Posted on 10/14/2001 7:45:23 PM PDT by Van Jenerette
The American media is collectively anal retentive when it comes to explaining a mortal enemy of our way of life. Just as they coddle rogue politicans, baby killers and glorify any single criminal act that will sell a newspaper or drag in a viewer, they are now glorifying a entire region of the world.
WHY??
FEAR. Out and out, pure unadultuarated FEAR.
They have been banned from an entire country, Lock, stock and video camera. The biggest investor in AOL/Time Werner has just been outted as the Saudi Prince who got smacked in the wallet by Rudy. (GO RUDY!) If the American Media pukes comprehesibly educate the American people on what Major Jenerette is saying, The teachings of Islam would be a history book. Not a religion.
Senorita Jennings is said to be a target.. Ooooh scary (NOT). Blathering Dan is incoherent lately, and the richest set of gums on TV, bloutable Ophra is on the band wagen of islamic education/propaganda to the free world.
The real down home soccer moms, used car salemen, machinists, mechanics and even insurance agents for a short list of Americans know dam well who the bad guys are and only collectively want one thing.....A secure nation for their kids to grow up in.
But once again FEAR sticks its stinky little head in there and explains that we can shoot this person because there bad, but not this person because there bad. HUH? And if we do they will retaliate..HUH?
The inescapable answer is mind boggling. 873A.D. Islam almost took Europe but was squashed. That's pretty far back. How many "Religous wars" has this planet seen since then?
How many more do we have to endure before we can live without war? I remember one of my Uncles (ex-Navy WW2) saying to me, during the Vietnam era, that all nations should disarm. OK, but he never mentioned box cutters or even thought about them. We live in a global era. Safety in our daily lives is our primary goal. If erasing a warrior religion is our only hope, then its time we added one to the extinct religion list. If not, they need to cleanup there act once and for all. There are no hiding places on this planet where terror can live if we decide they should not.
YES, IF WE decide they should not. We are capable, we have the fire power. But we don't have the will. Because we can't comprehend religous genocide. And the civilians,, oh my...Where do you think warriors are from? We were all civilians once, and then with a little luck, we are once again, civilians. The little screaming, running, naked, starving babies that survive, can pick up a box cutter or a shoulder fired pop gun after we nuture them back to health. Red is red and hate is hate. If someone choses their path, they also accept the consquences of that path. Long winded I know, but one more ..
PATRICK HENRY ONCE SAID:
"Pacifists are among the most immoral of men. They make no distinction between aggression and defense. Therefore, pacifism is one of the greatest allies an aggressor can have!"
Stay well - stay safe - stay armed - Yorktown
I understand why Bush and his military and foreign policy team are reluctant to call a spade a spade when speaking of Islam and its adherents. After all, we are conducting military operations in their back yard against one of their neighbors, and the last thing we want is a world war against all of these people now.
And while I understand our leaders' reluctance to speak out about the evil that underlies all of Islamic thought, teaching, and tradition, I am still nevertheless p!ssed off about it.
Unfortunately, being "engaged" in that part of the world from now on will either mean we are at war with one of these Islamic nations, or buying their oil and continuing to support their numerous and sundry jihads against us with our petro-dollars. Since I believe we will always be at war with these people - in one form or another, we need to do two things now to help insure our ultimate victory:
Obviously, we cannot continue to support Israel and have our foreign policy dictated to us by the Imams in Saudi Arabia who control the flow of oil and consequently our economy. Our energy independence is the only way to assure that our foreign policy isn't being dictated to us by our "nominal" friends, but who, in reality, despise us because of our long-standing support of Israel.
Some would argue that once we are energy independent, and we no longer have to be engaged in that part of the world at all, then we no longer need to be engaged with Israel, either. While that sounds good, the problem is we need access to Israel's vast intelligence-gathering network, so that we can continue to keep an eye on Islamic threats directed against us. And remember - once the Moslems have elminated Israel, who do you think they'll turn their full and undivided attention to next? Yep: Us. A nation now only nominally "Christian," but one whose founding documents are so anathema to Islam, that we will - like the defeated and subjugated Jews - remain the enemy of Islam until we are likewise defeated.
Whether we stick with Israel or not, we will remain at war with Islam unless and until we either defeat it or surrender to it. Let us never surrender to terrorism.
In conclusion, Islam is no less a threat to 21st century civilization than the Nazis and Soviets were to 20th century civilzation. It is no less an "evil empire" than the former Soviet Union was.
Time to retarget our nukes.
When I see large gatherings of Islamics burning bin laden & the mujarhadeen in effigy...
Then, I'll give Islamics the 'benefit of the doubt.'
Until then, it seems we all have to watch our backs.
It is impossible to fight an effective war if you don't recognize an enemy or mis-identify him. It appears we have publicly recognized only a small segment - the Al-Quaida, and perhaps (reluctantly) a few beastly nation-states whom we just can't ignore (try as we might). Whether either the former or the latter are ever brought to "justice" remains to be seen.
Nonetheless, even destroying the above recognized enemies does not address the poison that lies beneath and generates new, malignant enemy cells daily. It is possible our government recognizes this and are trying to take only the first bite of this immense apple - one bite at a time - while hoping to maintain some shaky, temporary secular alliances from some who clearly are not with us and will stab us in the back at the first opportunity. One can only hope our leaders see the problem clearly and will eventually act decisively and totally in our behalf and this is only a tactic to minimize our casualties.
The widespread excuses disguising Islam's bloody aims have not been lost on those who are watching. Only those who are either not or are (worse) being deluded by the siren song of those who are merely attacking on a different front miss the clear point.
Yes, Isalm is a "peaceful" religion; as long as the "peace" is dictated entirely on their terms and all other religions and peoples succumb to their laws and beliefs. Otherwise, it's Off With Their Heads!
Yes, it will be a long war. It already has been. This particular segment against Islam has been raging for thirteen centuries and is not about to be ended in a few more years and by addressing the "root causes" as understood by today's pundits. These are the wrong "root causes". The real "root causes" are spiritual and are wrapped in the ages-long battle of Satan against God.
Guess who Islam represents?
Point of fact: Galileo wasn't killed, but placed under house arrest, and not for questioning the flat earth--the West knew the earth was round since the ancient Greeks. Rather, he was putatively convicted for "vehement suspicion of heresy" for promoting the heliocentric system. I myself think the reasons were because Galileo annoyed some of the powers-that-be, and also promoted some semi-Protestant theological positions.
The fact is that many in the Islamic/Muslim community have stood up to condemn the terrorist activities. Here are links to just a few threads that document this:
Muslim Ruling Endorses U.S. Action
Reject jihad, local Muslim leader says
New York Muslims pray for justice
Muslim Scholars Back Fight Against Terrorists
Frankly, I find the very premise of this article to be academicly simple-minded. To demand that "Will the Real Islam Please Stand Up!" is akin to demanding that the "Real Christianity Stand Up" under the assumption that since all Christian denominations read the same Christian Bible they should interpret the Bible the same way.
As a Ph.D. Candidate in Sociology, it would be my expectation that you would have the intellectual maturity and sophistication to understand and appreciate the complex nature of this situation. Yet the overall tone of your essay appears intended to blur the distinctions in an effort to paint all Muslims with a broad brush. In essence, an effort to turn this tragedy into a religious war rather than a war against evil terrorists.
Frankly, I don't see anything in your essay that violates the posting guidelines of this forum. And you do present an opinion that merits debate. However, I am requesting that JimRob monitor your postings closely. This is his forum, and ultimately, he is the one who decides if he wishes to facilitate your highly self-promotional writings.
Exactly. N'uff said.
The Middle East is a powder keg requiring intelligent differentiation of the numerous factions involved.
Advocating a disregard for those distinctions is akin to inciting a riot of monstrous proportions.
I expect somebody with professional training in Sociology to be able to constuctively explain those distinctions to the general populace. Not engage in fanning the flames of war.
Willie - Just what do you want me to say? That you are correct and I shouldn't have asked such silly questions? Obviously you have set yourself up as the Free Republic 'benchmark' for what is or is not correct - and in my case - what should be monitored closely. Since you have decided that I lack intellectual maturity, etc. there probably isn't much I could say to change your mind - so I might as well just let my editorial commentary speak for itself and leave my record and Vitae speak for itself...
Oh, I more than understand the complexity of this situation, this tragedy, this war. I have been there and I have done that. However, when asking direct and simple (your word, not mine)questions can elicit a response like yours, I know that I have hit 'target' and provoked some thinking. I don't really need your approval for my writing; I had intentions and expectations of 'baiting' more than a few readers with more than a singular point of view. Thank you Willie, you took the hook and all.
Anyway, you probably will be distressed to know that I spend everyday of the week in college classrooms teaching hundreds of students each semester a view of politics, sociology, and leadership that you are welcome to drop in and monitor if you please.
As you well know, this is a very serious situation...I don't take it for less than what it is. I am on a mobilization call up list for return to Army active duty - I was an Infantryman. This is far to serious for me and my family personnaly to just sit back and wait for someone else to ask the questions I want answered. Others may - I won't.
Well Willie, my last class has ended for the day and I'm heading home. I'll write more on this and any other topic I wish to weigh in on. I'll be certain to send you a link...I'm sure you have some interesting comments to make. It all goes into the mix of ideas. Take care - Van Jenerette www.jenerette.com
P.S. I need to send you links to the Free Republic event's I have been the guest speaker at and I'm really happy to hear that you have asked Jim Robinson to monitor my activities...he's a pretty good judge of intellectual maturity and sophistication...
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