World's Longest Arch Bridge Proposed - Bin Laden's Building it

Bin Laden's building the world's longest arch bridge.

No, not that bin Laden. Osama bin Laden has been out of the construction business for quite a while.

The bin Laden family seems to be pretty big, and quite a few bin Ladens are still involved in the family business. On a rather large scale, it seems.

Sheikh Tarek bin Laden, brother of Osama bin Laden, plans to build what will be the world's largest suspension bridge, connecting Africa and Arabia. It's a huge engineering project, and promises to make a big difference in the economy of the region.

I wrote about the bridge project elsewhere.

Now that I've gotten your attention, here's a little puzzle. Breaking this blog's format, I'm giving a number of excerpts from an article, without first giving the article's name and source.

See if you can guess who published this. I've but some key phrases in bold.

"DJIBOUTI, Aug 13--The brother of the world's most famous terrorist has unveiled a plan to build the world's longest suspension bridge, linking two continents across the world's most dangerous waters, as well as two new cities -- one at each end.... "

"...An odd mix of Djiboutian government officials, American military contractors and journalists gathered in the splendor of the Djibouti Kempinsky Palace, the country's sole five-star hotel, to watch hyperbolic promotional videos.

"The project was compared to the construction of the Pyramids, the Garden of Eden and the Great Wall of China. It would be a "hope for all humanity".

"The company's chief executive, Mohamed Ahmed al Ahmed, said people around the world would soon hope and pray for a life in Djibouti and would forget their dream of living in America...."

"...The main contractors are a firm called L3 Communications, a company which styles itself as offering 'global security and engineering solutions'.

"It is also one of America's largest defense contractors and its senior staff includes retired military officials and Republican businessmen.

"Sheikh Bin Laden may be the front man, but L3 seemed to be running the show. Experts lined up to answer questions after the video screenings were all working for US firms -- some were former Bush administration officials.

"Even the chief executive, Ahmed, has close American ties. He previously worked for another US defense contractor, DynCorp.

"Ahmed claimed these were minor problems. Look at Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha, he insisted ignoring the fact that those cities were built on oil money...."

This informative article makes sure that the reader knows that a big Arabian engineering project involves

• American military contractors
• Individuals with links to the American military and the Republican party

We're also told that L3's chief executive, who has "close American ties," ignores the fact "that those cities [Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Doha] were built on oil money."

This article appeared on Alalam News Channel's website ("Bin Laden to Build World's Longest Bridge " Alalam.ir (August 13, 2008)). That's an Iranian station, with offices in Tehran.

Aside from the somewhat dated, overly-formal phrase, "which styles itself," this article could have been written in America. The writer uses English skillfully.

And, I've run into quite a few Americans who regard links to the American military, the Republican party, and the Bush administration in very much the same way as this article's author does: and seem to believe that "oil money" is different from other sorts of money.

I believe I understand why an Iranian might view an Arabian engineering projects connections with Americans with some suspicion. Why some Americans have similar attitudes toward the American military, the "military-industrial complex," 'oil money,' and "big oil" is not so clear.

Not-exactly-related posts, about what some people actually believe:

• "Assumptions; the Ames Anthrax Strain; Ames, Iowa, and Fort Deterick"
  (August 15, 2008)
  • Includes a
    strictly-for-laughs conspiracy theory I cooked up
• "911 Was an Inside Job! Our Boys Need to Know!"
  (June 10, 2008)
• "Marine Shot in Cleveland: Should America Pull Out of Ohio?"
  (June 2, 2008)
• "THEY are After McCain: Conspiracy Theories, Anyone?"
  (April 4, 2008)
• "Embrace Peace or I'll Kill You! More Violent Peace Lovers"
  (March 7, 2008)
• "Terrorists Living Among Us! No Big Deal?"
  (October 16, 2007)

bin Laden: Israel is Terrorist State (This is News?)

Big surprise, everyone: bin Laden doesn't like Israel. He says Israel supports terrorism. He released a tape yesterday to say so.

Actually, that should be 'purportedly released a tape.' The voice hasn't been identified as bin Laden yet, but my guess is that it actually is the terrorist leader.

The message has his style, and world view.

"Alleged bin Laden tape urges Muslims to liberate Palestine"
CNN (May 16, 2008)

"(CNN) -- A blunt new statement attributed to al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden urges his followers to liberate Palestine. The statement's release coincides with Israel's 60th anniversary.

"In the audio message, the speaker reiterates jihadist opposition to the existence of the Jewish state and its policies, and tells listeners that "liberating" Palestine should be the aim of every Muslim.

"The message, titled 'The Causes of Conflict on the 60th Anniversary of the State of Israeli Occupation,' was released Thursday on jihadist Web sites, where it is played over a still image. It runs nine minutes and 40 seconds and is addressed to Western peoples."

Whether or not it's bin Laden talking, I don't see much new in this.

"The speaker decries characterization of Palestinian militant groups as terror organizations. He also says Israel has engaged in terror.

" 'As your low values show double standards in one issue, you call the Palestinian organizations terror organizations. They were punished and ignored.' "

Okay. I think I understand now. Palestinians blow up strategic schools and students, attack tactical markets, and the Jews are to blame for it. That makes outfits like Hamas national liberation movements. When the Jewish military takes down rocket launchers hidden inside someone's home, that's terrorism.

Goofy, but pretty straightforward: and quite simple to understand, once you learn to look at the world that way.

Instead of haranguing on moral equivalence: here's a link to another, ah, discussion of the topic. "Moral Equivalence, Prisoners, and Al Qaeda" (July 21, 2007).

(Yes, I know: things are rough for many Palestinians. People in the Gaza strip aren't living the good life: to put it mildly. That doesn't make it okay to kill Jews.)

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.

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.

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.

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.)

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:

AQI	Al Qaeda in Iraq
AO	Area of Operations
IA	Iraqi Army
IP	Iraqi Police
ISF	Iraqi Security Forces
MiTT	Military Transition Team

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.

Individuals and the War on Terror

Although I acknowledge the importance of vast socio-economic forces and other metacauses, I also think that individuals make a difference. In the War on Terror, some people stand out.

• President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran
• American Armed Forces
• American Civilians
• Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan
• The Holy Father
• Iraqi Leaders
• Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei
• Osama bin Laden, from Saudi Arabia
• Stanislav Petrov, the man who saved the world
  (From 1983: before 9/11, a tale of one man's common sense and willingness to think.)

---

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, Iran

• "Ahmadinejad Wants America to Apologize: This is News?"
  (January 28, 2009)
• "Barack Obama's Presidency: History Being Made"
  (November 6, 2008)
  (President Ahmadinejad congratulates, advises President-Elect Obama)
• "Barack Obama's Presidency: History Being Made"
  (November 6, 2008)
• "Resolutions "Worthless Papers"
  - Iran's President Ahmadinejad"
  (October 24, 2007)
• "Iran's New Nuclear Negotiator"
  (October 21, 2007)
• "Iran and Russia and Germany and Japan"
  (October 19, 2007)
• "Russia's Putin and Iran's Ahmadinejad: More Complications"
  (October 16, 2007)
• "Students Demonstrating Against the President: in Iran"
  (October 10, 2007)
• "Ahmadinejad's Plan for Peace: Banish the Jews to Alaska"
  (October 7, 2007)
• "Kidnapped Israeli Soldier's Wife Asked Wrong Question at UN"
  (September 27, 2007)
• "President Ahmadinejad: Let's Give Him the Credit He Deserves"
  (September 26, 2007)
• "President Ahmadinejad at Columbia University: The Transcript"
  (September 25, 2007)
• "Ahmadinejad at Columbia, What Happened?"
  (September 24, 2007)
• "Ahmadinejad at Columbia University - Part 2 - There are No Homosexuals in Iran?!"
  (September 24, 2007)
• "Ahmadinejad at Columbia University - Part 1"
  (September 24, 2007)
• "Columbia President Introduces Ahmadinejad at Columbia University"
  (September 24, 2007)
• "Let Ahmadinejad Speak? Of Course!"
  (September 24, 2007)
• "President Ahmadinejad Arrives Not-So-Quietly at Columbia University"
  (September 24, 2007)
• "President Ahmadinejad Arrives Quietly in New York"
  (September 23, 2007)
• "Columbia, President Ahmadinejad, and Tolerance"
  (September 23, 2007)

American Armed Forces

• "Michael Jackson and 1st Lieutenant Brian N. Bradshaw: One's News, the Other's Not"
  (July 7, 2009)
• "A Bank Robbery in Texas, Donald Murrah and David Long"
  (March 12, 2009)
• Navy Petty Officer Mike Monsoor
  
  • "Navy Petty Officer Mike Monsoor and the Trident Hoax"
    (March 11, 2009)
  • "Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor: American Hero"
    (March 31, 2008)
  • "Golden Tridents on Petty Officer Michael A. Monsoor's Coffin"
    (July 5, 2008)
  • "Michael Anthony Monsoor: Above and Beyond the Call of Duty"
    (April 8, 2008)
  • "Michael Monsoor to Receive Posthumus Medal of Honor"
    (April 2, 2008)
  • "Petty Officer 2nd Class Michael A. Monsoor: American Hero"
    (March 31, 2008)
• "Melissa Stockwell: Representing America, Again
  (September 6, 2008)
• "There are Heroes - Ross A. McGinnis"
  (June 2, 2008)
• Gunnery Sergeant William "Spanky" Gibson
  "Crippled Marine Marches Back to Iraq, Wants to Help"
  (February 28, 2008)
• Marine 1st Lieutenant Nathan Krissoff
  Marine 2nd Lieutenant Austin Krissoff
  Lieutenant Commander Bill Krissoff
  "A Father Honors Fallen Son"
  (November 28, 2007)
• Specialist Christopher Hoyt
  "There are Heroes"
  (November 19, 2007)
• Lance Corporal Matthew A. Snyder, Albert Snyder:
  • "Individuals Count: See the Snyders"
    (November 1, 2007)
  • "Tolerance Only Goes So Far"
    (October 31, 2007)
  • "Does Free Speech Include Disrupting Funerals?"
    (October 26, 2007)
• Lieutenant Michael Murphy, U.S. Seal
  "The World Needs Heroes -"
  (October 22, 2007)

American Civilians

• "Bruce Maloy, Thank You"
  (March 13, 2009)
• "Dog Tags for Kids: That's One Good Idea"
  (December 26, 2008)
• Former President Jimmy Carter
  (starting April 9, 2008)
  • "News Never Revealed Inside the US! Reality Check, Please"
    (April 22, 2008)
  • "Jimmy Carter, Condoleezza Rice, and Paying Attention"
    (April 22, 2008)
  • "Carter the Peacemaker: Carter-Hamas Talks Bring Hope of Peace!"
    (April 19, 2008)
  • "Former President Carter's Peace Trip: What You See Depends on Where You Stand"
    (April 19, 2008)
  • "Carter Meetings Proof: Hamas a National Liberation Movement! Reality Check, Please"
    (April 19, 2008)
  • "Terrorists, Shmerrorists: I'm Here for Peace, Man!
    Jimmy Carter and Khalid Meshaal Meeting Today"
    (April 18, 2008)
  • "Former President Carter, Hamas, Khalid Meshaal: Definitely Not Routine"
    (April 17, 2008)
  • "Hugs and Kisses: To Hamas, From Former President Carter"
    (April 15)
  • "Jimmy Carter and the Blogosphere"
    (April 11, 2008)
  • "Khaled Meshaal, Jimmy Carter, and the News: Why the 24 Hour Delay?"
    (April 10, 2008)
  • "Khaled Meshaal; Jimmy Carter; Common Sense: Which of These Doesn't Match the Other Two?"
    (April 10, 2008)
  • "Jimmy Carter's Mid East Jaunt"
    (April 9, 2008)
• "Peach Bottom Nuclear Plant: Security was the Pits"
  (February 28, 2008)
• " 'Cowboy Diplomacy' and 'Live Long and Prosper' "
  (October 29, 2007)

Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan

• "Bhutto's Assassination Anniversary: Claims, Wild and Otherwise"
  (December 27, 2008)
• " 'Democracy is the Best Revenge' "
  (September 6, 2008)
• "Bhutto: A Son of bin Laden Planned My Death"
  (February 3, 2008)
• "Bhutto Assassination: Gun = Government Involvement?" (January 2, 2008)
• "Pakistan and the Bhutto Assassination: A New-and-Improved Official Explanation"
  (January 1, 2008)
• "Pakistan is not America"
  (December 30, 2007)
• "Brave Words, Prudent Words"
  (December 30, 2007)
• "After Benazir Bhutto: Grassroots Looters, Official spinmeisters"
  (December 28, 2007)
• "Pyrrhic Victory, Anyone? Another Thought on the Bhutto Assassination"
  (December 28, 2007)
• "Al Qaeda: We Killed Bhutto"
  (December 28, 2007)
• "Benazir Bhutto's Assassination and Nawaz Sharif's Near-Miss: It Could be Worse"
  (December 27, 2007)
• "Benzir Bhutto, June 21, 1953 – December 27, 2007"
  (December 27, 2007)
• "Pakistani Government Promises Objective Investigation of its Involvement in Bhutto Assassination Attempt"
  (October 22, 2007)
• "Bhutto, Bombs, and Curious Coincidences"
  (October 19, 2007)
  
• "'Long Live Bhutto' Banner: Why English?"
  (October 19, 2007)
  
• "Pakistan Politics: Bhutto Bombed"
  (October 18, 2007)

The Holy Father

• "Spiritual Leader of 1,000,000,000 Doesn't Meet With Los Angeles Advocate!"
  (April 15, 2008)
• "Pope Visits America: News and Adequate Coverage"
  (April 15, 2008)
• "Pope Benedict XVI is Coming to America"
  (April 14, 2008)
• "The Pope Comes to America: A Prediction in a Very Catholic Post"
  (April 13, 2008)
• "America is in Good Company: Bin Laden Slams Pope, Too"
  (March 20, 2008)
• " 'Pope attacks Iran at Jewish Congress' "
  (October 13, 2007)
• "Muslim Leaders Call For Dialog! Pope Told "Survival of World" at Stake!!"
  (October 12, 2007)

Iraqi Leaders

• "Ten Iraqi Sheiks Kidnapped: Who's Promoting Islam Here?"
  (October 28, 2007)
• "Stressed-Out by Iraq? You're Not the Only One"
  Sheikh Abdul Sattar Abu Risha, Sheik Majid Tahir
  (September 16, 2007)

Supreme Leader of Iran Ayatollah Ali Khamenei

• "Putin, Ahmadinejad, Iran, Syria, Israel: Here We Go Again?"
  (October 18, 2007)
• "Wisdom (?) From Iran: Boycott Peace Conference"
  (October 13, 2007)
• "When Iran's Disappointed, Bad Things Happen"
  (September 29, 2007)
• " 'Quagmire,' the Revolutionary Guard, and the News"
  (August 19, 2007)

Osama bin Laden, from Saudi Arabia

• "Osama bin Laden: Something Old, Something New"
  (October 23, 2007)
• "SITE, Osama bin Laden, and Online Security: What Part of "Secret" Doesn't Washington Understand?"
  (October 9, 2007)
• "القـُدْس - Al Quds - Death to Israel, Death to America, and All That"
  (October 6, 2007)
• "Osama bin Laden, Superstar!"
  (September 11, 2007)
• "Osama bin Laden: Media Star"
  (September 10, 2007)
• "When Osama Talks, People Listen"
  (September 8, 2007)
• "Bin Laden's New Video"
  (September 7, 2007)
• "Muslims Fear American Attack, Global Survey Finds!!!"
  (July 27, 2007)

Stanislav Petrov, the man who saved the world

• "Common Sense Knows No Boundaries: Neither does Bureaucratic Vindictiveness"
  (February 14, 2008)

Diplomacy: A Noble Ideal

It would be nice, if a series of letters, and meetings, and conferences, and declarations, and solemn agreements, would convince Al-Qaeda, and all people on jihad against the west, to give up their beliefs. Who knows? Osama bin Laden might even apologize for the 9/11 attack.

There's reason why I seem unconvinced that there is a purely diplomatic solution to the war on terror. I've been watching relations between Israel and every other country in the Arab world, off and on, for almost a half-century.

At first, I had some sympathy for the Palestinians. For some reason, they couldn't move to other nations in the region, and seemed to be forced to live in restricted areas in and around Israel.

Then I noticed a difference between how the two groups acted in warfare.

The Israeli military killed Palestinian civilians: because Palestinian military leaders, sniper positions, and rocket launchers were placed among or behind civilians.

Heroic Palestinians launched attacks on strategic buses and shopping malls, and destroyed tactical restaurants, hotels, a disco and a pizzeria. In one daring attack, two teenage boys were beaten, stoned, dismembered, and tucked away in a cave.

And that's just highlights of victories over the Israeli oppressors, since the Oslo Accords, signed September 13, 1993.

The defenders of Palestine forced the Israeli occupiers (as they've been described) out of the Gaza Strip two years ago. My understanding was that there was an agreement that Palestinians there would stop firing rockets at Israelis.

To their credit, the Palestinians didn't kill Israelis in rocket attacks as often for quite a while. Then, recently, they stepped up the bombardment of Israel. Israel declared the Gaza Strip an "enemy entity."

Predictably, Hamas criticized the Jews. "This Israeli step is a clear indication of military escalation against Gaza," Hamas spokesman Sami Abu Zuhri said.

There's a lesson here.

Many people in the Middle East are upstanding citizens, interested in their families and livelihood, and willing to be sensible.

On the other hand, quite a few people and organizations there have worked long and hard to establish a reputation for bloodshed and destruction, and for treating cease-fires, truces, and peace agreements as opportunities to re-group and re-arm.

With a track record like that, it's hard to put a great deal of confidence in

• Iran's assurances over their nuclear program
• Syria's assurance that they don't have a nuclear program
• The International Atomic Energy Agency's ability to inspect and negotiate the truth out of the mess

Or, for that matter, any of the 'death to Israel, death to the great Satan America' outfits' good will.

Osama bin Laden, Superstar!

Blogger's preface:

• I've been serious about the situation in Iraq for days.
• Last night I read about Britney Spears' remarkable song-and-dance routine at the MTV's Video Music Awards.
• Today, I watched Senators act as if they were doing screen tests for a contemporary Mack Sennett comedy.

I'll let you decide whether or not those phenomena had anything to do with this post.

Now, the post:

For the second time in less than a month, Sheik Osama bin Laden, one of Al Qaeda's founders, and spiritual leader of many jihadists, released an inspirational video.

Bin Laden achieved fame after the super-mega-hit performance of some of his followers six years ago today. Their attacks, on the Twin Towers in New York City and the Pentagon, were slightly marred by uncooperative passengers on Flight 93.

Perhaps in hopes of producing another smash hit soon, Sheik Osama bin Laden urges Muslim youth to join a "caravan" of martyrs, like 9/11 hijacker Waleed al-Shehri.

Bin laden shows the sort of humility so typical of megastars, by reducing his onscreen presence to a simple still photograph, possibly taken from his recent super-hit video. Bin Ladens' voice plays over the picture.

Hijacker and martyr Waleed al-Shehri, in a posthumous appearance, taped before he helped kill thousands of people, warns America that there will be more Muslims like him, bringing death and destruction to America: "We shall come at you from your front and back, your right and left."

Inspirational words!

Wouldn't it be nice, if all that energy could be channeled into something a little more productive than mass destruction? Maybe a "keep your oasis clean" campaign, or saving the Egyptian tortoise?

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.

Osama bin Laden: Media Star

If you liked Osama bin Laden's video that came out earlier this month, you'll love his new video, appearing soon on a screen near you!

At least, that seems to be what Al Qaeda is hoping. An "Islamic militant Web site" featured a banner announcing bin Laden's coming hit. The New York Sun's Associated Press article quoted the banner in English, although I'm pretty sure it's a translation. Here it is:

"'Coming soon, God willing, the testament of the attacks on New York and Washington, Abu Musab Waleed al-Shehri, presented by Sheik Osama bin Laden, God preserve him,' the banner read. It showed an image of Sheik bin Laden wearing the same black beard and clothes as in the most recent video."

I'm not a big Bin Laden fan, myself, mostly because I prefer a society where my wife can get groceries on her own, my daughters can learn to read and write, and my son won't be taught to beat his future wife and daughters. Call me a bigot, but I don't approve of beliefs like that.

As a reminder of a previous Al Qaeda mega-happening, Abu Musab Waleed al-Shehri is one of the nineteen martyrs who struck a blow against the infidel five years and 364 days ago today.

(I learned something today. Sheik (شيخ‎) seems to be Bin Laden's preferred title, so in the spirit of multiculturalism, I'll drop the western "Mr.")

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.

When Osama Talks, People Listen

When I started "Another War-on-Terror Blog, I saw it as a chronicle and commentary on the major conflict of the early 21st century. I still do.

It is not a "political" blog. I'm interested in individual politicians and political parties in America, and elsewhere, only as I believe they are involved in this conflict.

However, I have very definite views about this conflict. For example, I would prefer that my family survive, and that we not live in a land where women must be confined to a house, unless accompanied by a kinsman. Judging from what has happened in countries where the West's enemies rule, this isn't an unreasonable concern.

Osama bin Laden has a new video. It surfaced in America, ahead of its planned release date. The early opening was apparently the reason why Al-Qaeda-affiliated websites around the world shut down, coming back online one by one. A reasonable presumption is that the jihadists were concerned about a security problem with their online presence, and were taking steps to find and fix it, if it existed.

If bin Laden was a media star, his career would be in serious trouble. This video is the first one he's released since 2004.

However, since he's a sort of religious leader/military commander/philosopher, bin Laden's status doesn't seem to have suffered.

I'm afraid that this is going to be a rather long post, since I make extensive quotes from a translated transcript of bin Laden's speech. I believe this is necessary, to do justice to Sheik in Laden's remarkable statements.

The short version of the speech is that:

• "The major corporations" are responsible for the Vietnam War, JFK's assassination, and the Bush presidency
• America should get out of Iraq
• The Democratic party is greatly to blame for not getting America out of Iraq
• The Democratic party is a tool of the major corporations
• People of America should rise up, overthrow their oppressors, embrace Islam, and live happily ever after

I'll freely grant that I'm doing nothing to make his words sound sensible.

Here's a brief (no, really, it's brief, compared to the original) set of excerpts from bin Laden's latest video. I've put a few key words and phrases in bold.

"People of America: the world is following your news in regards to your invasion of Iraq, for people have recently come to know that, after several years of the tragedies of this war, the vast majority of you want it stopped. Thus, you elected the Democratic Party for this purpose, but the Democrats haven't made a move worth mentioning. On the contrary, they continue to agree to the spending of tens of billions to continue the killing and war there, which has led to the vast majority of you being afflicted with disappointment.

"And here is the gist of the matter, so one should pause, think and reflect: why have the Democrats failed to stop this war, despite them being in the majority?

"I will come back to reply to this question after raising another question, which is:"

What follows is a series of references to the Bush Administration, the Vietnam War, and the JFK assassination. bin Laden reminds us that "al-Qaida wasn't present at that time, but, rather those corporations were the primary beneficiary from his killing."(!) Apparently, "the major corporations," angered at JFK's plans to end the Vietnam war, were somehow for JFK's assassination.

A bit later, he gets back to the Democrats.

"So in answer to the question about the causes of the Democrats' failure to stop the war, I say: they are the same reasons which led to the failure of former president Kennedy to stop the Vietnam war. Those with real power and influence are those with the most capital. And since the democratic system permits major corporations to back candidates, be they presidential or congressional, there shouldn't be any cause for astonishment - and there isn't any - in the Democrat's failure to stop the war. And you're the ones who have the saying which goes, 'Money talks.' And I tell you: after the failure of your representatives in the Democratic Party to implement your desire to stop the war, you can still carry anti-war placards and spread out in the streets of major cities, then go back to your homes, but that will be of no use and will lead to the prolonging of the war.

"However, there are two solutions for stopping it. The first is from our side, and it is to continue to escalate the killing and fighting against your. This is our duty, and our brothers are carrying it out, and I ask Allah to grant them resolve and victory. And the second solution is from your side. It has now become clear to you and to the entire world the impotence of the democratic system and how it plays with the interests of the peoples and their blood by sacrificing soldiers and populations to achieve the interests of the major corporations.

"And with that, it has become clear to all that they are the real tyrannical terrorists. In fact, the life of all mankind is in danger because of the global warming resulting to a large degree from the emissions of the factors of the major corporations, yet despite that, the representatives of these corporations in the White House insists on not observing the Kyoto accord, with the knowledge that the statistic speaks of the death and displacement of the millions of human beings because of that, especially in Africa. This greatest of plagues and most dangerous of threats to the lives of humans is taking place in an accelerated fashion as the world is being dominated by the democratic system, which confirms its massive failure to protect humans and their interests from the greed and avarice of the major corporations and their representatives.

"And despite this brazen attack on the people, the leaders of the West - especially Bush, Blair, Sarkozy and Brown - still talk about freedom and human rights with a flagrant disregard for the intellects of human beings. So is there a form of terrorism stronger, clearer and more dangerous than this? This is why I tell you: as you liberated yourselves from the slavery of monks, kings, and feudalism, you should liberate yourselves from the deception, shackles and attrition of the capitalist system.

"If you were to ponder it well, you would find that in the end, it is a system harsher and fiercer than your systems in the Middle Ages. The capitalist system seeks to turn the entire world into a fiefdom of the major corporations under the label of 'globalization' in order to protect democracy."

And the speech goes on.

After that section, I half-way expected him to say, 'workers of the world, unite! You have nothing to lose but your chains!' Come to think about it, he did say something like that.

Bin Laden offers Islam as a tax-free alternative, a religion that "also puts peoples' lives in order with its laws; protects their needs and interests; refines their morals' protects them from evils; and guarantees for them entrance into Paradise in the hereafter through their obedience to Allah and sincere worship of Him alone."

It sounds great, but after seeing what the Taliban did to Afghanistan while they were running the place, I'm not all that keen on living under an Islamic state. At least not one like that.

I could live with that wonderful Islamic fashion statement, the burqa: particularly since, as a man, I wouldn't have to wear one. I'm not sure if I'd be allowed to wear white socks. Apparently, women were forbidden to wear them.

Burqas and a white-sock ban are relatively trivial, although I think it shows how micro-managed an Islamic state would be under the ministrations of the likes of bin Laden and crew.

What really disturbs me is what happened to the people at Robatak Pass and Yakaolang.

And, what happened to two irreplaceable works of art after a sufficiently Islamic state took over. I'd known about the Buddhas of Bamyan, and would have preferred to live in a world where they still existed. The AIIS slide show of the Bamiyan Buddhas just aren't be the same as having the real thing available.

I know that the Taliban isn't bin Laden's Al-Qaeda, but the two outfits seem to be on about the same page, when it comes to what constitutes true Islam.

A transcript of a translation of bin Laden's new video is available at http://www.foxnews.com/projects/pdf/bin_laden_transcript.pdf

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.

Bin Laden's New Video

Osama bin Laden has something in common with J. K. Rowling. Somehow, copies of Rowling's final "Potter" book were released early. I felt sympathy for the loyal fans, whose excitement and enjoyment of the final Potter book's release was blunted by the premature exposure.

Osama bin Ladn's new video was found and released, apparently before Al Qaeda wanted, by America. Not long after Washington said it had the video, "all the Islamic militant Web sites that usually carry statements from Al Qaeda went down and were inaccessible, in an unprecedented shutdown."

It's frustrating, when the impact of a major media work is diminished by early release. Somehow, though, I can't find it in me to feel sorry for Al Qaeda.

One expert said he thought that Al Qaeda took down the sites, in connection with trying to find out how the video was leaked.

There's a transcript of the video on the Fox News site.

This is the first bin Laden video released since October, 2004. If he were a singer, I'd say that his career was in trouble.

Joking aside, the news reports say that there's no definite indication of a 9/11-type attack on America, and it's possible that this video was intended to impress the infidels over here with bin Laden's superior beliefs.

I've heard, and read, that Islamic belief and tradition forbids conversion-by-force without first telling the infidel to adopt Islam. I'm skeptical of the online resources I found, though, and don't have easy access to works like the Hidayah.

So, I don't know whether bin Laden's offer to Americans to embrace Islam is a example of an ask-first-then-attack custom, or not.

It's late, I'll get back to this another day.

A note about this blog: to date, I've been referring to bin Laden's outfit as "al Qaeda." Starting today, I'll by writing, "Al Qaeda," since the definite article in the organization's name is part of the name, just like "the" is part of the name of "The New York Times."

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.

Muslims Fear American Attack, Global Survey Finds!!!

Maybe "winning hearts and minds in the Middle East" and the rest of the Islamic world isn't the most important goal for the States.

Maybe encouraging enlightened self-interest is.

Attitudes toward terrorism among Muslims, according to a Pew Institute Global Attitudes survey, are evolving in an interesting way.

Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, has lost support in many parts of the Islamic world over the last five years.

Support of bin Laden among Muslims,
2002-2007

• 20% - 01% Lebanon (suicide bombing "often or sometimes" justified from 74% to 34% in same period)
• 56% - 20% Jordan
• 46% - 38% Pakistan (some think bin Laden is hiding here)
• 59% - 41% Indonesia
• ??% - 57% Palestinian Territories

As with anything involving human beings, it's a complicated situation. Maybe it's significant that support for bin Laden is going down in Pakistan, Jordan and Indonesia, where suicide bombers have been blowing themselves up.

Being a target has a marvelously focusing effect on people's thoughts.

According to the news articles on the Pew Institute's report, many Muslims in Asia and the Middle East are concerned that, given the U.S. intolerant 'War on Terror' policies toward terrorism, their countries might be attacked by U.S. forces.

"The report says that 'Muslims in Bangladesh and Morocco are almost unanimous in their concern' about the military threat from the US, with more than 90 per cent in each saying they were very or somewhat worried. So are 85 per cent of Indonesians." (Time Online)

I didn't find that quote, but it's a big document, 133 pages, and I might have missed it.

Economic status makes a difference, but not as might be expected.

"The Pew Institute report suggested that globally, economic growth and stability were closely tied to a sense of personal well-being. But there was little evidence to sustain theories that the economy might have a similar beneficial effect on support for terrorism.

"In Lebanon, economic confidence has plummeted following the military clash with Israel but Muslims are still less likely to support either bin Laden or Hezbollah.

Palestinian support for suicide bombing appears to be fairly uniform across all income levels." (Times Online)

In any event, I'm not sure that this report adds up to a practical criticism of the War on Terror. Here's one way to look at it:

Since 2002, many Muslims in the Islamic world:

• Stopped approving of terrorism, or at least bin Laden
• Became concerned that U.S. forces would attack their country

One way to interpret this information is that, faced with the prospect of the Great Satan America responding in kind to deadly attacks, "Death to America" became a somewhat less attractive slogan.

As I said before, anything having to do with human beings is complex. I'm not going to say that this proves that taking the battle to places that support terrorism is a good idea.

On the other hand, I don't think that this report shows that the U.S. policy of taking military action is ineffective.

Before 2001, U.S. policy was to treat terrorist attacks as a matter for the criminal justice system, and refrain from making a major military issue of such things. That changed after September 11, 2001.

Now, an increasing number of Muslims don't support al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, and have actually become hostile toward what the Online Times called "violent extremism."

It's not so great a stretch of the imagination for me to imagine that both the jihadist's attacks on Muslim (or 'insufficiently Muslim?') targets, and the real possibility that the United States of America might do something besides assume responsibility for providing room and board to successful terrorists.

Information for this post is from the Times Online (UK) "Muslims are weary of bin Laden but still fear American attack", FOXNews.com's "Muslim Support for Bin Laden Falls, Poll Says, and Pew Global Attitudes Project's "Global Unease With Major World Powers" (and the 2.2 megabyte pdf-format full report The Pew GAP's report other heading is "Rising Environmental Concern in 47-Nation Survey" - Captain Planet would be proud!

Related posts, on Individuals and the War on Terror.

Rep. Ellison's Misconstrued Reichstag Remarks

Congressman Keith Ellison of Minnesota is in the news again, or still. He says that people "misconstrued my remarks." Misconstrued?!

Let's look at what he said last Sunday.

"It's almost like the Reichstag fire, kind of reminds me of that. After the Reichstag was burned, they blamed the Communists for it and it put the leader of that country [Hitler] in a position where he could basically have authority to do whatever he wanted. The fact is that I'm not saying [Sept. 11] was a [U.S.] plan, or anything like that because, you know, that's how they put you in the nut-ball box -- dismiss you."

(The Reichstag fire he's referring to is the 1933 blaze in the Reichstag building in Germany. The chancellor of Germany blamed Communists, who would have been running against his party in an upcoming election. The chancellor also asked for, and got, sweeping powers and authority: which he used to establish his party's position as the sole political power in Germany.)

Again: Misconstrued?!

"Do whatever he wanted"?

Hmm. Let's see what happened after the German chancellor got his powers.

"Truckloads of stormtroopers roared through the streets all over Germany, breaking into homes, rounding up victims and carting them off to [Brownshirt] barracks, where they were tortured and beaten." (William Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," as quoted in Kersten's column.)

Odd. If something like that had happened after 9/11, I'd have thought it would have been on the news: at least in Reuters.

Now, Representative Ellison is telling whoever will listen what he really meant. Which, apparently, is that he doesn't agree with all of President Bush's policies, and that he thinks that Osama Bin Laden was really behind the 9/11 attacks.

Amazing: what a difference it makes, realizing that you're on camera.

Keith Ellison posts:

• Keith Ellison, Iraqi Sheikhs, and Islam's Image (August 3, 2007)
• This Keith Ellison Story Might Take Off (July 27, 2007)
• Congressman Keith Ellison and Islam (July 22, 2007)
• Rep. Ellison's Misconstrued Reichstag Remarks (July 17, 2007)
• There's a New Loon in Minnesota (July 16, 2007)
• Another Islamic Voice in the Debate (July 16, 2007)

As the first Islamic member of the American Congress, Representative Ellison deserves some attention. There may be more K.E. posts, given his colorful past associations and current talent for getting in the news.

There's a New Loon in Minnesota

It's been quite a while since Jesse "the body" Ventura gave Minnesotans a truly offbeat public figure. I remember when "Our Governor is Crazier Than Your Governor" was the slogan of the moment.

Those were the days!

Perhaps it's best to regard Freshman Congressman Keith Ellison as someone stepping into the long-vacant straitjacket of Governor Ventura.

On Sunday, July 8, Representative Ellison compared the 9/11 attack to the burning of the Reichstag in 1933.

In another article about his "Reichstag" remark, I learned that Congressman Ellison has clarified his remarks.

Tuesday, July 10, speaking to Katherine Kersten of the Minneapolis Star-Tribune, he said that he thought Osama bin Laden was responsible for the Twin Towers going down. His Reichstag reference was intended to make the point that, "in the aftermath of a tragedy, space is opened up for governments to take action that they could not have achieved before that."

The actions of President Bush which he said were equivalent to the German chancellor's decree ending protection of political, personal and property rights was the commutation of Scooter Libby's sentence and some provisions of the Patriot Act.

These are debatable actions, but a careful observer might find subtle distinctions between these actions of the Bush administration and what happened after the German chancellor and his party took power: "Truckloads of stormtroopers roared through the streets all over Germany, breaking into homes, rounding up victims and carting them off to [Brownshirt] barracks, where they were tortured and beaten." (William Shirer's "The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich," as quoted in Kersten's column.)

I agree with the sentiment expressed in Kersten's headline: Katherine Kersten: Ellison's use of Reichstag fire goes overboard.

Kersten's column is the first place where I've seen mention of Representative Ellison's colorful background:

• 1990s Connections with Louis Farrakhan's Nation of Islam
• Defense of Kathleen Soliah, planter of pipe bombs under two Los Angeles police cars
• Praise for Assata Shakur, convicted of killing a cop, and who now resides in Cuba.

Let's give Representative Ellison credit: aside from a brief lapse during his first few months in Congress, he hasn't abandon his beliefs.

Keith Ellison posts:

• Keith Ellison, Iraqi Sheikhs, and Islam's Image (August 3, 2007)
• This Keith Ellison Story Might Take Off (July 27, 2007)
• Congressman Keith Ellison and Islam (July 22, 2007)
• Rep. Ellison's Misconstrued Reichstag Remarks (July 17, 2007)
• There's a New Loon in Minnesota (July 16, 2007)
• Another Islamic Voice in the Debate (July 16, 2007)

As the first Islamic member of the American Congress, Representative Ellison deserves some attention. There may be more K.E. posts, given his colorful past associations and current talent for getting in the news.