Showing posts with label Osama bin Laden. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Osama bin Laden. Show all posts

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

CIA Informants Snatched in Pakistan - My Take

Pakistan's arrested CIA informants - folks who helped the CIA find Osama bin Laden. Who had been living in a slightly-fortified compound in a medium-size city about 31 miles from Islamabad.

I don't know - and don't have enough information to guess - whether the people who were arrested really were arrested: or whether the whole thing is some kind of plot. My guess is that they really were snatched, but maybe someone in Pakistan's leadership wants someone else to look bad. Or maybe a clerk didn't get treated the way he likes, and made up the story to get even. I doubt that - but it's possible.

Brigadier General Syed Azmat Ali says that a major wasn't arrested.1 Maybe the major isn't a major any more - and so the Brigadier General's statement, "we ... deny that any such or any army officer..." is true. Now.

Or maybe the Brigadier General wants to live to see next year - or has family he's protecting.

From what I understand, the ISI is - really - what never-left-the-'60s liberals think the CIA is like. (December 27, 2008)

For the moment, I'm assuming that at least five people who helped the CIA find bin Laden are being held by the ISI. Or somebody with the muscle to pull a job like that, and have a Brigadier General provide an alibi.

What I don't know - and don't have enough information to guess - is whether the folks who've been snatched were targeted because they finked on bin Laden, or because they told the CIA instead of the 'right people' in Pakistan.

If this makes it seem like I don't have the highest regard for the folks who run various parts of Pakistan - you're perceptive. In my opinion, Pakistan is in better shape than Somalia: but it's just barely a "nation." More like a territory run by a feuding collection of tribal leaders, terrorists, warlords, and the occasional allegedly-elected official.

In the news:
"PAKISTAN'S ISI spy agency has arrested at least five CIA informants who helped lead US commandos to Osama bin Laden's Pakistan compound, highlighting the deepening fractures in the alliance.

"The five Pakistani informants, including an army major believed to have noted down the number plates of all vehicles that visited the Abbottabad compound, had been taken into custody, US officials confirmed to The New York Times yesterday.

"Last week, Pakistani army chief Ashfaq Parvaz Kayani announced he was ending all US military counter-insurgency training of his country's soldiers and imposing new restrictions on intelligence sharing between the nations...."
(The Australian)
"Pakistan's intelligence service has arrested the owner of a safe house rented to the CIA to observe Usama bin Laden's compound before the U.S. raid that killed the Al Qaeda leader, as well as a 'handful' of other Pakistanis, a U.S. official said late Tuesday.

"In Pakistan, a Western official confirmed a New York Times report that five of the Pakistani informants who fed information to the CIA before the May 2 bin Laden raid were arrested by Pakistan's top military spy agency, the Inter-Services Intelligence agency, known as ISI.

"The officials spoke to The Associated Press on the condition of anonymity to discuss sensitive intelligence matters...."
(Associated Press, via FoxNews.com)
Related posts:
In the news:
1 From VOA News:
"A report in Wednesday's New York Times quotes unnamed U.S. intelligence officials as saying Pakistan has arrested five people, including a Pakistani military official, accused of passing information to the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency prior to last month's U.S. raid in the Pakistani garrison town of Abbottabad that resulted in the death of Osama bin Laden. The Times report exposes the growing friction between the U.S. and Pakistan in the wake of that operation.

"The New York Times article cites unnamed sources in the American intelligence community who claim that the five detainees include a Pakistani army major who copied the license plate numbers of cars visiting Bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad in the weeks leading up to the May 2 U.S. raid.

"Pakistani military spokesman Brigadier General Syed Azmat Ali emphasized that no Pakistani military personnel have been detained in relation to the Abbottabad raid.

" 'We categorically deny that any such or any army officer was arrested in connection with this,' said Azmat Ali...."
(VOA News)
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , ,

Monday, May 2, 2011

After Osama bin Laden? Change, But Not Swift Change

Conspiracy theorists may have a field day with the decision to follow Muslim practice: disposing of Osama bin Laden's body promptly after his death.

Given how emotional the topic is, someone may come up with the notion that President Obama had the CIA - and maybe the Illuminati, the Ukashi, and the Catholic Church 1 - killed some innocent victim as part of an effort to get Obama reelected. Or to drive gas prices up. Or something.

Eventually, someone in Hollywood - or Bollywood - may produce the equivalent of They Saved Hitler's Brain.

As I've said before, emotions and reason don't play well together. (December 23, 2008) Which can help make moderately-entertaining movies now and again.

Speculations about the silly side aside, I have little doubt that Osama bin Laden is dead. I've read in the news - and am inclined to believe - that DNA tests confirm bin Laden's identity.

Osama bin Laden's Dead: Can We All Go Home Now?

It looks like Osama bin Laden was a central figure where it came to inspiring several attacks on 'enemies of Islam' - from bin Laden's point of view. Not having him around will, I think make a difference.

But it won't, I think, result in all the folks who hate America and Israel and trousers and dogs and mice suddenly decide to stop killing people. Too many folks in the Islamic world have too many crazy ideas - and are are apparently being taken too seriously by their neighbors:Not that Islam has a monopoly on occasionally-violent nut jobs, and folks who assume that their personal quirks are God's will.2 From Fred Phelps' 'God hates fags' church to the fellow who went around killing young couples, and the young women who beat up someone in a McDonalds for wearing the 'wrong' clothes: America has its share of folks who are apparently driven by malignant virtue.

That quick review of hot-button topics isn't as off-topic as it may seem, I think.

The Fred Phelps and Pat (Haiti had it coming) Robertsons of Western culture are not - in my experience and considered opinion - representative of Protestant belief in America. And they certainly don't reflect the attitude of all Americans: or all Christians, for that matter.

America isn't Sudan

One of the ways that America is different from, say, Sudan, is that the religious nut jobs are not running the country - and most of them are not particularly violent. Now, anyway. (see A Catholic Citizen in America (April 7, 2011)

I suspect one reason for this difference is that America, and the West, has experienced a great deal of change over the last several centuries - which has given most folks a chance to get accustomed to new ideas. I've been over that idea before:
"...It's hard to shake the impression that, in many parts of the Islamic world, the Magna Carta is thousands of years in their future.

"From legal action taken against a 'blasphemous' teddy bear, to outlawing the color red: I think there's evidence that many folks living in places like Sudan and Saudi Arabia are dealing, none too calmly, with a world that they simply don't understand.

"Or like.

"As I've said before: just a few generations back, many folks had been living in a culture which hadn't changed all that much since the days before Abraham moved out of Ur. Then they were dragged across thousands of years of change, from a culture of burqas and honor killings to a world of bikinis, Budweiser and dog food commercials.

"No wonder some went a bit nuts...."
("October 21, 2010)
I think it will take a long time for the last folks who think that killing people who aren't like them is defending Islam - and think that Islam means living the way folks did when Abram moved out of Ur - to grow old and die: frustrated at how 'un-Islamic' the younger generation is.

I don't expect the sort of 'Earthly paradise' that science fiction writers once imagined - but I think that quite a few folks in the Islamic world have gotten fed up, and I'll get back to that.

We'll Always have a Few Crazies

There will, I think, be a Fred Phelps or two in America, as long as there is an America:


(Reuters photo, via FoxNews.com, used w/o permission)

I also hope - sincerely - that the sort of malignant virtue shown in that photo remains a lunatic-fringe element in this country.

Al Qaeda, Frustrations, and Unappreciative Muslims

I also think that one of the things - besides bikinis and beer - that infuriates folks who run outfits like Al Qaeda is that the West in general and America in particular are so very successful, in a material way.

We 'should,' I suspect, be collapsing like a decadent wreckage.

Instead, America has a problem with folks trying to break into the country - and more wanting to find out how we do what we do, so they can do the same in their own country.

Even worse, their own neighbors don't seem to appreciate being blown up, or, beheaded, in the name of Islam. I think it's important to remember that, for all the 'death to Israel, death to the great Satan America' stuff, Islamic terrorists mostly kill other Muslims:
"...For most of the victims are Muslim: not only Shia Muslims and Sunni moderates and seculars, but also bystanders who have committed the deadly sin of buying vegetables while one of those holy warriors decides to fight his battle and start his ascendance to the hereafter...."
(Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, in guardian.co.uk)

Fed Up and Making a Difference

Ghaith Abdul-Ahad also pointed out that folks in Tunisia and other countries were achieving reform - or at least were moving in that direction - without Al Qaeda's 'kill your friends and allies' approach.

Like I said, it must be frustrating for old-school thinkers in that part of the world.

But I don't see Al Qaeda, the Taliban, and like-minded outfits, changing their ways. Any more than I see Fred Phelps or Pat Robertson joining Amnesty International.

I've put more-extensive-than-usual excerpts from today's news and views at the end of this post.3

Vaguely-related posts:
News and views:
1 I think it's important to remember that crazy ideas with religious trimmings aren't an Islamic monopoly. See comments on posts in another of my blogs, A Catholic Citizen in America. (April 15, 2011, November 15, 2010, April 27, 2010, April 1, 2010) And, in this blog, see the "Both the Catholics and Muslims are Satanic Cults" comment. (March 25, 2009)

2 See:3 Excerpts from today's news and views:
"Clinton: Bin Laden death shows 'You cannot defeat us'"
World, CNN (May 2, 2011)

"The successful U.S. operation that killed Osama bin Laden sends a message to the Taliban in Afghanistan, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Monday.

" 'You cannot wait us out. You cannot defeat us. But you can make the choice to abandon al Qaeda. and participate in a peaceful political process, Clinton said.

" 'There is no better rebuke to al Qaeda and its heinous ideology,' she said. 'The fight continues and we will never waver.'

"Some doubted that the terrorist leader would ever be caught, she said, but 'this is America... We persevere, and we get the job done.'...

"...The mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks -- the worst terrorist attacks on American soil -- was killed by U.S. forces Monday in a mansion in Abbottabad, about 50 kilometers (30 miles) north of the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, U.S. officials said.

Four others in the compound also were killed. One of them was bin Laden's adult son, and another was a woman being used as a shield by a male combatant, the officials said....

"...DNA matching is under way on samples from his body, a U.S. government official said. There are photographs of the body with a gunshot wound to the side of the head that shows an individual who is not unrecognizable as bin Laden, the official said....

"...Bin Laden's body was later buried at sea, an official said. Many Muslims adhere to the belief that bodies should be buried within one day.

"The official did not release additional details about the burial, but said it was handled in keeping with Muslim customs...."
"Timeline: Tip Leads U.S. to Usama Bin Laden"
FoxNews.com (May 2, 2011)

"The tip that landed Usama bin Laden came to light in August. It was a 'great lead,' a federal law enforcement source told Fox News.

"Officials wouldn't know how good it was until months later. After an exhaustive streak of intelligence gathering and high-level meetings, that tip resulted Sunday in the death of the world's most wanted terrorist at U.S. hands.

"Though President Obama gave only sparse details of the operation in his surprise address to the nation Sunday night, officials filled in the blanks where they could about the mission that brought to justice the man responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks and countless acts of violence around the world.

"Though bin Laden was pursued throughout the George W. Bush administration, President Obama renewed the effort on June 2, 2009, when he signed a memo to CIA Director Leon Panetta ordering a 'detailed operation plan' for finding and capturing bin Laden.

"More than a year later, what Obama described as a 'possible lead' came in. Senior administration officials said they had been tracking an Al Qaeda courier in bin Laden's inner circle. Two years ago, the U.S. determined the areas in Pakistan where he operated. By August, they had determined the exact location in Abbottabad, Pakistan -- where bin Laden was apparently hiding out in a sprawling compound on the outskirts of town.One U.S. official said the compound was built over a six-year period. The intelligence community, led by the CIA, concluded it was custom-built to house someone of bin Laden's stature. It was enclosed by a high wall topped with barbed wire, and protected by two security gates....

"...In Abbottabad, a senior U.S. defense official said the actual operation took place at 3:30 p.m. ET.

"Officials said three adult men other than bin Laden were killed – one was believed to be bin Laden's son, the others couriers. One woman was killed when she was used as a human shield and two other women were also injured, the officials said.

"No Americans were killed, though the U.S. did lose a helicopter that went down due to mechanical failure. An official said the Pakistanis were not involved in the raid but helped provide information that led to it. Intelligence was also provided by detainees."
"Taliban commander vows to avenge Bin Laden's death"Ghaith Abdul-Ahad, guardian.co.uk (May 2, 2011)

"A Taliban commander in Afghanistan has promised that his fighters would mount attacks to avenge the killing by US forces of Osama bin Laden.

"The commander, who gave his name as Qudos and operates in the northern province of Baghlan, said: 'The killing of Osama bin Laden will bring no change to jihad. Osama is the leader of al-Qaida and he is a powerful man in jihad. Losing him will be very painful for the mujahideen, but the shahadat [martyrdom] of Osama, will never stop the jihad. We will continue our fight until we liberate our lands from the Kafirs.'

"He said his fighters planned to launch an operation called Bader 'to avenge the killing of Osama' and claimed many other similar operations would be launched.

"A Taliban fighter - who had what seemed like a British accent but said he was Afghan - told the Guardian there was still a lot of suspicion among the Taliban about whether the news of Bin Laden's death was true. But he added: 'Even if he is dead, I don't think it will make any difference to our fight. He is just one of thousands of fighters, and from a different organisation.'

"A Yemeni jihadi who goes by the name of Omar claimed the death of Bin Laden would not stop al-Qaida insurgents mounting attacks. 'I am not fighting for Bin Laden to stop fighting if he is killed, we are not people who worship figures, he – may God have mercy on him – is a brave man who created and led the jihad but it will not stop here and now look what is happening with all the dictators, they are falling because we have been fighting them for so long and that's thanks to the ways of the Sheikh the shahid [the Sheikh the martyr]. Many brothers will I am sure be planning revenge attacks at the moment.'...

"...For many years, the Sheikh had been isolated, his organisation disrupted not only by US kill teams and lethal drone attacks but also by general Muslim apathy and outright hostility to the organisation. For most of the victims are Muslim: not only Shia Muslims and Sunni moderates and seculars, but also bystanders who have committed the deadly sin of buying vegetables while one of those holy warriors decides to fight his battle and start his ascendance to the hereafter.

"The killing of Bin Laden will give a new impetus to the jihadi movement that has suffered in the past few months as the aspirations of these young men have been fulfilled, not by the jihad, but by the street demonstrations led by unarmed men and women secularists and religious calling for social justice...."
"Timeline: Life of Osama bin Laden"
Edition: U.S., Reuters (May 2, 2011)

"Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, President Barack Obama announced on Monday.

"Here is a timeline of major events in bin Laden's life....

"...1976 - Studies management and economics at university in Jeddah.

"Dec 26, 1979 - Soviet Union invades Afghanistan. From 1984, bin Laden is involved in Peshawar-based Services Office to support Arab volunteers arriving to fight Soviet forces....

"..1988 - Al Qaeda (The Base) is established as a magnet for radical Muslims seeking a more fundamentalist brand of government in their home countries and joined in common hatred of the United States, Israel and U.S.-allied Muslim governments.

"1991 - Bin Laden leaves Saudi Arabia and goes into exile, having opposed the kingdom's alliance with U.S. against Iraq.

"June 1993 - Bin Laden family moves to expel Osama as shareholder in its businesses, which focus on construction.

"April 9, 1994 - Saudi Arabia, angered by bin Laden's propaganda against its rulers, revokes his citizenship.

"May 1996 - Bin Laden is forced to leave Sudan after U.S. pressure on its government, and goes to Afghanistan.

"August 1996 - Bin Laden issues a fatwa, or religious decree, that U.S. military personnel should be killed.

"October 1996 - U.S. brands bin Laden as a prime suspect in two bombings in Saudi Arabia which killed 24 U.S. servicemen and two Indians.

"August 7, 1998 - Truck bombs explode at U.S. embassies in Nairobi and Dar es Salaam killing 224, including 12 Americans. U.S. later accuses bin Laden of masterminding the bombings. President Bill Clinton orders cruise missile strikes.

"October 12, 2000 - Al Qaeda strikes at destroyer USS Cole, harbored at Yemeni port of Aden. 17 sailors are killed.

"September 11, 2001 - Three hijacked planes crash into major U.S. landmarks, destroying New York's World Trade Center and plunging into Pentagon. A fourth hijacked plane crashes in Pennsylvania. Nearly 3,000 people are killed. In a video released later, bin Laden says collapse of towers exceeded al Qaeda's expectations....

"...December 26, 2001 - Bin Laden says on a video that the 9/11 suicide attacks were intended to stop U.S. support for Israel....

"...October 2004 - Bin Laden bursts into the U.S. election campaign in his first videotaped message in over a year to deride Bush....

"...May 18, 2008 - Bin Laden urges Muslims to break the Israeli-led blockade of the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, and fight Arab governments that deal with Israel....

"May 1, 2011 - Osama bin Laden killed in Pakistan and his body has been recovered by U.S. authorities, Obama says.

"Sources: Reuters; open-source material; Steve Coll: 'The Bin Ladens'

"(Writing by David Cutler, London Editorial Reference Unit; editing by Alastair Macdonald)"
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, May 1, 2011

Osama bin Laden Dead: It's a Milestone

It looks like Osama bin Laden is, in fact, dead. President Obama said so: and he seems to have pretty good evidence to back up the claim.

That does not, in my opinion, mean that the war on terror is over and everything will be peachy-keen from now on.

There is, I think, little reason to believe that Osama bin Laden has taken a central role in planning terrorist activities for the last few years - although that's possible.

The End of the War on Terror? Not Hardly

I think there's even less reason to believe that with the death of bin Laden the various Al Qaeda affiliates, the Taliban, Al Shabaab, the folks who run (northern) Sudan, and all the rest will act like the followers of Thulsa Doom in Conan. There will not, in my opinion, be a magical moment when these dedicated folks see the error of their ways and toss candles into a pool.

In my opinion, the idea that the wicked, wicked west is against Islam, and that Islam is all about burqas, is too firmly set in the minds of too many folks.

On the other hand, I don't think that Osama bin Laden's death is a tragic misuse of resources that could have been used to protect alpine Milk-vetch, restart the Keep America Beautiful campaign, or whatever.

On the whole, I would rather that a person who does what Osama bin Laden did could be arrested, held for trial, and prevented from harming more people - by an orderly legal process with safeguards for victims, as well as for those who are wrongly accused.

We don't have anything like that arrangement. Not now, not beyond a few national systems like the one we've got here in the United States. I've discussed the problem of what to do about people who won't play well with others in another blog:
"...I think that, someday, maybe, there will be an 'international authority with the necessary competence and power' to simply arrest someone like the Libyan colonel. (Catechism [of the Catholic Church], 2308)

"Until we have something like Tennyson's 'Parliament of man, the Federation of the world,' we'll have to make do with the United Nations. Or whatever's cobbled together after that...."
(A Catholic Citizen in America (March 22, 2011)

What I Think

Osama bin Laden's death will, I'm pretty sure, be used by Al Qaeda and others in an effort to whip up hatred toward America - and anybody else they don't approve of. He'll almost certainly be called a martyr. Here's what I think of the current situation, briefly:
  • Was it right to hunt for Osama bin Laden?
    • Interesting ethical issues notwithstanding, yes
    • America didn't have much choice, in my opinion
      • Not hunting down bin Laden would have indicated that killing thousands of Americans was acceptable
  • Will bin Laden's death end the war on terror?
    • No
Finally, excerpts from tonight's news:
"Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden dead, Obama says"
Edition: U.S., Reuters (May 2, 2011 (12:00am EDT))

"Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was killed Sunday in a firefight with U.S. forces in Pakistan and his body was recovered, President Barack Obama announced Sunday.

" 'Justice has been done,' Obama said in a dramatic, late-night White House speech announcing the death of the elusive mastermind of the September 11, 2001, attacks on the New York and Washington.

"Obama said U.S. forces led the operation that killed bin Laden. No Americans were killed in the operation and they took care to avoid civilian casualties, he said.

" 'The United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda and a terrorist who is responsible for the murder of thousands of men, women and children,' Obama said...."
"Obama announces Osama bin Laden killed by U.S."
Michael A. Memoli and Michael Muskal, Los Angeles Times (May 1, 2011)

"Osama bin Laden, the world's most wanted terrorist, was killed in Pakistan as the result of a U.S. military operation, President Obama announced to the nation Sunday night.

"The historic revelation comes about four months before the 10th anniversary of the devastating Sept. 11 attacks on the United States, which were executed by the Al Qaeda network helmed by Bin Laden and prompted the start of a war on terror that has dominated U.S. foreign policy.

"Bin Laden, 54, was a member of a wealthy Saudi family and has been on the FBI's Most Wanted Fugitives List since 1999...."
"Usama Bin Laden Is Dead, Sources Confirm"
FoxNews.com (May 1, 2011)

"Usama bin Laden is dead, putting an end to the worldwide manhunt that began nearly a decade ago on Sept. 11, 2001. The architect of the deadliest terror attack on U.S. soil was killed a week ago inside Pakistan by a U.S. bomb.

"President Obama announced the stunning development during an address to the nation late Sunday night from the White House.

" 'Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Usama bin Laden, the leader of Al Qaeda.'

"The U.S. had been waiting for the results of a DNA test to confirm his identity before going public. Sources said the vice president informed congressional leaders late Sunday night that the world's most wanted man had indeed been killed...."
"CIA operation kills Osama bin Laden in Pakistan"
Los Angeles Times (May 1, 2011)

"A CIA-led operation has killed Osama bin Laden in Pakistan and recovered his body after a tortuous decadelong hunt for the elusive militant leader who commanded the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, U.S. government officials said Sunday night.

"CIA Director Leon Panetta called key members of Congress late Sunday to describe the killing of the Al Qaeda leader, and President Obama is expected to make the announcement on national TV.

"The U.S. and allied countries invaded Afghanistan following the Sept. 11 attacks because the Taliban government there was sheltering Bin Laden. The Taliban were ousted from power, but the Al Qaeda leader was not captured. The United States has been at war in Afghanistan ever since...."
"Al-Qaeda leader Osama Bin Laden dead - Obama"
US & Canada, BBC News (May 1, 2011)

"Al-Qaeda founder and leader Osama Bin Laden has been killed by US forces, President Barack Obama has said.

"The al-Qaeda leader was killed in a ground operation based on US intelligence, the first lead for which emerged last August.

"Mr Obama said after 'a firefight' US forces took possession of his body.

"Bin Laden was accused of being behind a number of atrocities, including the attacks on New York and Washington on 11 September 2001...."
Somewhat-related posts:
In the news:
Posted by at 4 comments:
Labels: , ,

Monday, September 14, 2009

Osama Bin Laden Speaks (probably): New Verse; Same Song

Hats off to Osama bin Laden.

Or whoever made the speech that's been attributed to bin Laden.

Demonstrating, perhaps, that he can learn from mistakes, Al Qaeda's leader didn't repeat Ayman al-Zawahri's remark that the president of the United States was a "house slave" or "house negro." (November 21, 2008) The remark was translated both ways.

That crack didn't go over too well, here in America. As I wrote at the time,
"...Woodstock is history, disco is dead, black members of congress make the news because of what they do, not what they look like, and America will very soon swear in its first black president...."
(November 21, 2008)
Not all of America's best and brightest (by their standards) have realized that this isn't the America of 1963: but that's another topic.

Other than that, Bin Laden's message is another verse of the same old song:
"...'To the American people, this is my message to you: a reminder of the reasons behind 9/11 and the wars and the repercussions that followed and the way to resolve it,' the message said.

" 'From the beginning, we have stated many times ... that the cause of our disagreement with you is your support of your allies, the Israelis, who are occupying our land in Palestine. Your stance along with some other grievances are what led us to carry out the events of 9/11.'..."
(CNN)
'And it is the fault of the [scapegoat]' is a common refrain for people who are dissatisfied with reality, and either can't or won't recognize their own deficiencies. When I was growing up, 'it is the fault of the commies' came from one direction, while 'it is the fault of capitalists' came from another. If people who blamed capitalists liked long phrases, they'd say something like 'military-industrial complex.' And, they still do.

Which, again, is another topic.

"House negro" wasn't in the speech, but the idea is still there.
" The message claims that the Obama administration is under the influence of the Republican White House it replaced, pointing out that the president kept Robert Gates as defense secretary -- a holdover from the Bush administration.

" 'Prolong the wars as much as you like. By God, we will never compromise on it (Palestine), ever,' the message continued...."
(CNN)
"...we will never compromise" - that might be well to remember. Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups most likely won't be willing to compromise: on the plight of the poor, poor Palestinians; or much of anything else.

That's an important point to remember.

Even if a magnanimous Caliph of Winnipeg decided to let people wear trousers during winter months (maybe after paying an 'infidel tax'), I don't think that life under what Al Qaeda seems to have in mind would be any more pleasant than Afghanistan under the Taliban.

Of course, it isn't just about trousers: there's the centuries-long development of freedom and individual rights that I think many people in the West would miss. Even the 'sophisticated' ones, who loath and despise America in general and the American military in particular for defending those rights.

As for the assertion that Barack Obama's neck is under the heel of Massa Bush: nonsense. I don't agree with President Obama in many points. But I do think that he's an intelligent, highly articulate man. And I think that he is quite interested, for a mixture of reasons, in having an America around four years from now, for his second term.

On that, we're on the same page. It's very improbable that I'll vote for Obama in the next presidential elections: but I certainly want an America around to hold them.

'Bring the Troops Home?' Not Gonna Happen

Some time ago, I wrote about how nice it would be for all American soldiers to be home with their families. (July 27, 2007) My family knows a family whose father spent a very long time in Iraq - and one of my brothers-in-law will be over there as a (civilian) firefighter for some time. It's rough on the families. I'd much rather have everybody home.

But it's not gonna happen. Like it or not, America is a large, powerful country - and the only one in the world with both the ability and the will to form coalitions against tyranny. We've been conditioned to regard that as "corny," at best. But it's true.

America can 'go it alone:'
  • With over two dozen other nations
    • Operating under a United Nations mandate
  • Remove a brutal dictator
  • Enable local and regional leaders to root out murderous fanatics in their country
  • Stick around for the years - decades - it will take for the country to get back on its feet
America could, hypothetically, pull its military out of every other country; stop exporting products and services; stop importing products and services; pretend that the rest of the world wasn't there.

Not gonna happen. America depends on trade with other countries - like it or not - and we all depend on a large, stable country being around to provide the sort of willing leadership it takes to deal with an imperfect world.

Which isn't the same as "occupying" other countries. If having American soldiers stationed in another country is "occupying" the country - or "oppressing" it, then America has been occupying Germany and Japan for over sixty years. Professor Churchill and some other serious thinkers may see the situation that way: but I doubt that the Japanese and German governments do.

Related posts: In the news:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, March 19, 2009

The West and Today's Somali President: The Enemy of Your Enemy is Your Friend?

It's hit the international news: Osama bin Laden, or someone who says he's bin Laden, and is using bin Laden's distribution network, wants Somali Muslims to overthrow Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad, Somalia's president since January 31 of this year.

Radio Netherlands' headline reads, "Bin Laden attacks Arab leader." Their article starts with: "In a newly released video recording, Osama bin Laden has lashed out at an Arab leader. In the recording, the fugitive head of the al-Qaeda network called on his supporters to depose the new Somali president Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad...."

That's President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad in the photo,

I don't know Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmad's biography all that well: his name and title certainly sound Arabic, and he's a Muslim, but, and I hope nobody will be offended by this: he doesn't look like most Arabs we see.

It's easy to assume that Radio Netherlands saw the name, read that he's a Muslim, and made an assumption. It's possible that "Arab" is a mistranslation in Radio Netherlands' English version. Or, maybe he is an Arab. It any case, once again:
  • Not all Arabs are Muslims
  • Not all Muslims are Arabs
Bin Laden is not pleased with the new Somali president. Sheikh Sharif has had control of Somalia's Islamic courts, but " 'as a result of inducements and offers from the American envoy in Kenya, he changed and turned back on his heels' and agreed to partner with the 'infidel' to form a government of national unity...." (CNN)

Don't Read the News: Study it

Or, if you stop at reading: don't assume that you've gotten the whole story. Or even, sometimes, accurate information.
The Curious Case of the Caption Caper
Sharia law's reputation has been taking a beating over the last few years, thanks to the lashings, beatings, and the odd stoning here there that Sharia law calls for. According to supporters of Sharia law, anyway.

Other supporters say that Sharia law is very nice, and not at all incompatible with Western values.

They could all be right. I've gotten the impression that there are considerably more varieties of 'genuine' Islam, than flavors of ice cream in a Baskin-Robins.

Here's what two different captions to photos of the new Somali president said:
  • "President Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has said shariah law in Somalia will not be strictly interpreted." (CNN)
  • "Sheikh Sharif Sheikh Ahmed has vowed to introduce Sharia " (BBC)
For the same of girls like Aisha Ibrahim Duhulow, I hope the CNN caption is a better match with reality. Somali courts listed her age as 23, before someone did a little checking. The young teenager had been raped.

Which, according to Sharia law - Somali style - meant that she was guilty of adultery. So, the court had her buried up to her neck and stoned to death. While about a thousand good Muslims watched. One of them explained that they were doing the will of Allah.
Yes, I know: America is Not Perfect
Some decades back, some screwball American judges had trouble telling the difference between a rape victim and an adulteress: but even they didn't pass death sentences, as far as I know. And, that application of warped cultural values to American law made quite a stink.
Yes, I know: Not All Muslims Stone Girls For Being Raped
As I said before, there is quite a smorgasbord of 'Islams' available, around the world. Whether a rape victim is stoned for the 'crime' she committed seems to depend on where she was raped.
Let's Hope CNN is Right
I sincerely hope that CNN hit closer to the mark. Quite aside from humanitarian concerns, Somali doesn't need more bad press - pirates in the north fighting Islamic fanatics in the south are doing a fine job of that right now. There's no need to go around, stoning young teens for being raped, and saying 'Allah told me to.'

Sheikh Sharif: Establishing Sharia, and "Surrogate" of Infidel America

In Somalia, it looks like no matter what a leader does: it's wrong. Support Sharia, and look like you're out to stone teenage girls; acknowledge the last thousand or so years of developments in human rights, and be called a "surrogate" of infidel America.

No matter what he does, the current president of Somalia is in for a rough time. My hope is that he doesn't do anything particularly stupid or evil, and escapes with his life.
Sheikh Sharif: No Friend to bin Laden
The new president of Somalia has "vowed to introduce Sharia." Osama bin Laden says he wants Sharia established and defended. So, what's the problem? Sounds like Bin Laden has one of his guys in Somalia.

Not so. Apparently Sheikh Sharif isn't establishing Sharia the right way. According to bin Laden.

As the new Osama bin Laden says, "...'beware of the initiatives which wear the dress of Islam and the religious institutions even as they contradict the rules of Islamic shariah, like the initiative attributed to some of the scholars of Somalia which gives Sheikh Sharif six months to implement Islamic shariah. They are asking him for something he was installed to demolish, so how can he possibly erect it?'..." (CNN) Sounds logical enough, given bin Laden's starting assumptions.

Osama bin Laden warned Somali Muslims who have been killing for Allah to beware. They shouldn't, bin Laden said, stop fighting and negotiate with the new Somali president. Sheikh Sharif, you see, is just the "new surrogate" - and he's under American control. According to Osama bin Laden.

" 'All intelligent people are aware of America's combating of Islam, and its past rejection of its establishment in Somalia, as well as in Iraq and Afghanistan,' " bin Laden said in his message. (CNN)

Who's Your Friend?

I've heard that "the enemy of your enemy is your friend" is a bit of wisdom that originated in the Middle East. Since that's an ancient center of civilization, I thank that's likely enough.

And, I think it may apply to relations between Somalia's current president, bin Laden, and the Obama administration.

Whatever preferences today's Somali president may have had, now that bin Laden has put the word out that Sheikh Sharif is persona non grata, I think that Sheikh Sharif should seriously consider not antagonizing America and other Western countries. With bin Laden and company gunning for you, a man can't have too man friends.

It goes both ways. If Sheikh Sharif wasn't a "surrogate" before, I think that the Obama administration should seriously consider giving limited and conditional support to the current Somali president.

Limited and conditional.

America: Intolerant and Biased

In a way, the view that many "intelligent" people in America is rather accurate. Despite decades of multicultural studies and the best efforts of America's self-described best and brightest, many American's remain extremely intolerant of some cherished customs of other cultures.

Like stoning rape victims to death.

More-or-less related posts: In the news: Background:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Osama bin Laden: Have Jihad, Need Cash

Osama bin Laden's in the news again.

From Reuters:

"In the latest tape, bin Laden called for jihad or holy war over the Israeli offensive in Gaza and said the global financial crisis had exposed waning U.S. influence in world affairs that would in turn weaken its ally Israel.

" 'It appears this tape demonstrates his isolation and continued attempts to remain relevant at a time when al Qaeda's ideology, mission, and agenda are being questioned and challenged throughout the world,' White House spokesman Gordon Johndroe said...."

I don't quite see how tapping into the Gaza mess for a fund-raising campaign shows isolation, but Reuters didn't go into much detail.

Osama bin Laden isn't releasing these tapes all that often. Looks like the last one was in May, urging Muslims to rise up against the oppressor Israel. Or, as Reuters rather more calmly put it, "help break the Israeli-led blockade of the area."

Which, in the minds of some, shows that Hamas and Lebanon bombing Israel is the fault of the Jews.

But that's another topic.

In the news:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Thursday, September 18, 2008

Yemen: Terrorists, Tribesmen, and an American Teen

A car bomb went off in a Middle Eastern country. This time it was in Yemen, outside an American embassy in Sanaa. Over a dozen people were killed.

A group calling itself Islamic Jihad in Yemen says they did it.

The Yemeni government rounded up about two dozen suspects: pretty standard procedure over there, after a bombing. Yemen, or rather Yemen's national government, is said to be a strong ally of America in the war on terror. I've read that before. Last year I didn't believe it, following the release of Al Qaeda leader Jamal Badawi, who planned the 2000 Cole attack.

Changing My Mind About Yemen

Since then, I've had to revise my opinion. From what I've read, I think it would be more accurate to say that the Yemeni national government is an ally of America in the war on terror.

The tribesmen of Yemen, who haven't gotten used to the idea of nation-states yet, don't seem to pay much attention to what the national government wants. My guess is that it's more important for them that Osama bin Laden's family came from Yemen. Besides, Al Qaeda says that they're protecting Islam from unbelieving foreigners: and America is just simply crawling with foreigners.

All of which may give Al Qaeda a sort of home-town advantage in those parts of Yemen that haven't quite caught up with the 18th century.

Winning Friends and Influencing People in the Islamic World

One of the people killed in that embassy bombing was Susan El-Baneh, 18, of Lackawanna, New York. She and her husband had married less than a month ago. It must have been quite an event. Her brother said that the whole village turned out.


Susan El-Baneh
(From CNN, used without permission.)

The two of them were in the process of sorting out paperwork so that they could both go to America, where she planned to finish high school, and become a nurse. As her brother, Ahmed El-Baneh, put it, "... she was taking advantage of the times now when a Muslim lady can go to work, doing what they want, not just being housewives. She was going to get her education and be successful."

That's not going to happen now, of course.

Judging from Ahmed El-Baneh's reaction to her death, I'd say that whoever ordered that hit didn't make many friends in Sanaa. As Ahmed put it, "... if you die in the month of Ramadan, you go straight to heaven, and that is where my sister will be," Ahmed El-Baneh said. "But anyone that did this cowardly act, they will go straight to hell."...

"...Muslims are supposed to be peaceful, he said, and those who committed the attack on the embassy in Yemen only smear that view.

"... 'They say they do this for a cause, but there is no cause,' he said. 'A cause is when you sit down and talk, not when you kill millions and millions of people, now including my sister among them. What is the cause for that?' ..."

Law, Marriage, Culture, and Sentiment

Wrapping up this post:
El-Baneh: That Name Sounds Familiar
Jaber El-Baneh, accused of being the seventh member of the Lackawanna Six, is on the FBI's most-wanted list. The other six were convicted of helping Al Qaeda. (The Liberty City Seven are an entirely different bunch.)

The El-Banheh name is no coincidence: He's one of Susan El-Baneh's relatives. Remember, though: the bin Laden family went to rather great lengths to distance themselves "the" Osama bin Laden. Odds are pretty good that not all El-Banehs are on the same page as Jaber.
Arranged Marriage! The Horror! The Shame!
Or, not.

Say "arranged marriage," and many Americans will probably think of some lurid melodrama, a tale of love and intrigue in feudal times, the latest honor killing in the news, or some combination of these. America and, as far as I know, all western countries, let people decide for themselves who they're going to marry.

Not all cultures work that way. People in some parts of the world depend more on reason, tradition, and experience than on endocrine systems for making life-changing decisions. Susan El-Baneh's marriage was arranged.

That, and her age, seems to have impressed some bloggers ("Arranged Death," for example). The part of the world the cited blogger comes from regards 18 as a bit young to get married. In some parts of the world, that 18-year-old would be an old maid, getting seriously long in the tooth.

The point is, not everybody is a Valley Girl, or from a proper Boston family. We'd all better start getting used to that.
Holding Hands: A Touching Detail
When Susan El-Baneh's uncle went to the hospital to see what was left of his niece and her husband, the bodies were still holding hands.

In the news: Previous posts about Yemen:
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , ,

Thursday, March 20, 2008

America is in Good Company: Bin Laden Slams Pope, Too

Today, Al-Jazeera broadcast another audio tape from Osama bin Laden.

New bin Laden Tape, Pretty Much the Same Old Message

  • "Iraq is the perfect base to set up the jihad to liberate Palestine."
  • "Palestine and its people have been suffering from too much bitterness for almost a century now on the hands of the Christians and the Jews. And both parties didn't take Palestine from us by negotiations and dialog, but with arms and fire, and this is the only way to take it back."
Was it Really bin Laden? It sounded like bin Laden. It was introduced as bin Laden. It made the same points that bin Laden has made before. Chances are, it is bin Laden.

Two Days, Two bin Laden Tapes

That was today, March 20, 2008. It's been a busy day for bin Laden watchers. He released another message yesterday: the fifth anniversary of the coalition attack on Iraq that ended Saddam Hussein's reign.

Wednesday, bin Laden had a few words to say about those Danish cartoons: the ones that were rude about Mohammed. Osama bin Laden said that Saudi Arabian King Abdullah, "the crownless king in Riyadh," could have kept the re-publication from happening "if it mattered to him." It sounds like King Abdullah isn't on bin Laden's 'preferred' list.

Now, here's the real news. Just when all the best and brightest people were convinced that Bush was to blame for all the unpleasantness in the Middle East, and elsewhere, it turns out that it's the Pope's fault. According to bin Laden.

Osama bin Laden said that those anti-Islam cartoons are part of a larger plot, and "came in the framework of a new crusade in which the Pope of the Vatican has played a large, lengthy role."

I suppose I can see bin Laden's point. CNN reported that "Pope Benedict is scheduled to visit the United States next month, with scheduled stops at the White House, the United Nations and Ground Zero, where the Twin Towers stood until al Qaeda's attack."

A sufficiently fevered imagination could see the upcoming visit as an indication of some sort of conspiratorial role in a "crusade."

Reality Check: Pope Benedict XVI and Islam

Never mind that, when this set of cartoons showed up in a Danish newspaper in 2006, the Vatican called them an "unacceptable provocation," and added that freedom of expression "cannot entail the right to offend the religious sentiment of believers."

Actually, in practice, the right to freedom of expression can be used to excuse some appallingly crude attacks on the beliefs of others: the point is that it shouldn't.

Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden's 'crusader' Pope is scheduled to meet with Muslim scholars and religious leaders this November, in the Vatican. I hope it goes well. Many Muslims didn't like it, back in 2006, when Benedict XVI quoted some definitely non-pc statements by a 14th century Byzantine emperor.

At the time, the Pope was making the point that: "To convince a reasonable soul, one does not need a strong arm, or weapons of any kind, or any other means of threatening a person with death...".1

Considering the extraordinarily thin skin of so many Muslims, and their apparent lack of appreciation for non-Islamic views, I suppose Benedict XVI is somewhat to blame for both making such a radical statement, and using a distinctly blunt 14th century ruler's words to illustrate it.

"In a 2006 speech in Germany that angered many in the Muslim world, Benedict cited a medieval text that characterized some of the teachings of the Prophet Muhammad as 'evil and inhuman,' particularly 'his command to spread by the sword the faith.'

"The pope later said he was "deeply sorry" about the reactions his remarks sparked and stressed that they did not reflect his own opinions." FOXNews (March 20, 2008)

Two Days, Two bin Laden Tapes? Does it Mean Anything?

Apart from the claim that the Pope is behind the 'crusade against Islam,' there really isn't much new here.

I think it's interesting to note that bin Laden says that "Iraq is the perfect base to set up the jihad to liberate Palestine." The fact is, Iraq is in a very central position in the Middle East: and has a great deal of oil. Now that Iraq doesn't have a ruler with a taste for solid-gold toilet fixtures, and houses to match, that wealth could be used for a great many things: including building Iraq into a strong, free nation; or outfitting an army of jihadists.

Given a choice, I'd prefer a strong, free, Iraq to either the 'good old days' of Hussein, or a well-quipped horde of terrorists.

Let's hope that American foreign policy doesn't include pulling the rug out from under Iraq's new government.

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.
Related posts, on Islam, Christianity, Religion, Culture and the War on Terror.
1A transcript in English of the entire speech is available LECTURE OF THE HOLY FATHER - Aula Magna of the University of Regensburg - Faith, Reason and the University / Memories and Reflections (Tuesday, 12 September 2006).
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Sunday, February 3, 2008

Bhutto: A Son of bin Laden Planned My Death

"Benazir Bhutto accuses Osama Bin Laden's son from beyond the grave" "Times Online" (February 3, 2008)

The former Pakistani prime minister fingered 16-year-old son of Osama bin Laden, Hamza bin Laden, as leading one of four groups coming after her. The accusation is in her posthumous autobiography.

From Benazir Bhutto's statement, and other intelligence, it looks like Osama bin Laden is planning to keep Al Qaeda leadership in the family.
The send-assassins bin Laden isn't the son of Osama bin Laden who's planning a trans-African horse race for peace. That's Omar Osama bin Laden. Sheik bin Laden has quite a number of sons.

The four groups out to kill Bhutto were said to be sent by
  • The Taliban warlord Baitullah Mehsud
  • Hamza Bin Laden, a son of Osama Bin Laden
  • Red Mosque militants
  • A Karachi-based militant group.
Posts about Benazir Bhutto.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: ,

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Hooves for Peace? Horse Race Across North Africa
Planned by bin Laden

Omar Osama(1) bin Laden, that is. He's a son of "the" Osama bin Laden.

The Associated Press article says that Omar Osama bin Laden "bears a striking resemblance to his notorious father - " although, judging by the photos, I wouldn't have much trouble telling the two apart. For starters, the younger bin Laden's dreadlocks and black leather biker jacket aren't quite what you'd expect the leader of Al Qaeda to wear. Besides, Omar Osama bin Laden is 26. his father is 51.

Omar and his 52-year-old British wife (her age is not a typo) hope that the 3,000-mile race will draw attention to their effort to negotiate peace between Muslims and the west.

Although I think it's fine that they want peace, I think they may not understand what's actually been going on since September 11, 2001.

Omar said three things that caught my attention:
  1. "My father thinks he will be good for defending the Arab people and stop anyone from hurting the Arab or Muslim people any place in the world," adding that western governments didn't object when his father fought the Russians in Afghanistan in the 1980s.(2)
  2. "My father is asking for a truce but I don't think there is any government (that) respects him. At the same time they do not respect him, why everywhere in the world, they want to fight him? There is a contradiction."
  3. "It's about changing the ideas of the Western mind. A lot of people think Arabs — especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Usama — are all terrorists. This is not the truth."
I can agree with the last of those three points. As for the rest:
  1. The Associated Press said that "Omar doesn't criticize his father and says Usama bin Laden is just trying to defend the Islamic world."

    I don't know that the Islamic world needed defending from the West, and in particular America, until Omar's father arranged for airliners to crash into New York's World Trade Center, the Pentagon, and whatever target Flight 93 was headed for.

    It's possible that Omar may have been thinking of a more subtle threat than military force. Much of the Islamic world seems to have opted out of technological and cultural change almost a thousand years ago. (3)

    The Arab / Islamic world was able to stay out of the mainstream for quite a while. Even during the time when European nations had world-spanning empires, determined leaders could insulate their holdings with some success.

    Mass production, air travel, and telecommunications have put Mickey Mouse® and Coca-Cola®, Rambo and the Rolling Stones, and all the rest of Western culture, in just about every region of the world. Including the Islamic world.

    Going through about seven centuries of cultural and technological change in a generation must have been a terrible shock.

    I'm none to happy about quite a bit of the contemporary culture: right now, Britney Spears is a pretty good example. But my wife and I defend our beliefs by teaching our children what we believe, and why. Omar's father and his fellow-terrorists seem to think that Islam is best defended by:
    • Destroying office buildings, killing thousands of people in the process
    • Blowing up irreplaceable artworks (remember the Bamiyan Buddhas?)
    • Beheading people they don't agree with
    • Killing teens for wearing trousers.
    Although I'll admit to being biased, I think our way is better.

    In the Arab / Islamic world, it's easy to see the West as the cause of all problems. That doesn't mean that it's true.

    I think that the defenders of Islam need to decide what they're defending: the teachings of Mohammed, or practices that have as much of a place in today's world as the my ancestors' ritual human sacrifices(4).
  2. "My father is asking for a truce but I don't think there is any government (that) respects him. At the same time they do not respect him, why everywhere in the world, they want to fight him? There is a contradiction."

    Huh???

    I must be missing something here. America and the rest of the coalition are fighting Osama bin Laden and other terrorists because they're a very real and present danger to anyone who isn't Islamic enough - by burqa-and-burnoose standards. Respect has nothing to do with it.

    This isn't some chivalrous duel from Europe's antiquity, where noble knights face off in a clearing. Civilized people around the world are trying to protect themselves from a relatively small, but rabidly active, group of religious zealots who are convinced that their god is telling them to kill infidels.
  3. "... A lot of people think Arabs — especially the bin Ladens, especially the sons of Usama — are all terrorists. This is not the truth."

    Omar as a very good point here. The dismissive "they're all Muslims" attitude doesn't help America and the west in general, any more than it helped one candidate's campaign.

    I don't have evidence to back this up, but I strongly suspect that most people in the Arab world, if they knew about western culture and beliefs, would be content to go to their jobs, raise their families, worship in their mosques, and forget about suicide vests and car bombs.
I'd like to think that Omar's horse race will help end the war on terror. But, unless he and his backers learn about the West in general, and America in particular, I don't think it will work.

Not as a doorway to peace.

As a horse race, though, that 3,000-mile trans-African marathon should be quite a media event.
(1)Why do I use the "Osama" spelling? As of about four months ago, it was the more commonly-used Latinization of Sheik bin Laden's name on the Web. (The name's أسامة بن محمد بن عوض بن لادن (Osama bin Muhammad bin Awad bin Laden), but he's usually called "Osama bin Laden in America. Or, "Usama bin Laden.") I wrote a little more about that name, and why I settled on "Osama," in "" (September 21, 2007)

(2) We're not likely to forget the Mujahideen - they seem to be the standard-issue example of American error these days. Apparently Iran-Contra Affair is passé.

(3)Background

If you don't like history, stop reading here.

The Crusades, from the 11th to the 13th century, were an intensely unpleasant experience for the Arab/Islamic world. Ignoring the outside world, or at least having nothing to do with foreign ideas, must have seemed like a very good idea at the time.

(Europe had a somewhat parallel experience, when the Huns had a shot at adding the west end or Eurasia to their holdings. "Attila the Hun" is still still a name that can be used to describe a particularly violent and dangerous person, at least in America, just as "Crusader" is still, I understand, an epithet in the Arab world. In contrast, "Attila" is a moderately popular name in Turkey, and "Crusader" was a positive term in English, or at any rate American English, until 'sensitivity' became fashionable.)

It's ironic that Arab/Islamic culture and technology was superior to what Europe had to offer during the Crusades. My ancestors were, in fact, little more than "barbarians" at the time, according to the 19th-century Lewis Henry Morgan / Edward B. Tylor model of cultural evolution.

But, they were smart barbarians, learned a great deal while in the east, and brought as much of the technology and ideas as they could back with them.

So, for the next seven centuries or so, Europeans developed new technologies. They also started tearing their society apart, and putting it back together: a process that loosened up the top-down feudal system, and led to a series of revolutions.

Arabic numerals replaced the Roman system for mathematics: paving the way for the sort of math needed in the Industrial and Information Revolutions.

The Magna Carta of 1215 was the first of several radical changes in the status quo.

I'm going to restrain myself, and boil everything that's happened in the last 10 centuries into this sentence: While the Arab / Islamic world generally worked hard to keep things just the way they were, Europeans developed global trade networks, movable type, space ships, the Beatles, and email.

So today, the culture of camels and burqas is dealing with the culture of SUVs and bikinis: and having a hard time adjusting.

(4)I'm half Norwegian: and sacrifices to Odin were recorded as recently as the 11th century in Scandinavia. My Irish ancestors probably were involved in human sacrifice, too, since neolithic buildings tended to include fresh corpses in the foundations. We don't do that sort of thing now, though: so it's quite safe to visit Scandinavia or Minnesota.
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Thursday, November 29, 2007

Bin Laden's Back -
New Audio, Same Old Message

Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda may be learning a lesson from American media personalities: If you haven't been in the news since last week, you're last week's news.

Al-Jazeera released brief excerpts from an upcoming bin Laden audio, "Message to the European Peoples, which Al Qaeda says will be available: probably on the Islamic militant websites that Al Qaeda favors as its media outlets.

Here's part of what bin Laden had to say:

"The events of Manhattan were retaliation against the American-Israeli alliance's aggression against our people in Palestine and Lebanon, and I am the only one responsible for it. The Afghan people and government knew nothing about it. America knows that,"

Apparently, Osama bin Laden doesn't blame European nations for getting involved in America's invasion of Afghanistan. He says they had no choice, but now it's time to get back to good, old-fashioned anti-Americanism.

"The American tide is ebbing, with God's help, and they will leave back to their countries," he said, to Europeans. "Therefore it is better for you to stand against your leaders who are dropping in on the White House, and to work seriously to lift the injustice against the believers."

"All your victims from bombings were children and women, and you know that women do not fight, but you target them even when they are celebrating to break their morale," he said: which raises an interesting point.

Iran's president Ahmadinejad said that there aren't any homosexuals in Iran, now bin Laden is saying that all the victims from (American-directed) bombings were children and women. I've been watching news video from the Middle East - and some of those women and children had rather thick beards.

Come on! Are people in the Middle East that different from everyone else? I think it's obvious that this 'the great Satan America kills only women and children' stuff just standard-issue hyperbole - but I'm afraid that quite a few people will believe bin Laden.

This will be bin Laden's third message since September - a burst of activity, after a year's silence.

Al Qaeda has stepped up its media campaign, too, doubling its 2006 productivity. The Islamic terrorist group has been releasing an average of one message every three days in 2007.

Same Old, Same Old

Bin Laden fans won't see it this way, but except for Al Qaeda's increasing media savvy, this is the same old thing: America is evil, anyone who works with America is a tool or an infidel, and the big, bad west should stop helping people in the Middle East set up independent, terrorist-free, nations.

If leaders around the world keep taking this sort of propaganda seriously, this is going to be a long war.
Posted by at 2 comments:
Labels: , , , ,

Monday, November 5, 2007

Elections in Pakistan?
Be Careful What You Wish For

This isn't one of Pakistan's happier times. President / General Pervez Musharraf of Pakistan has suspended Pakistan's constitution, and is in the process of imprisoning people who don't agree with him, and have said so publicly.

No problem, Musharraf says. He'll step down as general and have elections: soon.

American Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, and others, are trying to talk Msharraf into turning that promise into action.

Meanwhile, Osama bin Laden is quite possibly hiding in the Pakistan/Afghanistan border mountains. And a recent poll shows that bin Laden is more popular in Pakistan than Musharraf.

So, as attractive as the "Vox populi, vox Dei" is as a phrase, the "vox populi" in this case might bring a little "dei" to power who really shouldn't be given nuclear weapons.

Finally, Musharraf isn't the only potentially legitimate leader in Pakistan. Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto decided rather abruptly to skip her trip abroad, giving her husband and three children in Dubai a miss for now.

Not a bad idea, I'd say, considering what's going on in Pakistan. Assuming that those elections happen, Bhutto seems to have a good chance of winning. Reports say that she's a great deal more popular than Musharraf, too.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , ,

Wednesday, October 31, 2007

Al Qaeda and Company:
They Can't be 'Decapitated'

Over in Madrid, Judge Javier Gomez Bermudez told 21 of 28 defendants in the Madrid bombing trial that the Spanish court had found them guilty.

The news has focused on the trial, the March 11, 2004, backpack bomb attacks that killed 191 people, and how the court decisions ranged from acquittal to sentences running to thousands of years.

That's interesting, and important, certainly to the individuals involved.

There's a bigger story here, too.

"Most of the suspects are young Muslim men of North African origin who allegedly acted out of allegiance to Al Qaeda to avenge the presence of Spanish troops in Iraq and Afghanistan, although Spanish investigators say they did so without a direct order or financing from Usama bin Laden's terror network." (emphasis is mine)

Yesterday, I wrote briefly about WWII and the War on Terror, and how today's decentralized Islamic fanatics make a one-to-one comparison impossible.

This is an example. These terrorists, who included Spaniards, were inspired by Al Qaeda and Osama bin Laden, but neither taking orders or getting support from Al Qaeda or the terrorist group's leader.

(Usama? Osama? read this post.)
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , ,

Thursday, October 25, 2007

Beheading Iraqis: Not Al Qaeda's Brightest Idea

What happens when you try to bomb and behead your way into the hearts and minds of a country?

In the case of Iraq, you get Osama bin Laden criticizing his followers. In a public forum. And, more to the point, a lot of angry, determined, Iraqi sheiks.

Taking a look at what doesn't make the headlines, it's obvious that American leaders and the rest of the coalition have much less time to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat than headlines suggest.

The commanding officer of Regimental Combat Team-6, Colonel Richard Simcock, recently said, "... we get all sorts of congressional visitors who are looking for the 'Anbar' story, and let me tell you what I tell them: we are winning, but we have not yet won." [emphasis is mine]

Colonel Simcock made that statement in "Interview with Col. Richard Simcock," on military.com: ("Benefiting the US Army, US Navy, US Air Force, Marine Corps, Coast Guard").

The Iraq he described, at least Fallujah and the rest of the Anbar Province, is not the bomb-ravaged, fanatic-infested, America-hating, hopeless case that we've heard so much about.

The Iraqis he deals with sound a lot like most of the people I know, here in America:

"Q -- What do the local citizens want -- either from their mayor or from us?
A -- They want the same things in Fallujah as we have in America; health care, education, and technology. They want good schools, markets with food and stuff to buy, along with electricity to run their computers, air conditioners, and businesses."

The assassination of Sheik Sattar Abu Rishi (also Latinized as Sheik Sattar Abu Risha) had an effect: but not the one Al Qaeda in Iraq (AQI) intended.

Colonel Simcock said, "... they are not intimidated. They saw it as a very tragic event.

"It had the opposite effect that AQI wanted. AQI's message was “Look what happens when you work with the Americans, you wind up dead.” That is not what I am getting from the sheiks that I work with in AO Raleigh, it is just the opposite. They are saddened, but they are angry and makes them work with more energy to get to the same end state that we are trying to reach."
I strongly recommend reading all of "Interview with Col. Richard Simcock." Particularly if you've just heard the latest car bombing scores.
Doing research for this post, I ran into some unfamiliar acronyms used by the American military, and their definitions, from mytroops.com and michaeltotten.com:

AQIAl Qaeda in Iraq
AOArea of Operations
IAIraqi Army
IPIraqi Police
ISFIraqi Security Forces
MiTTMilitary Transition Team
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , ,

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Osama bin Laden:
Something Old, Something New

Excerpts from Osama bin Laden's latest audio tape played on Al-Jazeera television yesterday: along with a still photo of the Islamic philosopher and apparent spiritual leader of Al Qaeda.

There was a surprise in the excerpts, and something that wasn't so surprising.

First, the non-surprise.

"It is the duty of the people of Islam in the Sudan and its environs, especially the Arabian Peninsula, to perform jihad against the Crusader invaders and wage armed rebellion to remove those who let them in," a translation and transcript provided by IntelCenter. (Hats off to the Boston Herald for telling where they got the information. IntelCenter monitors extremist Web sites.)

Bin Laden is talking about U.N. 'peacekeepers' in Darfur, trying to slow down the genocide there. This 'death to the peacekeepers' thing is hardly news. Bin Laden deputy, Ayman al-Zawhiri, did a jihad cal for Darfur in a September 20 video. Bin Laden
did about the same thing back in 2006, telling his followers to fight a proposed U.N. force in Sudan.

Another tape, another jihad: Not really news.

An article in the Sudan Tribune pointed out something unusual in the latest audio recording released by bin Laden. "In the sections of the message broadcast Monday, bin Laden took the highly uncharacteristic step of acknowledging that al-Qaida had made mistakes and chiding followers for not uniting their ranks — a reference to the squabbles among various insurgent groups in Iraq.

" 'Everybody can make a mistake, but the best of them are those who admit their mistakes,' " he said. "Mistakes have been made during holy wars but mujahideen have to correct their mistakes."

Osama bin Laden's very unusual criticism of his followers may be more than "the squabbles among various insurgent groups in Iraq." It could be that Al Qaeda and company in Iraq did such an effective job bombing and beheading their way out of the hearts and minds of Iraqis, that bin Laden believed that a public reprimand was called for.

It's not good news for Al Qaeda, when an AP article says, "October is on course to record the second consecutive decline in U.S. military and Iraqi civilian deaths and Americans commanders say they know why: the U.S. troop increase and an Iraqi groundswell against al-Qaida and Shiite militia extremists."

Major General Rick Lynch pointed out that Shiites and Sunnis have joined Americans in defending Iraq: 20,000 "Concerned Citizens" in the past four months.

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.
Posted by at No comments:
Labels: , , , , , , , , , ,
Subscribe to: Posts (Atom)

Unique, innovative candles


Visit us online:
Spiral Light Candle  • Find a Retailer
• Spiral Light Candle Store

Blogroll

Note! Although I believe that these websites and blogs are useful resources for understanding the War on Terror, I do not necessarily agree with their opinions. 1 1 Given a recent misunderstanding of the phrase "useful resources," a clarification: I do not limit my reading to resources which support my views, or even to those which appear to be accurate. Reading opinions contrary to what I believed has been very useful at times: sometimes verifying my previous assumptions, sometimes encouraging me to change them.

Even resources which, in my opinion, are simply inaccurate are sometimes useful: these can give valuable insights into why some people or groups believe what they do.

In short, It is my opinion that some of the resources in this blogroll are neither accurate, nor unbiased. I do, however, believe that they are useful in understanding the War on Terror, the many versions of Islam, terrorism, and related topics.