Hamas may have won the Palestinian elections, which may in turn make Benjamin Netanyahu the next Prime Minister of Israel. CNN is now reporting that the current Palestinian government has resigned. The election of Hamas taken together with the crisis in Iran suggests that that the world is being challenged by very deeply rooted forces which traditional international institutions may be incapable of handling. The way to safety hangs on events that haven’t resolved themselves yet. Whether the policy of democraticization has blunted the rush to madness — Egyptian blogger the Big Pharaoah thinks Middle East democracy boosts Islamists; whether Iran will acquire the bomb; whether Israel will draw its sword to prevent it; whether Syria’s ruling dynasty will fall; whether Europe will break out of its demographic death-spiral. Because success relies so much on the exploitation of contingent events it’s a dangerous time for America to be divided, with one side unsure of whether any real danger besides BushchimpHitler exists and the other in the grip of a half-articulated policy; both almost fatalistically slouching towards a
future where there are no certain or even probable endings.
Just beneath the surface of many self-described Canadian “progressives”, (not to mention a few of those new “metropolitan” opposition MP’s) runs a strong and virulent anti-Israeli current.
That surface is about to be scratched. Watch what happens.
Now it really gets tricky. For those not schooled in foreign policy; they will need a crash course.
This election will make Middle East foreign policy even more difficult as Israeli and Arab camps are further polarized making peace even more difficult to achieve.
A few foreign policy Solomon’s for Israel will be needed.
One can only hope that this does not necessarily lead to violent clashes any more than are currently in progress. This does not bode well for the Arab or Israeli worlds. But then we have had our own problems with corruption haven’t we?
This has added a couple of thorns to the rose bush. When will the flower of peace flourish? When we all develop some good will I gather.
AwCrap!
That’s pretty scary. And Belmont is overloaded so I can’t even read the whole thing. Thank God we have Harper & not Dithers at the helm.
Iraqi WMD in Syria
Methinks a Conservative victory couldn’t have come at a better time, for Canada or for Israel. Now, finally, there is a small chance Canada will join the lists in battle against the likes of Hamas instead of letting them keep an office in Ottawa.
About bloody time.
Chris: Debka reported this during the war but it as Debka is not always right, the report was heavily discounted and I don’t think anyone followed up.
Interesting to see it confirmed from an inside source.
Hamas shares a political victory with the Conservatives both ran against corrupt governments.
The fate of thousands may, unfortunately, already be sealed in this.
The matter of the middle east hinges upon either W making democracy work (although the Left is working damn hard to make sure it doesn’t).
Or that things heat up more quickly with Iran and someone pulls the trigger. In that case, Tehran will end up a glass parking lot.
SO lefties, I think you’ve already made your choice—nuclear war with Islam. Swallow that.
Prepare
yourself for the unthinkable: war against Iran may be a necessity
Source: TimesonlineUK:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,19269-2011570,00.html
It�s too bad the world is slowly creeping towards its own destruction. I�ll miss the good things about it.
Since Israel, the US and EU have banned Hamas as a terrorist organisation and have said they do not want to deal with it, this could get real interesting. Crazy Iran is the key.
I think Israel shouldn’t wait for Iran to nuke it.
Eugene, considering the type of childish insults and personal attacks you direct at me on your own site, I’ll invite you to sod off and discuss this issue with your own (non-existant) readers.
Call me naive (and you wouldn’t be the first), but I think that Hamas being elected as the government of the Palestinian Authority is not all bad.
The most important development of this situation is that Hamas can no longer operate in the shadows. They now constitute the ruling party of a sovereign government, one which is increasingly accountable in their thoughts and deeds. Right now, there is a lot of goodwill for the Palestinian cause among foreign governments. But one must realistically ask: how long could these governments support terror operations against Israel? It is one thing to support the actions of an organization that is not accountable to the demanding mistress of foreign relations and internal governance. It is quite another to endorse the government of a nation who supports and even funds terror operations. Any government who would do so would also have to look over their own shoulders for fringe elements whose agenda would include carrying out terrorist acts on their own soil (read: what’s good for the goose is good for the gander).
Unless Hamas is willing to allow the rest of the world to cease seeing them as ‘freedom fighters’, they will need to moderate their actions to appear as a legitimate government.
If (hopefully) this is true, this will put pressure on the Israeli government to act. This will be as moderate as Hamas will ever be. If Israel is willing to make some meaningful concessions, perhaps Hamas can be convinced to bridge the gap and therefore abandon terrorism to achieve their ends in favour of meaningful dialogue. As much as the election of Hamas represents a peak of tensions between Israel and the Palestinian Authority, it may also present the opportunity to make meaningful progress (read: the Chinese use the same word for crisis and opportunity).
I’ll never forget when I lived in the US and my only source of Canadian TV news was CBC’s Newsworld cable channel – now owned by Al Gore.
I remember 3 things that really toasted my bagel:
1) I want Canadian news. CBC has an hour long program, 5 minutes of Canadian news that begins 15 minutes into the program, and the rest is international.
2) The show always started off with something anti-Bush. Usually “2 people and a cactus were injured in fighting in Iraq today.” I’m living in the US. I can get all the US news I want from better journalists than the CBC can afford. And;
3) How very anti-Israel CBC is. Nothing struck me more than how their reports always blamed the Israelis. It was usually “Israel helicopters fired a rocket into a house and killed a Hamas leader today” but they never finished with the whole story which would read “…in retaliation for a suicide bomber that killed 75 children at a day care center in Tel Aviv yesterday.”
CBC is going to have some serious pressure on them to get the story right now that power has changed and they find themselves included in the accountability of government programs.
When in this world will we stop listening to the likes of Howard Dean, John Kerry, Paul Martin all left media in the US and Canada and all anti-semitics and Israel haters( many housed at the UN)When will we clean UP that organization we tolerate at our peril?
Frankly, I think that it is appropriate that Hamas has won the Palestinian election for it now the focus is where it belongs: Palestinians ARE terrorists and now it is official!
Now that we have that out of the way, maybe Israel can get down to protecting themselves anyway they know how and the rest of us making sure the US kicks butt and stops taking it on the chin over Iraq, Iran and N Korea!
IF there is another world war and this one a nuke one the blame lies WITH the left entirely!
This is a world conflict and has been for years.
9/11 should have made that clear for all time. Those who have forgotten it may be leading us into the maw of HELL if we do not crush this NOW.
And we had bloody well better be onside THIS time.-
There is a distinction between being critical of Israel and being anti-israeli. And yes I admit that there are those on the left who are anti-israeli. But that isn’t the only way to be. There is a critical middle ground and all sides has some unecessary blood under their fingernails.
I’m optimistic that over the next thirty years Israel and Palestine will come to something of an accomodation. That’s not to say that things don’t have room to get worse before they get better.
A terrorist group morphing into a political party isn’t necessarily a bad sign. Look at the IRA and Sinn Fein. You can’t say that Sinn Fein’s entrance into mainstream politics didn’t have a defusing effect on the troubles in Northern Ireland.
Hamas has just gained a lot more power but now they have to do something they never did before. They have to worry about opinion polls.
I think that might turn out to be a good thing.
Who is Eugene? He just got nuked.
Listened to Adler today on this. I forget his guest’s name. Conclusion: that Hamas being elected reveals the real values of Palestinians. They really do want Israel wiped out. The pretense is over. There is no hiding it. Adler and guest also predicted the inevitable leftist reaction such as Eugene that the vote was against corruption. They pointed out that the Palestinians wanted Fatah (sp?) in because they were anti-Israel. They got a gov’t that was corrupt and didn’t care about them. They’ve voted Hamas because they are anti-Israel and guess what? They’ve got a gov’t that will be corrupt and not care about them. Maybe next time they’ll know better. Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.
This is a CP article about Stephen Harper’s press conference posted about an hour ago. One quote:
“With a startling efficiency quite foreign to his predecessor, Canada’s soon-to-be 22nd prime minister set about meeting the national news media – and by extension the Canadian electorate – in the foyer of the House of Commons.”
You should really STOP! and read the entire article to get a good grasp of the organization, direction, and pace the Stephen Harper government is setting. I found it quite remarkable.
Jose,
You made the fatal mistake believing that Paleos think like Westerners. You are sadly wrong. Hamas gives squat about polls. All they want is to kill every last Jew and American. Got that? EVERY LAST JEW AND AMERICAN. That’s their platform.
Thanks Chris for the link. Aside from the juvenile jabs at the US in the report, it is quite clear that Harper is truly brilliant. I predict he will rank among the top PMs of Canada. Next election: Majority. Harper now commands respect.
Back on topic. Get a load of this.
Another Deluded Leftist Believes Money Solves all Problems–Even in the Middle East
Doug � One does not make democracy work overnight, nor is it a panacea. The short term issue is the barbaric regime controlling Iran, who at minimum have the “soft” backing of co-religionists world-wide on the principle of Israel’s non-existence (if not the mechanism), an emergent technical ability to engage in nuclear terrorism, and who are temporarily shielded by the geopolitics of Russian alignment and European myopia.
Once Iran has matured their nuclear capability, which is anywhere from 6 months to 2 years (depending on the effect they are after and the availability of U235), their �weltanschauung� effectively demands they use it immediately � a �working test� as it were. The only presently-feasible means to prevent this is preemptive air strikes against infrastructure; no country or coalition can project a ground war with any degree of success under current time constraints.
I am not sanguine that any nation will actually deal preemptively with Iran, although this is the best option. This leaves post-facto responses. The most likely is that Israel would exercise a �Masada safeguard� � a phrase coined by an obscure author of speculative fiction for what is essentially a pyrrhic victory. This would undoubtedly trigger a very unpleasant worldwide response, and diminish any moderate Islamic voices.
Henry
Doug,
I would agree that the situation with Palestine is far worse than Northern Ireland. But ultimately it isn’t a novel development in the grand scheme of human history. These kinds of conflicts do get resolved. Usually with the opposition forces moving into the mainstream.
Spain also has had its own terrorist problem for the past few decades. Its still a problem but the development of a pro-Basque democratic voice in Spain has taken a lot of the winds out of their sails.
And there’s nothing to say that Hamas won’t get voted out next election. Um, yes I’m kind of hoping this isn’t the last Palestine election before judgement day.
Further to my earlier comment, this is nice to see:
“Harper rebuked the U.S. ambassador on Thursday for rejecting Canada’s claims to the Arctic.
Harper, whose Conservatives won a fragile mandate in Monday’s election, said during the campaign that Prime Minister Paul Martin had needlessly exacerbated ties with the United States.
But Harper showed little hesitation in slapping down U.S. envoy David Wilkins for making critical remarks about Conservative plans to boost Canada’s presence in the far north.
“The United States defends its sovereignty, the Canadian government will defend our sovereignty,” Harper told reporters during his first news conference since the election.
“It is the Canadian people we get our mandate from, not the ambassador of the United States.”
Doug,
So true. Or at least see them reduced to Dhimmi status, and pay the tax to the Muslims. Coming soon to a mosque near you. (oops! sorry. “now playing”)
More of interest and blessed relief: – hopefully the end to Canada directly financing the indoctrination of Mandate Arab schoolchildren with bloodthirsty celebration of Jew and Christian killing in the name of Allah and Holocaust Denial and teaching of the Protocols of the Elders of Zion in textbooks, etc…
Thank G-d Pettigrew is now toast.
David Bedein had a nice expose of how it was: – “Pierre Pettigrew Answers Palestinian Policy Questions” http://israelbehindthenews.com/Archives/Jan-17-06.htm
Henry: –
I think the term you’re reaching for is “Samson Option”…and I doubt somehow it would result in anything other than more ‘seething in the Arab Street’: – Israel has certainly several hundred atomic bombs, possibly hydrogen bombs as well, and delivery systems that put Moscow, Paris and Mecca within easy reach.
You really really really don’t want to see a bomb on Tel Aviv. Remember that dictum, “Once Burned, Twice Shy”. 🙁
Gee, what a suprise. Palestinians want their government to hate jews every bit as much as they do. The election is legit and democratic. It does express the will of the people who voted.
Israel has existed for this long only because the arabs cant agree to co-operate to wipe them out. There is no arab country that could elect a moderate government in regards to Israel. Arabs hate jews. Full stop. Persians hate jews. Kurds hate jews. Turks hate jews.
Mutually assured destruction is Israel’s only hope, long term. Even then I have my doubts about it lasting forty or fifty more years. The arabs will get their shit together eventually.
Henry,
There has been widespread speculation that Isreal will pre-empt Iran with a conventional airstrike. It wouldn’t be difficult for them to do and they don’t need to use nukes. And there isn’t much Iran can do to stop that from happening.
And yes I do hope for a poltical solution before we get to that point. But if that solution isn’t reached I’d support Isreal delivering a few tonnage worth of ordance Iran’s way and I’m not the only lefty that feels that way.
But let’s not start another war just yet. We’ve already got two pots on the boil. Give peace a chance, failing that a few Israeli pilots can earn some serious bragging rights. Either way no one in the west is really going to mourn the ending of Iran’s nuclear program.
Colin,
I believe you’re correct in general about the “Arab World”, but incorrect regards the Kurds and Turks, of which at minimum large minorities of whom have both dealings with and (albeit sometimes grudging) admiration for, the Jews and the Jewish State.
As to the eventual outcome, I think there’s going to be a confrontation between the West as we know it, and Islam, long before the “Arabs get their shit together”, so your speculation is moot.
Colin,
You mention Turks hating Jews. That may very well be true but it was announced today that Turkey has agreed to sell water to Israel. Not the kind of enterprise that two countries bent on mutual anihilation embark on.
Canada on the other hand refuses to sell water to the United States. And we’ve got a lot more of it to spare than Turkey does. Kind of makes you think doesn’t it?
Jose,
Essentially, Western Appeasement Diplomacy has just now evidenced the sacrificial offering of some 6 million Jews (Israeli) on the altar of “Democracy”, and while US soldiers die horribly to bring civil freedom and choice to Iraqis, and Canadian soldiers risk and lose their lives daily doing the same in Afganistan, their State Department and our Infernal Affairs Department have midwifed a full-blown terrorist state (let alone, “terror-sponsoring), a veritable ‘Taliban-regime’in the very Heartland of the Jewish State…all in name of ‘giving peace a chance’…
I don’t buy it.
Good point about the water, Jose. BTW – NOW would be a pretty good time to see the Kurds get their own state, finally. They’ve certainly evidenced more state-craft and compromise in the doubtfull efforts in Baghdad than the Mandate Arabs have in the last 100 years….
I think Iraq would have been better served, served up ‘in pieces’. South, Central, and Kurdish.
Ya, it would’ve made the Turks nervous, and that’s why it didn’t happen. Need that access to Incirlik.
Hamas drops call for Israel’s destruction
Kate,
See, didn’t I tell you you are Canada’s answer to Charles Johnson?
BBC is also very anti-Israel, (and Bush). Watching the invasion of Iraq on BBC, Fox and CNN, it was clear that the most level coverage was Fox.
Its my understanding that Hamas has a social services arm in Palestine that makes it popular with the average person voting. I’m sure nothing about the whole mess is simple . As we (the unaffected) muse and fuss about how it should be unraveled, we should also remember that on every winning and losing side are everyday people just trying to get by and keep their families safe. Its never just a homogenous group of hateful murderers.
I’m booked to go to Lebanon next week. Do you think its a bad time….?
Hi Just call me Naive/Joseph –
Would love to know what concessions you are talking abt!! “If Israel is willing to make some meaningful concessions, perhaps Hamas can be convinced to bridge the gap and therefore abandon terrorism to achieve their ends in favour of meaningful dialogue.”
How many Jews just shivered, I wonder? You do know that the Palestinian map does not include Israel? And it hangs on their walls – in their schools – and no one could make that up!
Educate yourself before speaking.
Steve: – “Hamas Drops Call for Israel’s Destruction!”
“Pig’s Fly!”
😉
Doug…Hmmm! Well if the Lizard Army arrives here, Kate better buy more bandwidth! Now, where’s that ‘tipjar’… 🙂
Nice to see that the PM ‘expressed displeasure’ about Hamas victory. Leave it to CP to qualify that he didn’t ‘formally close any doors’.
Pathetic attempts at spin. Our ‘little-travelled’ PM yet knows enough to distinguish blood-cult murderers from legitimate ‘negotiating partners’…I don’t expect to see Canada leading any charge to recognize the New Taliban.
Tiburon,
The Kurds effectively have their own state right now. They control their own security and they’re consolidating just about everything else that a state need to get control of. They’re savvy enough to know that seperating from Iraq now and calling themselves Kurdistan would be counterproductive. I don’t have a crystal ball on Iraq’s future but I suspect the Kurds might prove to be its saving grace.
L, By all means go to Lebanon. Enjoy yourself and be a good cultural ambassador for the west. Tourism often (not always) increases cultural understanding. The more positive Muslims are to western culture they better.
So turn them on to western music and party it up with the Lebanese as much as you can. That’s the biggest blow the west can strike against the violent islamic fringe, take away their popular support from within their own constituencies.
thanx gellen
when I hear comments about ‘concessions’ by the Jews, after the rivers of blood (equivalent per capita to ten – 9-11’s) – literally everyone in the country touched by the murders…I just can’t find a way to answer, for the ignorance shown is just too enormous.
Unfortunately, the same ignorance went all the way up to the halls of power in Canada, as you’ll see from my link above.
We can pray that the MSM wake up from their pacifist dreams, in time to responsibly educate ‘the masses’….that we are in the opening battles of a War that may last generations…
As Gregory Peck said in “The Guns of Navaronne”, like it or not “You’re in it, now”.
And to those who might say it doesn’t involve us here in the Great White…I’d say go watch “African Queen” with Bogie again, and re-read Hemmingway’s “Islands in the Stream”…
It’s a World War, and either we successfully drag the Islamofascists into the 21st Century, or they’ll drag us back to the 7th.
Jose,
Good points and analysis, both: – The Kurds DO have a ‘near defacto’ state, and may yet prove the ‘saving’ of the Iraqi experiment. They’ve no love for the Syrian and Iranian imported and sponsored terrorists/terror, and may emerge yet the ‘kingmakers’ in the equation.
And regards Lebanon, man you are right. But I fear that only among the Christian Lebanese would one find the courage for such pluralism – in the Muslim communities the iron hand of the ‘religious police’, be they Hamas or Hizbollah, effectively represses all Western expression. I ‘feel’ for these cultures – not everyone can be a Palazzi, or a Whalid Shoebat…it is a nightmarish culture, brutally sexist, violently authoritarian and totalitarian, cruel.
gellen,
I’m not denying Israel has already made commendable concessions. And if there were clear solutions, bigger heads than mine surely would’ve suggested as such by now.
But we need to work on the assumption that the majority of people on both sides want peace, and not to wonder whether they might be caught in the next crossfire.
Perhaps I overextended myself. Really, Israel would win the support of the international community merely by continuing to work towards a lasting solution. Recent history tends to show that political power dampens the desire of fringe groups to continue an agenda of terror; look at Sinn Fein. Right now the ball is in Israel’s court and if they’re willing to keep working towards peace, there will be an incredible amount of pressure on Hamas to not break the faith.
If there was one thing that drove me permanently away from the left it is the seemingly inherent anti-semitism. It is practically required of leftists that they oppose the existence of Israel, and that they make doctrine-addled excuses for armed groups of young men who celebrate with grins and laughter the targetted mass murders of women and children. Looming large just barely below the surface is the attitude that “the Jews deserve it”.
Anti-semites on the right are a tiny minority, defined as nutbars, who are appropriately vilified. On the left, anti-semitism brings accolades, peace prizes, and validates one as a truly progressive thinker. There has never been a prejudice so septic and so vile, and so deeply, profoundly, inherently hypocritical. It’s transparent as drool, and it’s perpetual.
Tiburon,
I live in Brighton, Uk and I regularly party with immigrant muslim boys that observe Ramadan. They’re thoroughly muslim but also thoroughly into western culture.
Believe it or not there are blogs by Americans who have travelled through Iran and claim that the Iranians were the friendliest people they ever met. Some of them reported that they were asked for western media every day. Strangely enough the most sought after item was american pornography.
Perhaps we should be establish Jenna Jamieson as our cultural ambassador?
I think people should think twice before calling anyone “anti-Israel” or “anti-American” or anti-anything else. I am Jewish and staunchly pro-Israel, but I have no problem being critical of Israeli government policy. I’m critical of Bush, but anybody who knows me can see I’m not anti-American. Even the supposedly anti-American Chretien and Martin were never characterized that way when Clinton was president. (I can’t wait for the first Rightie to refer to Nixon going to China when discussing Stephen Harper’s recent remarks about the U.S. ambassador.) Just as all of us who didn’t like the Liberal government aren’t anti-Canadian. I’m acutely aware of genuinely anti-Israel and anti-Jewish factions on the Left (as Jose has also acknowledged), and I hate being in the same bed with them on certain issues. But I don’t allow the extremists and the scum to cheapen my own ideas, just as I don’t associate genuine conservatives with the scum on the Right. So let’s put such talk to rest for the moment.
I don’t like the election of Hamas any more than y’all. But it was, apparently, a free and fair election. If Fatah was truly as corrupt as has been reported, what other alternative did the voters have? I know by reading this page how y’all are upset that anyone in our country would vote for corruption. I imagine it’s the same in the Palestinian territories, and Hamas was the only party outside of Fatah that was capable of forming a government. The reports say that Hamas ran largely on domestic issues – veering to the centre, so to speak, like a certain successful Canadian party. All politics are local.
So the question is what will happen now? On the one hand, you can’t declare that “Democracy is on the march – but only if we like the election results.” On the other hand, it is perfectly legitimate to hold Hamas accountable as the leaders of the Palestinian jurisdiction. So the choice of the Palestinian people has to be respected until they do something stupid, or until the Palestinian people suffer from buyers’ remorse.
I agre with others here when I say that now more than eve, we need a gov’t. like we have now.
No dealing with or recognizing a Hamas govt. (I had a hard time with Fatah, too!)
Recognize Tamil Tigers as a terror group.
No dealing with Ahmadinejad or the other weirdos in Iran’s govt.
Stand behind our only true friends: US, UK, Oz, and the other “coalition of the willing” states.
The West needs to stay strong and united, as much now as in WWII.
EPW
This situation is going to change quickly when the Middle East blows up again in March. I hope people will remember who these civilians are and who they voted for when they’re “returned to dust” as the saying goes.
Jay:
At the risk of raising the ire of Jewish folks (and I am squarely on the side of Israel),what you’re saying is akin to, “Well, the only party that is not tainted by corruption AND has a chance of winning is the National Socialists, so I can understand voting for them.”
Sorry, dude. Doesn’t work for me.
We can acknowledge that this is the choice of the Palestinian people, but we don’t have to like it,respect it or encourage it. We can also choose not to heal with Hamas in any way, just as we would any other hate-filled, murderous, treacherous bunch of villains.
PS – the Muslim world has been in decline at least since the second defeat of the Ottomans at Vienna in the 1600’s. It trails not just the West but all other cultures in so many ways. The decline from what was once the paragon of enlightened, tolerant and advanced civilization to the most horrible, poor, undemocratic and backward state is the REAL cause of conflict between Islam and the rest of the world (esp. the West).
American Imperialism or whatever the hell you moonbats are calling it is NOT the reason…..and allowing Islamists the chance to get legitimacy from a one-man, one-vote, onet-time election is not going to solve the problem.
This is where I disagree with at least the official Bush doctrine of ‘imposed’ democracy. We’re in a genuine war here, and it’s long-term. The problem goes way deeper…
JMHO,
EPW
Jose:
You think that the porn request was “strange”?
Isn’t that what most males,regardless of culture, want to see? Pics/films of exotic chicks doing everything they are not supposed to do/not allowed to do.
Of course, the perception of white women as whores is commonplace amongst brown males everywhere.
EPW:
the Muslim world has been in decline at least since the second defeat of the Ottomans at Vienna in the 1600’s. It trails not just the West but all other cultures in so many ways. The decline from what was once the paragon of enlightened, tolerant and advanced civilization to the most horrible, poor, undemocratic and backward state is the REAL cause of conflict between Islam and the rest of the world (esp. the West).
The fact that you are acknowledging that the Islamic world was, at one time, an “enlightened, tolerant and advanced civilization” means that you don’t believe that there is something in their DNA to cause them to be terrorists. They haven’t always been that way. So if it isn’t something genetic, then there has to be a root cause. You trace it back to the decline of Islamic civilization, but you haven’t isolated the cause of their decline. So you present a half-baked theory. By following your own logic, wouldn’t the solution be to reverse the factors that caused the decline of that civilization in the first place? I’m not as well versed on the history as you are, so I defer to you on the topic, but I’m following your own logic. Unless you think evil is inherent in an entire race of people (and you have demonstrated that you do not), there must be alternatives to perpetual war out there.
evilprinceweasel,
My larger point was them being interested in our cultural exports, movies, books, music and even our recreational drugs.
What does Al Qaeda think of Muslim kids going to raves, taking ectasy and putting their hands up in the air out to calls for Peace, Love, Unity, Respect? I suspect they don’t get a lot of recruits from those circles.
Something that’s often missed in considering the Muslim world is how much younger they are than us. They’re breeding like rabbits while we in the west have to get our young people imported.
Under 30 muslims are radically different than the grey beards. The real challenge we face with Islam is getting people in that democratic on our side. If we get they’ll bring their families in with them.
Believe it or not Spain had a very, small version of this after the end of Franco. Remember Spain was essentialy a fascist country well into the 70s. At the time Spain was the most socially conservative nation in Europe.
The change was triggered by democracy, cultural exposure to other europeans and youth culture. The young spanish got hip and modern and their parents grudgingly followed.
I was joking about Jenna Jamieson, btw. I’d rather we had Iranians participating with us in blogs like this one.
Dont you just love spreading democracy to the middle east?
I don’t know who said it first, but peace will only come when the Palestinians begin to love their children more than they hate the Israelis.