There were at last count at least 643 ways to spell Muammar Gaddafi and I for one am very happy he is dead for that reason alone. The fact that he was the dictator of Libya for over forty years, funded the Lockerbie bombing of a Pan Am airliner and other terrorist acts also contributes to the good news.

These are proving to be bad times for dictators and it is easy to suggest that Basher Assad, a second generation dictator of Syria, will likely come to an equally bad end. So far this year the former dictator of Tunisia had to flee. Egypt’s Mubarack had to step aside, and both Syria’s and Yemen’s presidents are under seige. Nobody knows who’s in charge of Somalia.

As I watched President Obama take a victory lap when he announced Gaddafi’s death, my thoughts turned to what Ted Belman, a widely-read blogger called the Israpundit, had to say. “Gaddafi wasn’t any worse than the barbarians that killed him and will replace him. There are no freedom-loving democrats in the entire Muslim world which consists of seventh century-minded brutes.”

The Israelis have had the misfortune of having had to fight off Muslims not only for the past sixty-plus years of statehood, but in the decades leading up to it. Unlike those of us in the West, they understand them in terms of the insane, fanatical hatred they have for Jews, Christians, and all other “infidels”, unbelievers.

“The way the jihadist-enabling mainstream media is reporting the death of Gaddafi,” observed Belman, “you would think that Libya will become some sort of western-style democracy rather than a sharia-ruled hell-hole that will become the latest haven for al Qaeda. So why are the same people who condemned Bush’s overthrow of Saddam Hussein celebrating this?”

Good question.

Simply put, Muslims—particularly those in the Middle East—see the world in a way that is totally the reverse of how Westerners do. Ours is a pluralistic society. Theirs is a tribal society. We practice tolerance for other religions. They not only seek to drive out unbelievers, they regard apostasy as a death sentence for anyone who wants to leave Islam. Many have.

As Raymond Ibrahim, an Associate Fellow at the Middle East Forum, noted in a recent book review, “Last week Saudi Arabia’s religious police arrested an Indonesian housemaid for casting a magic spell on a local family and turning its life upside down. The maid ‘confessed’ to using sorcery and commission experts took the magic items to their office and managed to dismantle and stop the spell.” In the West we celebrate Halloween once a year. In the Middle East, it’s every day.

The book by Robert Reilly, “The Closing of the Muslim Mind”, a senior fellow at the American Foreign Policy Council, makes clear that such beliefs are common; magic spells, jins and genies. Reilly wrote of the different schools of Islam, showing how, by the 10th century, three hundred years after the death of Muhammad, the fatalistic schools had triumphed. The giants of Muslim philosphy, Ghazali and Ashari, “concluded that knowledge was unknowable, that moral truths can only be ascertained through revelation.”

This explains why so much of what occurs in the Middle East seems to defy logic to the Western mind. As Reilly noted about Islam, “All acts are in themselves morally neutral” and “Allah does not command certain behavior because it is good; it is good behavior because he commands it. Likewise, he does not forbid murder because it is bad; it is bad because he forbids it.”

The Ten Commandments forbid murder, adultery, and other acts because the acts themselves are bad, not simply because God instructed Moses that they were. The logic of good and evil is embedded in Judaism and its offshoot, Christianity. In Islam, any act can be justified if one can find a surah in the Koran and there is always one that will. Indeed, the Koran commands Muslims to kill for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is to extend Islam and to punish “insults” to it..

Any negative reference to Muhammad is enough to cause riotiing in the streets and acts of retribution. It is very intimidating and the West is easily intimidated, unless, of course, you fly jet airliners into our skyscrapers and the Pentagon. Then, however, within a few years they begin to debate the probity of building a mosque within a block or two of where the Twin Towers once stood.

While the Western world is defined by the spirit of inquiry, Islam is indifferent to it. Reilly notes that, for Muslims, “the only thing worth knowing is whether a specific action is, according to Sharia: obligatory, recommended, permitted, discouraged, or forbidden. The rest is irrelevant.”

This suggests that the last ten years since 9/11 (and all that preceeded it) have had a brief saluatory effect on Middle Eastern and North African Muslims only because they know with some certainty that we shall kill them if we must.

When Arabs took hostages and demanded ransom during the administration of Thomas Jefferson he called on Congress to authorize a Marine Corps and warships. The first Barbary War (1801-5) was also known as the Tripolitan War, as in Tripoli, Libya; the same Libya that just rid itself of the most recent dictator after a long succession of comparable dictators stretching back forever.

At some point an American President is going to have to authorize a major, preemptive attack on Iran, a Shiite nation whose lunatic ayatollahs see themselves as preparing the way for the return of the Twelfth Imam, a mythical figure who lives at the bottom of a well. They will use nuclear weapons, i.e., weapons of mass destruction, to achieve this unless we stop them first.

As the Israelis keep telling us, these people are nuts.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

 

WesternFront America

Was Mohamed Dawod, “of Glendale, AZ,” Celebrating the Anniversary of 9/11, When He “Allegedly” Murdered Ohioan Justin M. Hall by Shooting Him in the Back in a Springfield, MO Bus Depot? Springfield PD, FBI Order Public Not to Connect the Dots, or State the Obvious.

Springfield PD spokesman: “We’ve run into a language barrier,” and “This is going to be an isolated incident.”

How do we know that this “This is going to be an isolated incident”? That sounds like a pretty reckless assumption to me.

Springfield, Missouri, police expect the public to believe that the “suspect” insisted to police that he didn’t know any English, and that “because of his limited English, he did not understand his rights,” yet that he knew to immediately demand that he be taken to the hospital, and then to lawyer up, to explain to police that he would not speak to them without a lawyer present, and that he had no problem communicating with a lawyer. “Crazy” people don’t show such sophistication, nor do people suffering from a “language barrier”—heck, not even millions of native-born Americans do!—but terrorists are trained to conduct themselves that way. Heck, the guy sounds like a Philadelphia lawyer.

That would be the same “suspect” who 10 people say they saw saying some words to himself aloud (“Allahu Akbar”?) that they couldn’t hear, as he drew a gun and shot bus passenger Justin M. Hall, 32, in the back, at the Springfield bus depot on Thursday at 6 p.m. Local police also expect the public to believe that “the language barrier” is the only reason they brought the FBI in on the case. The FBI further expects us to forget everything we know about Moslems murdering “infidels.”

FBI spokeswoman Bridget Patton said,

“At this point, we have been called in by the local police department, the Springfield Police Department, to assist them in trying to determine the motivation behind the suspect’s actions.”

More like, to assist them in trying to come up with a cover story distracting the public from the suspect’s real motivations.

In the mortal words of spokeswoman Bridget Patton, the Bureau does not want us to make “any snap type of judgment.”

I said “mortal,” rather than “immortal” words, because if the folks who watched Mohamed H. Dawod calmly, coolly slaughter Justin M. Hall had followed Bridget Patton’s advice (which we’ve heard a million times from lying “experts” in the past 10 years), we’d now be talking about the Springfield Massacre. We—not the media, and not law enforcement authorities, who would be busy covering it up or, failing that, rationalizing it away.

Bridget Patton doesn’t, perchance, have a history as a diversity trainer?

Fortunately, a bunch of witnesses did everything that law enforcement “experts” and diversity trainers always say not to do:

• They correctly made a “snap type of judgment” that Dawod was a Moslem terrorist;
• They made a “snap type of judgment” that they wanted to live, and therefore correctly jumped on Dawod, rather than defer to police chalk artists, after he had slaughtered them;
• They correctly disarmed their would-be killer, in spite of LEO “experts’” orders never to try and do that; and
• They correctly beat the hell out of him, in spite of advocacy on behalf of American and foreign-born cut-throats of color by law enforcement, the ACLU, NAACP, SPLC, Center for Constitutional Rights, Justice Department, White House and the U.N.

There are only two reasons for involving the FBI in this case: 1. Because the local PD is convinced this was a terrorist attack, whether due to Sudden Jihad Syndrome or something involving more planning; and 2. In order for the Bureau to engage in sharia-compliant damage control, by peeing on our pants, and telling us that it’s raining. You know the drill: It was a “random” attack by a “deranged” person who, just coincidentally, happened to be a Moslem, you know, the religion that orders its followers to “randomly” murder anyone who fails to submit to it?

And let us not neglect Greyhound’s contribution. Their spokesman, Timothy Stokes, said the bus line does not search but does do “random wanding and random bag checks” of passengers at certain locations. Translated out of the newspeak, that means they look for the least threatening, white, non-Moslem-looking passengers—e.g., eighty-year-old, Baptist grandmothers—and search them, while ignoring Moslems. Spokesman Stokes proudly emphasized that “The most important measure we have taken is to aggressively enforce our zero tolerance policy, with respect to unruly or aggressive passengers.”

By that standard, the unruly and aggressive heroes who tackled, disarmed, and beat up the murderous Moslem terrorist would have been ejected, and can look forward to a lifetime ban from Greyhound’s buses.

Timothy Stokes’ pride was surreal in a story about a quietly murderous, Moslem terrorist. Spokesman Stokes was practically inviting Moslems to ride Greyhound, where they will be left in peace to murder as many “infidels” as possible, as long as no unruly or aggressive passengers spoil things.

Meanwhile, the local media—in this case, “reporter” Emily Rittman, of Springfield ABC affiliate KSPR33—are doing their sacred duty, in order to inflate civilians’ dry cleaning bill, by uncritically repeating sharia enforcement officers’ (SEOs) talking points, and referring to the “suspect” as being “of Glendale, Arizona.”

That’s funny. I don’t know of any “Glendale, Arizona” men who don’t—or who claim not to—speak a word of English.

Fortunately, we’re not forced to subsidize the dhimmi/anti-American MSM—yet. But will someone please tell me, 10 years after 9/11, why we are paying for local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies whose primary mission appears to be to run interference for people who seek to murder us, and who make it their business to disarm, confuse, harass, sexually fondle, and even arrest patriotic Americans of sound instincts and judgment?

And why was this man even in the country, in the first place?

Don’t expect to get any honest answers to these questions.

Meanwhile, on the 10 o’clock news tonight (Saturday) at Rupert Murdoch’s New York affiliate, Fox5, “reporter” Dick Brennan narrated a story about “unity” 10 years after 9/11, regarding a group of dhimm-witted local teenagers, with one exception, who had lost family members on 9/11. He spoke of a Jewish kid being friends with a “Palestinian” girl (wearing a scarf covering her hair), who had also lost someone on 9/11. That Jewish boy is as delusional as his great-grandfather would have been, had the latter thought that he was friends with Heinrich Himmler’s daughter.

I recall jubilant “Palestinians” celebrating on 9/11, both in New Jersey and in the territories in Israel, and handing out candy.

That the Arab Moslem girl lost someone on 9/11 was an accident; that the other kids lost someone was planned.

On 9/11 and immediately thereafter, Murdoch’s Fox network was the only patriotic, major MSM news outlet on TV. Murdoch has since gone pc in every way.

Fox5 talked tonight about us having lost 2,753 people on 9/11, and 6,135 fighting men since then (6,210, according to the New York Times), but to what end? Towards imposing the caliphate?

As Diana West has written, our fighting men in Afghanistan are ordered, as per the dictates of Mohammedanism, not only to “protect the Koran” (but not the Bible), but to “Never talk badly about the Qu’ran or its contents,” and to make American military and security practices submit to shariah.

But as West argues, for the past 10 years, all American public institutions have embraced Islamization. She writes, “As a result of this policy of appeasement – submission – we now stand poised on the brink of a golden age.” West is referring to a “golden age of Islam.”

Right after 9/11, people who considered themselves patriots criticized others for having a “9/10” mentality. But after ten years of sharia-compliant propaganda, starting with none other than George W. “Islam is Peace” Bush, “9/10” thinking would represent great progress.

(An unruly and aggressive shout-out to my patriotic friends at 1389 Blog – Counterjihad!)

© Nicholas Stix

Mr. Stix blogs at Nicholas Stix, Uncensored

 

WesternFront America

I never forgot it. When I was maybe eight years old, I saw the picture, The Battle of the Bulge, for the first time. I didn’t get the point of the title, but I did get “Nuts!”

That was the response, on December 22, 1944, of Brig. Gen. Anthony C. McAuliffe to the demand by the Gerries, who had laid siege to us four days before in the Belgian town of Bastogne, that we surrender.

McAuliffe’s Web page at Arlington National Cemetery calls his one-word response “probably the most famous quote of World War II.” It became synonymous with the American can-do spirit.

Beginning on December 16, the Germans had made one last, bold, mad offensive, and broke through Allied lines, causing a “bulge.”

Bastogne was a hub of seven roads, which made it crucial for the Germans’ westward thrust, and thus it was crucial for us to stop them there.

Bastogne was hopeless. Due to inclement weather, we had no air support, and dwindling supplies. The town was occupied by the paratroopers of McAuliffe’s 101st Airborne Division, crack soldiers, to be sure, but men who were overmatched in numbers and weaponry by the encircling German forces. And yet, our boys held until the bad weather cleared, and we could get them air support and fresh supplies. We had inspired leadership, fresh troops, and good morale, while the Germans were weary, and their morale low. And then, on December 26, it was the Gerries who were surrendering.

And that helped break the back of the German offensive.

My mom says that my late Uncle Irwin, who made it to sergeant in the war, and then went back for more in Korea, fought in the Battle of the Bulge, but I don’t know if he was at Bastogne.

During Memorial Day weekend, my 11-year-old and I had the pleasure of watching Battleground (1949), the first movie depiction of the Battle of Bastogne.

Shortly before McAuliffe’s 46th birthday, he “parachuted into Normandy [with his men] on D-Day and … entered Holland by glider.”

A mere 19 days after McAuliffe’s men won the Battle of Bastogne, FDR awarded him the Distinguished Service Cross…

…for extraordinary heroism in connection with military operations against an armed enemy while serving as Acting Commander, 101st Airborne Division, in action against enemy forces from 17 to 26 December 1944, at Bastogne, Belgium.

During this period General McAuliffe was in command of the 101st Airborne Division during the siege of Bastogne, Belgium, by overwhelming enemy forces. Though the city was completely surrounded by the enemy, the spirit of the defending troops under this officer’s inspiring, gallant leadership never wavered. Their courageous stand is epic.

General McAuliffe continuously exposed himself to enemy bombing, strafing, and armored and infantry attacks to personally direct his troops, utterly disregarding his own safety.

Brigadier General McAuliffe’s courage, fearless determination and inspiring, heroic leadership exemplify the highest traditions of the military forces of the United States and reflect great credit upon himself, the 101st Airborne Division, and the United States Army.

Which brings us to Cong. Allen West (R, FL), who is a retired Army lieutenant colonel. The jihadis at CAIR (the Council on American-Islamic Relations) demanded that West surrender, and denounce what they called “Anti-Islamic” groups, to which he has ties. Channeling the spirit of “General Mac,” the Congressman replied with a letter that simply said, “NUTS!”

That our Moslem enemies should fail to understand West’s response was to be expected. And I suppose it was to be expected that the MSM didn’t get it, either, under the category of shocking, but unsurprising. After all, they’re just as much our enemies as the jihadis, whom they support.

The matter most important to the alleged reporter supposedly covering the story for CBS News, Gio Benitez, who knows considerably less American history than my 11-year-old, was that he pronounce his name as if he were in a Latin American country. Senor Benitez told viewers, “This letter is extremely short, and nobody seems to know exactly what it means.”

But the people on the street interviewed by Benitez didn’t get it, either, and stupidly criticized West. “It doesn’t look too professional to me. It doesn’t look too thought out,” said one forty-something white man.

“Uh, maybe another sentence. Explaining?,” said an attractive woman in her thirties with a Spanish accent.

In its exquisite simplicity and powerful symbolism, West’s response could not have been better thought out, and explaining it would have ruined it.

Not that those dunces would have supported him, anyway.

One of the crack researchers at Benitez’ station then googled, apparently, and found what all patriotic Americans already knew, which the intrepid Senor Benitez announced as a scoop:

“Then we found this. During World War II, Gen. Anthony McAuliffe famously wrote a one-word letter to the Germans in response to a surrender ultimatum. The word used? Nuts!”

How can Benitez call it “famous,” if he’d never heard of it? Either the letter wasn’t famous, or he’s an utterly incompetent, affirmative action hire.

Benitez: [CAIR Jihadi Nezar] “Hamze doesn’t think he’ll ever find out what Congressman West meant with the word, because, he says, West has turned down all meetings with CAIR Florida.”

That’s funny. The Gerries figured it out, back in ‘44. Then again, back then the typical German officer knew more about American culture than today’s typical jihadi, reconquista, or media saboteur/insurgent. Heck, those people glory in their ignorance of American culture.

When Benitez asked CAIR Florida jihadi Nezar Hamze what he would say to West, Hamze replied, “I’d tell him to grow up, you know, to act like a congressman, and engage in dialogue, and to stop the schoolboy insults.”

What is there to talk about? The terms of surrender? To jihadis, “dialogue” has the same meaning that it does for black racists: ‘We dictate, and you submit, while nodding in assent.’

Benitez: “Now West did turn down an interview request from CBS4 News, and we are still waiting for a statement from his office.”

West had already made his statement.

Let me get this right. Even after one of the station’s researchers learned the meaning of “Nuts!,” the jihadi and Benitez still don’t understand what West said? No; they couldn’t possibly be that stupid. What they are saying is that they refuse to accept what West said, and want to wear him down, by demanding that he “explain” himself.

I don’t need to read any polls to know that Congressman West just got himself a big surge among patriots.

So, how’s he on immigration? According to NumbersUSA, where illegal immigration is concerned, he’s as good as it gets. I was unable to determine the Congressman’s position on legal immigration.

Remember, “You can have any color you want, as long as it’s black.”

© Nicholas Stix

Mr. Stix blogs at Nicholas Stix, Uncensored

 

WesternFront America

A problem with which American administrations have grappled since the days of Thomas Jefferson’s presidency has been Arabs and the Middle East. The Marine anthem mentions “the shores of Tripoli” because, in 1801, Jefferson sent them to there to put down the Barbary pirates.

One of the best books on this subject is “Power, Faith, and Fantasy: America in the Middle East, 1776 to the Present” by Michael B. Oren who, with exquisite irony, is currently serving as the Israeli ambassador to the United States, the nation of his birth.

Regarding the Middle East, if you have had the feeling that the Obama administration has been spectacularly inept as it takes its turn at bat, you’re right. Barely six months into his first year, on June 4, 2009, the newly-minted President gave a speech in Cairo.

“I’ve come to Cairo to seek a new beginning between the United States and Muslims around the world, one based on mutual interest and mutual respect, and one based upon the truth that America and Islam are not exclusive and need not be in competition. Instead, they overlap, and share common principles—principles of justice and progress, tolerance and the dignity of all human beings.”

Obama’s impressions, aspirations, or re-write of history, past and present, clashes with the reality of current and past events. He has, in fact, adopted virtually all of his much maligned predecessor’s policies in the Middle East and took a bow for authorizing the long awaited assassination of Osama bin Laden.

As this is being written, the White House is debating the levels of military withdrawal from Afghanistan and Iraq. In both cases the public is alternatively told that the leaders of those two nations either want the U.S. to leave or to stay. Where the truth falls no one seems to know.

It is very instructive to read what is being published in the newspapers that serve readers in the Middle East. Suffice to say that neither the President, nor his policies, is well regarded. One can read daily translations of articles from their press, as well as Asia and Europe at an interesting site, .http://watchingamerica.com/News.

I would argue that no amount of “hands on” involvement with the events unfolding from the Maghreb nations of northern Africa to those that form the heart of the Middle East will significantly alter the outcome of events occurring there.

In addition to the uprisings to throw off the shackles of despotism from Tunisia to Libya to Egypt to Syria, Bahrain to Yemen, the common denominator for these and other Arab nations is their well-deserved sense of having been the victims of various regimes. They are all likely to be united in their fear of the rise of Iran, a Persian nation, and one that will soon achieve nuclear parity with Pakistan, India and, yes, Israel.

The world has lived with “the bomb” since the end of World War Two in August 1945. Nuclear weapons have not been used since, but Iran is the wild card. It will not yield to international sanctions. Its cabal of ayatollahs will not be overthrown from within. It must either suffer a massive attack on its nuclear and military facilities or it will fill the skies over Israel and other nations with mushroom clouds.

The leaders of Western nations seem unaware that, immediately upon the death of Mohammed in 632 A.D., Islam split into two factions, Sunnis and Shiites, who have been in conflict with one another ever since.

The history of Islam consists of waging war on everyone else as well either for the purpose of conversion, looting, or the collection of taxes laid on non-Muslims. This history has been broken by rare, short periods of tolerance, but Muslims, convinced that their Koran is the absolute word of Allah, have been indifferent to the values of the West and the advances of modernization that have usually been imposed on them through colonialism.

Islam has been around nearly 1,400 years and gives no evidence of reforming itself away from the Arab culture in which it took seed and away from the brutal punishments that pass for justice. It was and is a savage “religion” bent on global domination.

Even when Muslims find hospitality in non-Muslim nations like those of Europe they immediately set upon an effort to impose Sharia law, usually through intimidation, on the indigenous population. In the Middle East, hands and heads are still cut off, rape victims are stoned, and a charge of blasphemy or apostasy can get you killed.

As this is being written, Christians and the few Jews still residing in the Middle East and the Maghreb are fleeing for their lives as their churches are being burnt to the ground and their lives are at risk.

One would think that, after U.S. involvement—invasions—of Afghanistan and Iraq, we would have figured out that Islamic nations are impervious to any concept of Western style democracy. Islam’s claims to be a religion are framed within a political system run by theocrats.

Elections have managed to put Hamas in charge in Gaza and Hezbollah in charge of Lebanon. The ayatollahs grabbed power in Iran and turned that nation into a prison. The mobs in the streets of Syria are trying to overthrow the Assad dynasty, warring against an Alawaite minority tribe ruling as Baathists. Yemen is a basketcase and Somalia is even worse.

The ignorance of these facts has cost Americans billions, if not trillions, with our adventures in Afghanistan and Iraq. It has led President Obama to intercede in Libya for no good reason. It is a desert under which oil exists. Beyond that, it hardly matters which dictator is in charge. Gadhafi’s dabbling in terrorism cost him more than it was worth.

So long as Obama is President, the U.S. will pursue unrealistic and often stunningly stupid policies and actions as regards Islam and Muslim nations.

By way of one small example, in April Janet Napolitano, the Secretary of Homeland Security, appointed Arif Alikhan, a devout Muslim, as Assistant Secretary for Policy Development. Alikhan was born in Damascus, Syria. I am sure you feel safer now knowing that.

Are there nice Muslims? Sure. Are there “moderate” Muslims? Possibly, but they are outnumbered by the millions who are not. Oil money and various illegal enterprises support terrorism. Even Americans contribute because the Obama administration will not permit exploration or drilling for an estimated 150 billion barrels of our own domestic oil.

And you still wonder why President Obama actually bowed to the King of Saudi Arabia? Or that George W. Bush ignored the fact that all but one of the nineteen 9/11 terrorists were Saudis? No President wants a repeat of the 1973 Saudi oil boycott.

Nothing good can come out of the current turmoil affecting most Arab Muslim nations. The U.S. would be wise to maintain its military power, but the fact is our Navy is being reduced, our Air Force is flying aging aircraft, and the combat divisions of our Army and Marines are worn out from repeated tours in the Middle East.

Obama is as clueless as Woodrow Wilson who thought he could bring “peace in our time” and only managed to help set in motion the run-up to World War Two. He has put America at risk in so many ways I am losing count.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

 

WesternFront America

By Alan Caruba

Even Pakistanis do not believe that their political and military leaders did not know bin Laden was living, as one columnist put it, “wrapped in the bosom of the Pakistani security establishment.”

Cyril Almeida, writing in the Pakistani newspaper, Dawn, a few days after the killing of bin Laden noted that, when the question is asked privately, “No one will say anything but, yes, they knew he was there.”

For 34 of its 64 years, Pakistan has been run by generals whose military intelligence presumably works in league with its Inter-Services Intelligence Directorate (ISI), though both have their own agendas. It is unlikely that much civilian control over either exists.
Almeida wrote, “If we didn’t know, we are a failed state; if we did know, we are a rogue state. But does anyone believe they didn’t know?”

If it were an individual, Pakistan would be diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic, subject to raging fears that India intends to invade on a moment’s notice and antagonistic to Afghanistan as it harbors those who attack it.

In his recently published book, “Pakistan: A Hard Country”, Anatol Lieven provides insight to a nation that, until lately, was home to the most wanted man on the face of the Earth, Osama bin Laden. He was dispatched in a compound that was within a short distance of Pakistan’s equivalent of West Point or England’s Sandhurst. If we are to believe Pakistan’s civilian and military leadership, neither had any idea he was there.

“Trying to understand Pakistan’s internal structures and dynamics is complicated,” writes Lieven. “If there is one phrase which defines many aspects of Pakistan…it is ‘Janus-faced’: in other words, many of the same features of Pakistan’s state and government which are responsible for holding Islamist extremism in check are at one and the same time responsible for holding back Pakistan’s social, economic, and political development.”

“Pakistan,” writes Lieven, “is divided, disorganized, economically backward, corrupt, violent, unjust, often savagely oppressive towards the poor and women, and home to extremely dangerous forms of extremism and terrorism.”

Pakistan came into being in 1947 when leaders of India’s Muslim population like Mohammed Ali Jinnah, its founder, made it clear they did not want to be part of the newly independent India after Great Britain relinquished its colonial rule. Later, when East Pakistan broke loose to establish its independence in 1971, it became Bangladesh.

The thing Westerners find difficult to understand is the tribal nature of nations like Pakistan and Afghanistan, but it is not difficult to understand “Muslim nationalism and the bitter hostility to the U.S. role in the Muslim world in general and Pakistan’s region in particular.” However, in order to pursue the present combat role against the Taliban in Afghanistan, the U.S. and its European allies rely on neighboring Pakistan in order to provision supplies to their troops.

Since the Taliban are a creation of Pakistan’s ISI and because Pakistan has long been where al Qaeda has found refuge, those in charge have played a Janus or two-faced role for a very long time; at times providing intelligence of great value and at others aiding or at the very least, protecting the terrorist organizations. In return, the Taliban have proven an internal problem for the military and the government, occasionally requiring that they be driven out of areas they have seized.

In many ways, Pakistan is barely a nation. In its tribal northwest regions, such as the now fabled Waziristan, the state has little influence or control. As to its tribes, the two dominant ones are Punjab and Pathan. Both pursue their own interests.

As Lieven describes it, “A fundamental political fact about Pakistan is that the state, whoever claims to lead it, is weak, and (the) society in its various forms is immensely strong.” It is a nation of many separate fiefdoms who “plunder the state for patronage and favors” and this is graphically demonstrated by the fact that “barely one percent of the population pays income tax, and the wealthiest landowners in the country pay no direct taxes at all.”

Thus, the billions that the U.S. has pumped into its economy take on a very critical role, particularly for the military. This is a very different world from that of the West. The majority of Pakistan’s political parties are dynastic, led by a few powerful families. The entire society operates on kinship loyalty.

Pakistan is a perfect example of why the U.S. and the West are stymied by the illogic, the irrationality, and the duplicity of nations in which Islam is the predominant factor in their politics and society.

When you add in the geography of Pakistan, lodged between India and Afghanistan, bordered by China and Iran, you have a nation that can neither be ignored nor abandoned because of its strategic location.

Finally, there is the fact that Pakistan has a nuclear arsenal that must never be allowed to fall into the hands of the Taliban, al Qaeda, or anyone else crazed enough to use it for the greater glory of Allah.

Pakistan is a pit of deception and it is notable that our current relations with it consist of the special operations raid that killed bin Laden and the drones that continue to kill al Qaeda and Taliban who make themselves available targets.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

 

WesternFront America

By Marie Jon

“When it goes well with the righteous, the city rejoices, and when the wicked perish, there is joyful shouting.” — Proverbs 11:10

Should God’s people consider mourning the death of Osama bin Laden? One wonders how people of faith should appropriately respond to his demise.

God’s love

Some Christians do not feel comfortable with the thought of their fellow Americans expressing jubilancy over another’s death. Even a wicked person is very special in God’s eyes. Christ came to this earth to save the sinners of this world.

Christ gave a demonstration to prove His love at Calvary. He died a cruel death on a cross. Jesus died to set free those captivated by evil. He died for the ungodly. He took their place and suffered the punishment they deserved.

By dying on the cross, God proved His supreme love for a world tainted with sin and rebelliousness. There was no other way to clearly demonstrate His love.

However, The Almighty will never force His love or plan of salvation upon humanity. And bin Laden, after all, if viewed biblically, was a lost soul, one who decided to take a wrong path. Bin Laden is now dead without any hope of eternal life. It was his choice to die. Ultimately, the wages of sin is eternal death.

Overcoming evil

But there is much to be said about the thousands of lives lost at the hands of this mastermind of terror.

On September 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people perished, many of whom lost the opportunity to turn to their Maker. Because we are not promised our tomorrows, our eternal fate can be sealed at a moment’s notice.

Bin Laden inflicted great suffering upon the families of his victims. Without a life infused in God, many will live out the rest of their lives in sorrowful pain. However, in Christ they can be assured of the “Blessed Hope.”

Our country was violated by bin Laden’s wickedness. Yet there was the fortitude and resolution among the American people to move forward with heads held up high. We will never forget what took place as a result of the enormous tragedy and destruction.
Terrorism will haunt the American way of life for many more decades to come.

Child of God — or of Satan?

Who was bin Laden? Was he a child of God, or of the father of lies? What do the scriptures have to say about those who are considered “sons of God”?

In Matthew 5:9, we read, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God.” Romans 8:14 says, “For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” And Galatians 3:26 declares: “For in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith.”

The above characteristics were definitely not possessed by bin Laden. So what is a Christian to feel or express in a time such as this?

Certainly, death should not be “celebrated” — but an end to evil should! You can rest assured, God’s Word promises that all that is evil will eventually cease to exist. God is good, and eventually only righteousness will prevail for an eternity.

The great controversy is not just a supernatural controversy that occurs in the heavens alone. Not at all! In fact, all humanity is now involved in a great controversy between Christ and Satan regarding the character of God, His law, and His very sovereignty over the universe.

This conflict originated in heaven when a created being, endowed with freedom of choice, in self-exaltation became Satan, God’s adversary. Lucifer led into rebellion a portion of the angels, and introduced the spirit of rebellion into this world when he led Adam and Eve into sin. This human sin resulted in the distortion of the image of God in humanity, the disordering of the created world, and its eventual devastation at the time of the worldwide flood.

Imagine this being observed by all of creation. Our world became, and still is, the arena of the universal conflict, out of which the God of love will ultimately be vindicated.

Eye of the beholder

On Sunday May 2, 2011, evil received a slap in the face — while a human life was also taken. And while the whole spectacle of revelers was a bit distasteful for some, many other Americans thought of our brave troops and the Navy Seals who took out the world’s most wanted fugitive. May God bless America and us all.

Inspired by “Should religious people be mourning the death of bin Laden?” by Pastor Santiago Cuellar

Related Reading: American Thinker: “Interrogation Not Litigation Led to Osama”
EDITORIAL: No Class: Obama snubs Bush, praises himself — Washington Times
The killing of Osama bin Laden: how the White House changed its story — UK Guardian
Marie’s Chosen Song: The National Anthem USA By Tim Davis

© Marie Jon

 

WesternFront America

By Alan Caruba

Americans greeted news of Osama bin Laden’s death with a celebration of the payback it represents for the deaths of nearly 3,000 Americans on September 11, 2001.

As former Vice President Dick Cheney said on hearing the news, “Today, the message our forces have sent is clear—if you attack the United States, we will find you and bring you to justice.”

This is part of the American psyche. A great power cannot allow itself to be attacked and harmed without rendering retribution. Every day bin Laden drew breath after 9/11 was a rebuke to America.

The 9/11 attack, however, grew out of a larger context, the Islamic central concept of jihad. Far from being “a religion of peace”, the Koran is a battle plan for the conquest of the world by Islam and jihad is regarded as a sacred duty for all Muslims.

This is why political correctness regarding how we deal with Muslim demands in the United States is a danger to the nation. Islam is one big hate crime directed at all other religious faiths. Failure to understand that is to sign the nation’s and the world’s death warrant.

The irony of al Qaeda’s legacy has been the vast numbers of Muslims that have died as a result of its efforts to overthrow the governments of nations whose wrath it invoked. In the bizarre illogic of the Arab world, even as many Saudis allegedly contributed to al Qaeda, one of its aims was to overthrow the Saudi royal family who bin Laden had condemned for allowing American troops to encamp on its “sacred sands” in the first war against Iraq’s Saddam Hussein.

Al Qaeda was and remains a threat to the existing governments throughout the Middle East and, of course, anywhere in the world it wants to target. The U.S. has cut off the snake’s head, but must now remain even more vigilant against retaliation. That said, there is no doubt the organization has been significantly weakened with the loss of its symbolic leader.

Osama bin Laden has become to many Arabs what the Cuban butcher, Che Guevera, became to Communists and their dupes.

My suspicion is that al Qaeda will break into more isolated, individual units in nations throughout the Middle East and become even more vulnerable to being dismembered and destroyed. It is, however, northern African and Middle Eastern nations that are being restructured from within by millions of Muslims who have grown tired of the century’s old oppression that has been Islam’s hallmark.

Americans should not expect democracy to break out in the Maghreb or the Middle East, but it can expect governments there to become more responsive to the expectations and demands of their people. Even those in the Middle East know they are far behind those in the West in terms of any true freedom and justice. They have seen it and they want it.
We are told bin Laden’s body is in American hands. My suggestion—a fanciful one—is that it be embalmed and put on display in the Smithsonian as a reminder of the threat the nation will continue to face for decades to come.

Lastly, at a time when there are discussions of cutting the defense budget, we need to take heed of the courage and skill of those military who attacked the bin Laden compound in Pakistan and rendered the ultimate justice.

“People sleep peaceably in their beds at night only because rough men stand ready to do violence on their behalf” is a quote attributed to George Orwell, the author of “1984”, a novel warning against all forms of totalitarian government.

Americans, despite our present economic distress, have to keep in mind that our nation has real enemies in the world and they aren’t exclusively Muslim. They are the reincarnated version of the former Soviet Union, Chinese Communists, North Korea, and others that wish us ill.

Their greatest allies will be those who preach isolationism and passivity.
Thus, the role of our military, the wars we choose to fight and where we choose to fight them has never been more critical. Jihad is forever.

For that, we must put our financial house in order and soon—or we shall witness our enemies celebrating, just as we celebrate today.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

 

WesternFront America

By Alan Caruba

In the months and years leading up to the beginning of World War Two, all the parties knew full well Hitler’s intention to start a war. When he struck a deal with Stalin to divide Poland, the die was cast. The invasion came in September 1939. Previously, diplomats had met with the Nazis to offer them the former Czechoslovakia and turned a blind eye to other provocative events.

World War Two was preceded by Hitler’s “Mein Kampf” that spelled out his plans for Europe’s Jews and the torrent of lies that led to war and the genocide that became known as the Holocaust.

It is not surprising that history is repeating itself as in the case of an April 7 letter to The Wall Street Journal by Alireza Miryousefi of the Iranian Mission to the U.N. “There is no evidence of any military diversion” in Iran’s nuclear facilities claimed Mr. Miryousefi, who went on to assert that “the real threat of nuclear proliferation” was Israel which he described as “the Zionist regime.”

Despite Iran’s support for two terrorist organizations, Hezbollah and Hamas, it was Israel, said Mr. Miryousefi, that was “the biggest terrorist and apartheid regime.”
Today, everyone knows the Iran’s crazed ayatollahs intend to secure nuclear weapon capability and everyone knows that, when they do, they will attack Israel with them. They have never ceased to call for its destruction. It is not a question of if, but when.

How close is “when”? The Iranians just released a video titled “The Coming is Near” that describes the current events in the Middle East as the prelude to the coming of the Twelfth Imam, the Mahdi, a figure particular to the Shiite branch of Islam and one that Islamic scriptures say will lead the armies of Islam to victory over all non-Muslims in the last days.

In a nuclear age, as Nikita Krushchev, a former Premier of the Soviet Union, once said, “The living will envy the dead.” Those were the days of the Cold War and, with both the U.S. and Russia possessing nukes, the concept of mutually assured destruction, MAD, was understood. This, however, does not apply to the ayatollahs. They need massive destruction to bring about their Islamic End Times scenario.

In a recent Wall Street Journal interview with Bernard Lewis, the West’s leading scholar on the Middle East, he pointed out that the mullahs “are religious fanatics with an apocalyptic mindset. In Islam, as in Christianity and Judaism, there is an end-of-times scenario—and they think it’s beginning or has already begun.”

The result, said Lewis, is that “mutually assured destruction is not a deterrent—it’s an inducement.”

In the days leading up to World War Two, the diplomatic choice was appeasement. Today, hope is that the mullahs can be deterred long enough that Iranians will somehow bring about regime change from within. The computer virus, Stuxnet, had the affect of interfering with the enrichment process necessary to weaponize uranium, but may not now be a factor.

In the meantime, the Gulf Cooperation Council, composed of six GCC states are discussing a proposal to identify and deport an estimated 20,000 Shiites linked to Iran. In Kuwait the plan would focus on Lebanese Shiites with links to Hezbollah and Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

It is believed that many Iranian agents have been activated this year and, as such, pose a security threat. Said one GCC insider, “For years, the GCC knew of these people, but looked the other way. We can’t look the other way anymore.”

The news, unfortunately, just keeps getting worse and worse. In the muddle that represents the effort to overthrow Libya’s Gadhafi, DebkaFile reports that the “rebels” have sold thousands of chemical shells found in Benghazi to Hezbollah and Hamas, two puppet organizations funded by Iran.

When you add to that the thousands of rockets cached in Lebanon by Hezbollah and the rocketing that has been reinstituted from Gaza by Hamas, you have a trigger for a wider war.

Specifically, you have the elements of the destruction of Israel by the Iranians and the so-called Palestinians, a stateless group that have been the pawns of Iran and Arab nations for more than six decades.

In late March, Senators Mark Kirk (R-Ill) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) were joined by twenty-five other Senators who sent a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her to identify specific steps the administration is taking to press the Palestinian Authority to end the “dangerous incitement against Jews and Israel.” The letter was sent in the wake of the terrorist murder of the Fogel family in Itamar and a bombing of a civilian bus in Jerusalem. A school bus has since been attacked.

You don’t have to be a CIA analyst to know that events in the Middle East will be exploited by the Iranians to bring about their apocalyptic End Times aspirations and that the destruction of Israel is, in their view, the trigger. After Israel, the United States and Europe will be next.

© Alan Caruba, 2011

 

WesternFront America

By J. D. Longstreet

“The threats came in the mail and to date, there have been 25 letters that warn of nuclear bombs destroying America.

People who got them called the FBI and CBS 2′s Kristyn Hartman learned, the Bureau’s Chicago office is leading the investigation.” (Read the rest of the story here at the (SOURCE).)

Above is the lead paragraph of a story, which appears on the website of CBS Chicago at: (SOURCE)

At the time this story was published 25 letters had been received.

The article goes on to explain that the writer of at least one of the letters claims there are a total of 160 nuclear bombs, which were smuggled into the USA and these bombs have already been planted in schools, stadiums, churches, stores, financial institutions — and government buildings. According to the recipient of one of the letters, the writer claims to be Bin Laden, himself, and he declares that, yes, this IS a suicide mission.

The FBI is on the case and, as usual, are saying very little publicly about it. But, the letters apparently turned up in other states as well. Among them, Oregon, California, Texas and Florida also got the letter, which has a Chicago postmark.

So… what if it is true? Or what if it is the work of terrorists just being terrorists? See — the work of a terrorist is to create terror or to spread terror.

Or — what if it is just a hoax … a cruel “April Fool’s Day” joke?

Well, this is the kind of hoax that could land the perpetrator in jail for oh, say, two-hundred and fifty years. (Up to ten years in jail for each letter)

Now, maybe it is just me, but it seems clear that IF this is a hoax, the moment those letters were dropped in the mail box, the hoax became an act of terrorism, domestic, or whatever… but terrorism, nevertheless.

The FBI declares it will apprehend the “perp”, and they probably will, but so far as we have been able to determine — the feds have not said whether the writer of those missives will be charged as a terrorist, or not.

Americans have become complacent, again, here within what we have always felt was our sanctuary, our fortress, or “safe-room” of a country. 9-11 only shook us awake for a moment and soon we slipped right back into our “it can’t happen here” national pipe dream existence. 9-11 forever proved that IT CAN HAPPEN HERE and probably will happen here — AGAIN!

The problem here is: We can’t satisfy ourselves that this is JUST a hoax and let it go. America IS vulnerable. At some level, we all know that.

Our doors are standing open just inviting someone to enter and create mischief.

Our borders are nearly wide open. As long as the majority of our government is comprised of those who naively believe in an open society, a world without borders, the southern and northern borders of America will remain open to illegal immigration, of any kind, including entry by those intending to do as much harm to American citizens as they possibly can.

THAT is why this kind of story can gain so much traction so quickly. Americans know we are vulnerable and we also know we cannot depend upon our government to protect us any longer.

Firearms are flying off the shelves as worried Americans have their own epiphany concerning the ability of the government to protect us from, well, whatever. Concealed weapons carry laws are passing in states all over the country.

We are worried about our safety — and with good reason. We have been at war for ten or more years now, and we have now managed to stumble into a third front in that war and our military resources are stretched thin.

We have a President who is certainly no warrior, hasn’t even a warrior cell in his body — and a national legislature that hasn’t been able to bring itself to officially declare war on any country we have fought since the second world war. This sort of conduct only serves to lend credibility to the feeling of insecurity Americans feel today.

When our own government will not use the term “War on Terror” you just have to know they are not serious.

Our enemies are serious, though.

Look. We ALL KNOW this is a war between opposing religions. But Americans won’t say it in public. Our Islamic enemies know it is a war about religion. Their stated goal is to wipe out the infidels, the unbelievers in Islam, and set up a world-wide caliphate — a world-wide Islamic government. That, dear readers, is a war about religion.

We are fighting religious fanaticism. Only religious fanatics would even threaten to plant bombs in schools — and — actually kill themselves as suicide bombers.

Are there nuclear bombs planted in America? I haven’t a clue! If you read the story you know as much as I do. Hopefully, the FBI will get to the bottom of it quickly.

In the meantime, we can rest assured that another attack on our homeland IS coming. The questions are when — and where?

J. D. Longstreet

********************

J. D. Longstreet blogs daily at INSIGHT on Freedom at: http://www.csadispatch.blogspot.com/

 

WesternFront America

By Doug Edelman

Does anyone remember Operation Cyclone?

In 1979, Jimmy Carter began arming the Mujahidin in Afghanistan, and ordered the CIA to begin stirring Islamic unrest in the region to “destabilize” the area and help repel the “oppressive” Soviet Union. This action may well have made things more difficult for the Soviets, but it also set in motion the creation of Al Qaida and the Taliban! And, of course, Carter’s policies regarding Iran allowed the creation of the Islamic Republic, now the largest state sponsor of terror on the planet! One could well argue that Carter and his policies were contributory if not causative to the events leading to and following 9-11!

In his first 2 years in office, Barack Obama’s policies toward the Islamic World (and, concurrently toward our allies) have caused a lot of head scratching! It would be a lengthy and distracting tangent to pursue his history in this regard here. Suffice it to say that there are many examples where his foreign policy has been either incoherent or antithetical to our historical understanding of friend and foe.

But with his singlehandedly committing to military action in Libya, he has made an epic blunder which will be history-changing. (By single-handedly I mean without congressional consent; UN authorization and the cries of the Arabs notwithstanding!)

Isn’t it interesting that Al Qaida is cheering for our intervention to oppose Khadafy? WHY? If Khadafy’s demise is desirable to Al Qaida… isn’t that reason enough to question our complicity with it?

Remember that, despite his being a despotic and brutal dictator (what Islamic nation IS NOT under a brutal and dictatorial regime?) Khadafy was a muzzled mad-dog. After Reagan rang his bell with bombs falling around him he shut up. He did try striking back with the Lockerbie incident, but got slapped down again after that. When he saw what happened to Saddam Hussein… he shut down his nuke research, invited inspectors in, and began COOPERATING with us by providing intelligence. He kept Al Qaida at bay in northern Africa. So while he was a dictator ruling his country with an iron fist… he was actually SERVING the US vital interests!

So, with the current unrest – why should we get involved at all? Is there a vital US interest requiring us to commit US blood and treasure? Not according to Secretary Gates! He says we had no vital interests in the region!

President Obama tells us we are acting on the authority of the World Community! (So if the UN says “Jump”, he says “how high?” now?) Isn’t CONGRESS supposed to authorize military action? Is the Constitution now subordinate to the United Nations… that organization that’s been such a good friend and strong defender of America’s Vital Interests? (Sarcasm here.)

Obama claims “This is how the international community SHOULD work”. Really? The UN “authorizes” action and our military acts on their wishes without consent of Congress? Obama touts a “coalition”, yet Bush had twice as many countries on board HIS coalition when we initiated action against Iraq! Bush sought and received authorization from Congress to use military force. We had authorization from the UN as well, to use military action. Yet Bush was blamed for starting an “ILLEGAL” war and a “war for oil”.

(Interestingly, France and England, who were among those CALLING for a no-fly zone in Libya, did so in their own vital interests in the hope of securing Libyan oil… thus, a war for oil! America imports essentially NO Libyan oil so it’s of little to no vital interest to us!)

Joe Lieberman tells us that we’re doing the will of “the Arab street”! Are our military now taking orders from the UN and the Arabs? And what kind of allies have the Arab nations been to the US?

Having failed to make a case for this intervention on the basis of US vital Interests… the Administration is now trying to appeal to America’s humanitarian nature calling it a humanitarian cause to end “atrocities”. They trot out the case of a woman claiming to be raped by pro-Khadafy forces, for example. Tragic, if true, but pick up your local newspaper and you’ll find rapes and murders committed daily! Should we send in Tomahawks to New York, or Detroit, or DC because crimes are committed?

There is not a single Islamic nation on the planet where “atrocities” are not committed on a daily basis! There is civil unrest in most of them. Look at Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Rwanda and the Ivory Coast for example! People are hacked with machetes, limbs are cut off, people are buried to the waist and stoned, and kids have truck driven over their arms. That world is a brutal one. Should we intervene in all of them? (The Ivory Coast is the world’s largest producer of Cocoa… producing more than half the world’s supply. Should we intervene there to insure the free flow of chocolate at market prices? That would be a greater “vital interest of the United States” than is to be found in Libya!)

There is now an effort underway to provide arms to the Libyan rebels. Hearken back to Operation Cyclone! Isn’t that what CREATED the Taliban and Al Qaida? When Khadafy falls, WHO will fill the void? Who’s going to ultimately follow Mubarak in Egypt? The protesters cry “Democracy”, but what does that mean? Does anyone truly believe that a constitutional republic will be the result of the fall of these regimes?

“Democracy” is Mob Rule – literally! (Look it up!) It has been said that Democracy is 2 wolves and a sheep taking a vote on what to have for dinner! Let us remember that “democracy” does not necessarily lead to freedom and individual liberty! Look at what happened in Gaza when they had “democratic” elections. They elected HAMAS! As a wiser man than I said in this context… “Democracy” means one-man, one-vote, ONE TIME! After that they’ll be right back under totalitarian rule… but this time it will be under a theocratic rule and Shari ‘a Law.

So, what is the meaning of all this unrest in the Middle East? CALIPHATE! Remember, the acolytes of the 12^th Imam – the “Islamic Messiah” for lack of a better explanation – believe he will not come until the world is plunged into chaos. Iran’s Ahmadinejad IS such a 12^th Imam believer and has STATED his goal to BRING ABOUT his return. This “popular uprising” among the Islamic nations has been fomented by Iran and other Jihadi influences. This is NOT a cry for western style freedom and liberty. It is a move to establish a world-wide caliphate.

And President Carter 2.0 is playing right into their hands, whether thru Carter-like incompetence or intentional complicity. Either should disqualify him from service as our Commander in Chief.

Copyright © 2011 by Doug Edelman

Doug Edelman is a conservative political analyst and commentator, and was a contributing editor for The Conservative Voice. His work has appeared on ChronWatch, Western Front American, Small Government Times, Western Journalism, News By Us, The American Daily, The Post Chronicle, New Media Journal, Capitol Hill Coffee House and more. Mr. Edelman is also an IT Consultant/Contractor and owner of a Computer Services Business.  He has taught PC Maintenance & Repair and Networking at his local Community College, and maintains a blog at http://starboard.blogtownhall.com/.

 

WesternFront America