[I’m well aware that I’m covering this topic rather heavily at the moment. There are over 50 dead Britons who are demanding we do. Deal with it.]
Belmont Club is following developments in the investigations in London.
In a preceeding post titled Two Points Of View;
“The feud is eternal.” Hence, the Jihad, unlike the war waged by the West, can never be surrendered. Only the West can surrender. But blogs like In a State of Flux, though guilty of Ledeen’s indictment of narrowness, are an important indicator that the feud is becoming symmetrical. Western citizens are still focused on the ‘larger issues’ but personal loss and anger are making the war less abstract. They want to find particular people who attacked them on specific occasions for the purpose of visiting upon them individual punishment. For many, the war is no longer business, it’s personal.
One route to victory, the ugly route, is to match the entropy within Islamic societies with a corresponding entropy within the West. The rising resentment against Islamic immigrants in Europe and the growing willingness in the West to see Islam and even Muslims as the enemy, are all early signs of the transformation of war into a corresponding blood feud. One of the constant themes of the Belmont Club is how this development is undesirable because it will, at the limit, result in the destruction of Islamic society and make us all murderers. The alternative route chosen by President Bush, but only half-heartedly pursued by mainstream politicians, is to decrease entropy within
the Islamic world by making those countries functional, modern and free so that the “blood feud” concept becomes as anachronistic in Riyadh as it is in Cleveland.
He sees a glimmer of hope in an Afghan village.
update – Austin Bay discusses post-bombing polls showing a hardening of British attitudes.
You do know that because the jihadists are making no headway in Iraq, that ultimately, they will widen there efforts to the rest of the globe. This will help prevent them from getting caught, or buy them time, and with there integration into regular muslim communities, the innocent ones are going to get caught in the cross fire.
They will eventually start actions here, and find the poor security standards allow them to capitalize on the number of people killed, which will feed MSM and the left, who are being used in this like a cheap hooker, giving there death message maximum impact to the rest of the world.
OTTAWA (CP) – Prime Minister Paul Martin was briefed twice on suspicious incidents that led security officials to fear the Toronto subway might be attacked by terrorists.
cnews
The Islamist terrorists are now within the gates; targets have been cased by them; the suicide bombers await the signal to die for Islam while killing the infidels, i.e., you and your family.
Fantasy? What is your opinion?
PM PM met with Tamil Tigers, the terrorist group which invented suicide/murder bombing. PM’s purpose was to raise funds for the Liberal Party, i.e., for himself; thus, Martin has to protect his sources.
If we look to PM Dithers for leadership, we are fools; Canada is a ship of fools.
Look to yourself and your self-interest for guidance. Seek out those who share your fears. Ally with them; the time has come. Trust not in the socialist regime of PM Paul Martin, Jr.
The jihadi’s worst enemy is the wide public affluence that democracy and free markets bring…hate and insane militant orthodoxies are a hard sell when there is a moderate level of education freedom and affluence in a society….to win the Jihadis must suppress human nature…like the political and thological orthodoxies who tried this before them, they will fail…we need less military intervention in these Islamic theocratic medieval hell holes and more free trade commerce, education and the rest will take care of itself when the people realize freedom has personal benefits.
I’m seeing that Iraq is the begining of these repressed people actually fighting back against the theocratic nazies that have murded many of them in the name of their own religion.
An interesting and rather scary post from the Western Standard Stotgun:
http://westernstandard.blogs.com/
‘Canada gets a mention
One has to be cautious about drawing conclusions from a call-in show, but it’s not every day you find out what Canadians are saying when they call in to Arab satellite stations like “Al Arabiya” in Iraq. So this post by an Iraqi blogger caught my eye:
Yesterday, the Arab T.V. network �Al Arabiya�, made a poll in one of its regular programs asking the question: �If you know of a terrorist, would you inform the authorities about him?�, and you know, the final results were about half and half. Nearly half of the voters said they would not. That means they sympathized with the terrorists. The votes were quite different depending on country. For instance, most voters from Iraq and Saudi Arabia said they would, whereas those from Syria (and Canada!!) overwhelmingly voted in the negative.
Hmm. Well, I did say we should be cautious about drawing conclusions from a call-in show, but that’s a disturbing little glimpse.’
Posted by Kevin Jaeger on July 12, 2005 at 08:07 PM
Iraqi blogger’s URL
http://messopotamian.blogspot.com/2005_07_01_messopotamian_archive.html#112089132688080967
Mark
Ottawa
As I quoted George Weigel in a recent post, “The great question for Islam as a culture-forming religion � a question whose resolution will shape a lot of 21st century history � is whether Muslims can develop a genuinely Islamic case for civility amidst diversity in society by drawing on their own sacred texts and legal codes….The question is not whether the West can help facilitate a version of what Father Neuhaus calls the ‘naked public square’ in the Islamic world. The question is whether Islam, within its own scriptures and history, has the resources to support those Muslims who want to build modern societies around the conviction that it’s God’s will that we be tolerant of those who have different understandings of God’s will.”
And that includes finding good reasons to end the ‘blood feud’.
Agreed WL Mackenzie Redux, but Bananada is still in denial, a crack adict that can’t kick the habit. What problem? PMPM says… not me… not here … speaking of crack … CSL should be docking soon.
As long as we remain in that state we become a soft target with lots of potential for when the time is right.
Analysis: What Abbas won’t do, Israel will
Jerusalem Post – 37 minutes ago
A fuming Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz has ordered a “root canal” operation against Islamic Jihad. After convening an emergency security assessment at his office in Tel Aviv on Tuesday night, Mofaz instructed …
googlenewscanada
Hello Kate, I’m a new visitor, I believe I learned about you from Mark Steyn and his commendations of your views on issues.
As an American, I think about the biggest mistake that the Americans made in the war on terror just happened this past week, and I sincerely hope they reconcile it. I am very annoyed that the USAF issued orders for the military to stay out of London, at the height of the tensions and right after the bombings. I wasn’t in London but I can imagine the tension that took place. However, the general or whoever issued that order has to be relieved of his duties. This made the Americans look cowardly in the capital city of our closest ally in the war on terror, and that is a god awful error that man committed. The fact that it hit the British press compounded the perception, the Americans have work to do there to make amends with the Brits that we value their friendship and alliance, and not cut and run when things don’t go well. I will be passing my note on other blogs where I post my views on about this concern, I support the fight against the Islamists but we can not make that kind of mistake with our own friends. God, the Brits may have wanted assurance of seeing Americans at that time in there along with the Brits, I can’t express enough my dismay that this military man showed cowardice like this.
I like what I have been seeing in here, Kate, and I will be back from time to time. Hello to all from a fellow poster from the Chicago area.
I’m reminded of how my cousins in Russia had lived while it was still the Soviet Union: they were quite confident, even then, that the state-controlled media were lying to them about the West (and about many other things), yet they had no way of knowing the truth because they had been figuritively blinded for so long.
I think of the middle east in a similar way, where the imams, who provide guidance to Muslims in all aspects of life and society, not just religion, have a hard time competing with the lure of the (Judeo-Christian) West and its wealth, opportunities and freedoms.
In spite of all the imams’ preaching to the contrary, the youth (particularly in Iran) see injustices all around them, and they see the fruits of Allah’s blessing flowing to everyone but them. This poses a very dangerous situation for the religious authorities. What might many of the the youth of the Islamic world do when they discover they’ve been manipulated and lied to? As the imams’ sermons become irrelevant, their authority vanishes.
And so that is why the themes of their messages are often about struggle (Jihad) and violence. Why is it only recently that we are told that suicide attacks are rewarded by Allah with virgins in heaven, when for centuries such a thing was considered a very serious sin? Because young, impressionable men – to whom violence and lust are so natural – make very convenient and intelligent weapons; inexhaustable weapons with which to create terror, chaos and resentment, enough resentment to perpetuate the myth that the West hates them. We are led to believe that bomb attacks on civilians, such as in London and Madrid, are for retribution for interference in Iraq and Afganistan, but we know that that is very naive.It is really to create distrust and hatred.
That is why, with so much wealth in the ME, so little of it is used to improve the Palestinians’ condition. A peaceful Palestine is of no use to them. In fact, a peaceful Palestine, Iraq and Afganistan will prove many of the imams to be self-serving liars. We don’t read much about imams blowing themselves up for Allah, do we? No, it is their own authority and power they are trying to preserve at any cost, so they send others to die in order to perpetuate their lies. Like the bygone Soviets, their greatest fear is freedom, and their greatest enemy is the truth.
Judeo-Christian West? Perhaps in times past; but with unrestricted abortion, same sex marriage, violence in movies, rampant drug trafficking, and the usual parade of Hollywood salaciousness you would have a hard case to make that statement today.
With obvious features like this in our free society; it is small wonder that the Islamic extremists liken our society as the “Great Satan”. There is on the surface, precious little Judeo-Christian about our society, save for those who make the weekly journey to church or synagogue attendence; which we are constantly reminded by the MSM is ever shrinking. Blah, blah, blah…
A more accurate description would be a mainly secular society with the occasional echo of Judeo-Christian roots; where church/synagogue functions are the usual hatch, match and dispatch ceremonies. Any serious discussion of faith perspectives in the MSM are strictly “verboten”.
Our secular society has much to say about the idolatry of the self and how it must be fulfilled. It is delusional to speak of the West in Judeo-Christian terms; when the MSM takes a decidedly hostile stance.
Of course all this sounds like the West, as it is presently concocted, by the George Soros’ of the world, who have drunk deeply from the “Jug of Kool Aid” served up by philosophers like Karl Popper.
The God of the Judeo-Christian West has been “murdered off” long ago. HE lives only in the hearts and minds of those banished from the public square.
Judeo-Christian West? Only if one engages in sleepwalking or solipsism. Secular materialism run amuck West? Okay that would be a statement corresponding to some approximation of reality.
Wars are almost always about the same old BS, money and power and who controls what. The sancrosanct liberal West and the Islamic facist extremism is just the surface gloss to make good copy for the ‘Net or papers.
I’m inclined to disagree somewhat with WLM and take up what Hans says.
My fear is that most N. Americans embrace a kind of lazy, materialistic — dare I say it — consumeristic complacency. Are we too in love with our “stuff” to make the sacrifices needed to win?
Over at Instapundit, Buzzmachine, etc. we’re chided about how the Patriot Act will take away our liberties. But their “liberties” all seem to have something to do with buying the latest digital camera or getting to listen to Howard Stern swear. “Democracy, whiskey, sexy” and all that.
I disagree that it was a mistake for the US military to briefly declare London a no-go area for its personnel. There’s too much worry about ‘sending messages’ to the jihadis. Their receivers are switched off anyway, so why bother? I think the ‘message’ was being sent to the British themselves, particularly their authorities. The message was, ‘Look, this is YOUR city, YOUR citizens, YOUR immigrants, YOUR mess. Take it seriously.’ There’s altogether too much insouciance and ‘What, me worry?’ attitude in the West, and the British are as guilty of it as anyone. It’s fine in the first hours after a bomb, but it’s not a workable long-term strategy. I think this was the same sort of shock therapy Rumsfeld was applying when, in the (endless) leadup to the Iraq war, he said that it was nice to have the Brits along, but if the U.S. had to, they could take care of this themselves. There was an immediate squeal from the British Left, that the ungrateful U.S. was treating Tony Blair shabbily, but it got a message through to Blair and his government: we’re not going to dangle along forever on this. Get serious and get your crap in order, or get out of the way. It worked, too.
Here it is, at last, in the MSM:
The suicide bombers in London came from the bosom of Islam. They were Islamist murderers, as is the Islamist murderer of Van Gogh in Holland.
Islam, a monotheistic religion, will kill those who are in its path, as well as those people who attempt to appease Islam.
Iran’s mullahs are the exemplars of this religion: fanatical; urging the death of the infidels ; you and your family.
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British bombers: Worst fears true (S/B “British Terrorist:”)
Posted by WmShirerAdmirer
On 07/13/2005 9:05:24 AM PDT � 16 replies � 198+ views
BBC Newss ^ | July 13, 2005 | Dominic Casciani
The police investigation is focused on suspected suicide bombers. This is the nightmare scenario that nobody in British society wanted to face. Anti-terrorism officers have not actually used the words in public, but the massive nationwide investigation into the London bombings is one now focused on suspected British suicide bombers who believe their faith justifies their actions. But this is not just a nightmare in terms of the threat of violence from within, the fallout in the coming weeks and months will have the capacity to severely test – perhaps in some cases test to breaking point – the cohesion…
freerpublic.com
“their faith justifies their actions” What faith? Islam.
Islam is an enemy of Western civilization; to the death
Its nice to recall that Jean Chretien appealed to the Pakistan Pres. to please please release that nice Mr. Kadhr so he could continue his fund raising for OSB. Or that the family still resides in Toronto, and we the bled taxpayers are paying their lawyers to launch many lawsuits including getting one son who killed a U.S. soldier removed from Gitmo and Ontario taxpayers pay the enormous medical bills of another wounded in the firefight that killed the father, and brought back here to Canada. LIbranos!
The Librano government relies heavily on the immigrant vote to get them re-elected, and so employs the tactic of shoving the yardstick of political correctness so far up Canadians’ you-know-whats, that they hope this will prevent us from differentiating between decent immigrants and the treacherous, criminal, murderous ones.
That is why, in Canada, we are forced to watch the spectacle of two elderly, harmless Australian ladies, who came here to write a book, being summarily deported for the crime of overstaying their vistors visas. While at the same time, we follow the cases of known immigrant murderers and terrorists, who have been fighting through our courts at public expense, some for as long as 12 to 15 years, to stay on in Canada!
Yup. Some just society this is!
The enemy within our gates: “Incitement to murder”
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Unholy alliance (The UK and Islamists)
Posted by Zartan
On 07/13/2005 1:48:25 PM PDT � 1 reply � 8+ views
thestandard.com.hk ^ | July 11, 2005 | THE WASHINGTON POST
Unholy alliance July 11, 2005 On the morning after bombs ripped through the London Underground and crumpled a double-decker bus, four security guards escorted a one-eyed, Egyptian-born cleric, his arms amputated below the elbows from Afghan war injuries, onto the elevated dock of Courtroom No1 in Old Bailey, the capital’s principal criminal court. Abu Hamza Masri, for years a blood-curdling preacher at a North London mosque allegedly visited by shoe bomber Richard Reid and hijacker trainee Zacarias Moussaoui, listened silently Friday as his lawyer argued about his indictment last January on nine counts of incitement to murder for speeches that…
freerepublic.com
Wanda, I understand your points but I do feel differently. The Brits in general did not view what we were doing as putting it on them to take responsibility. The way I was hearing and seeing it, they took it that we were afraid to go in London
Update from Belmont Club: Commenter:
Monty said…
Wretchard,
I don’t doubt that there is a prevailing disgust for these bloody murdering savages, both in Baghdad and London. How can one look at the murdered innocents and not feel both sorrow and terrible rage?
But this sorrow and this rage does not lead to change among the Muslims, and I find this to be the most disheartening thing. It was partly the excesses of the Crusades and the Inquisition that led to the Reformation and the branching of Protestantism; but so far we see little of this in the Muslim faith.
If Muslims cannot control their own rogue elements, then they face a stark future. A frightened Europe will eventually crush and expel them en masse, much as it did the Jews in earlier times. Russia will become even more savage and pitiless towards Muslims. And even America may find itself having to become more Draconian.
Iraq is simply a theater in a wider war, and I fervently hope that democracy takes root there. I hope that civil society andthe rule of law rather than theocracy can flourish there. For if not, we may have to face the fact that Islam and the West are simply incompatible concepts and cannot mix. If that is the case, we face some very difficult and conflict-filled years.
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Hope has a little sister named Fear. Fear is tied to Hope’s apron strings.
It did not take the British very long, to find out who the London bombers were, (possibly because the bombers didn’t care). These young men were born in Britain, middle-class, and nothing to arouse suspicion, and the one thing that they shared in common, was that they attended a religious madrassa in Pakistan, (which had explosives in the school and taught their students how to use them)!
The British people and government can know for certain one thing in these troubled times, and that is the American people and government will stand behind them, beside them, in front of them, or wherever else they may ask us to dispatch. We are at their service as a true friend and ally. If an order was given for the American military to avoid British airspace at such a time, it was at the request of the British government, proudly honored.