chokes out the wheat. As for this particular post - “We must hold each Islamic Nation responsible for its citizens actions.”

This is good, but to my chagrin, President Bush seems to have embraced the so-called peaceful Muslim. Because of his inability to call on the Islamic Nations involved in 091101 and demand they apologize to the USA and the World, he did not do what was necessary.

The enemy has been embolden and we are in danger. Can you imagine several cells doing this in the middle of NYC, Chicago, LA, Atlanta, Dallas, Seattle and begin the attacks simultaneously?

Those are some of the soft targets and this could take place at any given moment. Talk about mayhem.....


9 posted on 12/03/2008 3:03:29 AM PST by Paige ("All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing," Edmund Burke)
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To: Paige
America's leaders do not care about the terrorists, or the welfare of their constitents.


10 posted on 12/03/2008 3:29:58 AM PST by Diogenesis
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To: Jack Hammer

“- just how DOES one prepare for something like that?”

The citizen militia. We need to take responsibility for our own defense. We need to start training ourselves and arming ourselves. We need to reach a critical mass of 10% of all citizens carrying concealed. So should terrorists attack a group of 100 people, about 10 of them will be armed and trained to react and kill them.

Unfortuanately, we’ve been betrayed by the nincompoops and traitors in government. The option of arming trained citizens is never considered by those in government. An armed citizenry can and should be the first line of defense in the war against terrorists.

And since our criminal federal government won’t consider this, it’s up to each of us to carry out this duty ourselves in the conservative states we live in. This, I believe, is the solution. If nothing else, we can assure that such a defense exists in states that encourage self-defense. As for the liberal big city hellholes like New York and Chicago that outright ban self-defense, let Darwin sort them out. They’re not our concern.


11 posted on 12/03/2008 3:36:43 AM PST by sergeantdave (We are now in the Age of the Idiot)
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To: Jack Hammer

Here we go, Jack.

http://www.sg.sc.gov/recruiting.htm

Some states have active citizen militias supported by the state. This one is in South Carolina. Citizens there can join and even get tax breaks and paid mileage. Here’s a piece fron the web site:

What is the Mission of the South Carolina State Guard?

The South Carolina State Guard will assume the in-state duties of the South Carolina National Guard when and if its units are called to federal duty outside of South Carolina. If required, the South Carolina State Guard will occupy and secure armories and other essential areas designated by the Governor; assist local and state law enforcement agencies in the preservation of law and order; perform security missions at vital installations and protect life and property in case of natural disaster. The mission is a broad one and training for it is just as broad.

Sometrhing like this can be expanded legislatively by the state.


12 posted on 12/03/2008 3:59:20 AM PST by sergeantdave (We are now in the Age of the Idiot)
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To: neverdem

I think that the Mumbai Massacre was another covert act on the part of a major government to create a pretext for rfid chipping. Can you imagine the rich and world leaders removing their belts and shoes every time they entered a five star hotel?


13 posted on 12/03/2008 6:11:39 AM PST by JTWildfeather (Russia, China, Military, Arms, Race, Oil)
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To: JTWildfeather

..yep, this needs a higher spot in the talk about list.


14 posted on 12/03/2008 7:56:04 AM PST by norraad ("What light!">Blues Brothers)
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To: sergeantdave
That's all good in theory, SGT, but reality is a whole different story. People start getting complacent, stop carrying their concealed weapons, can't find the time to train, discover that ammo is expensive, etc.

We have to take responsibility for ourselves, no doubt, but let's not kid ourselves into believing that we'll get some mass organized group ready to face down the terrorists.

15 posted on 12/03/2008 8:01:21 AM PST by Rocky Mountain High
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To: Jack Hammer
You don't. We just try to disrupt attacks before they start. Columbine High had an armed guard, the school in Beslan had an armed guard (who actually dropped one terrorist before being killed). New Life Church here in Colorado Springs was a more positive example - that armed citizen dropped the shooter before he could complete a full-scale massacre, but not before he killed two teenage girls.

Stay alert, get a concealed permit.

16 posted on 12/03/2008 8:07:15 AM PST by Rocky Mountain High
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To: Rocky Mountain High

Plus, whenever concealed carry passes crime stats in general plummet, terrorism is, after all, just another crime in a big long list.


17 posted on 12/03/2008 8:12:39 AM PST by norraad ("What light!">Blues Brothers)
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To: norraad

Well said. That’s why they favor soft targets and target countries like India with unarmed populations.


18 posted on 12/03/2008 2:53:44 PM PST by Rocky Mountain High
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To: Rocky Mountain High

Well, done my best to identify citizen/soldiers.

Shoiuld you have a better idea, lay it out.


19 posted on 12/03/2008 4:47:28 PM PST by sergeantdave (We are now in the Age of the Idiot)
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