-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Islamofascism: An enemy like no other -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Posted: August 3, 2006 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2006 by Larry Elder ''If other people in al-Qaida are really as sadistic as this guy seems to be, then we're really in for a long and awful war.'' National Public Radio's Daniel Schorr made this comment about the anti-American courtroom tirade of Zacarias Moussaoui, the so-called 20th hijacker. Yes, Mr. Schorr, the Islamofascists – the ones who want us dead – are, indeed, that ''sadistic.'' This shows that a lot of people, who should know better, still don't get it. Nelson Mandela, one of the world's foremost symbols of political moral authority, recently met with a Palestinian "activist." The BBC report about this encounter reads as follows: ''Former [South African] President Nelson Mandela was having a low-profile meeting with Palestinian activist Leila Khaled because he was ''not involved'' in the Middle East conflict and does not wish to be dragged into it.'' Who is this Palestinian ''activist"? Leila Khaled's march toward fame began in 1969. She served as part of a team that hijacked TWA Flight 840, a plane they assumed carried Yitzhak Rabin, then the Israeli ambassador to the United States. Rabin, however, was not on the plane. So the hijackers forced it to land in Damascus, and after the passengers and crew deplaned, the terrorists blew the plane up. Khaled then underwent a series of plastic surgeries. Having successfully altered her appearance, Khaled, in 1970, boarded El Al Flight 219 in Amsterdam for yet another hijacking. This time, onboard security foiled the hijacking by overpowering Khaled and killing her accomplice. The plane landed safely in London, although Khaled's co-hijacker managed to shoot a member of the flight crew. She spent a whopping 28 days in jail, before Britain released her as part of an exchange for hostages taken by other terrorists. Khaled, please understand, rejects the label, "terrorist. ''A terrorist, in my opinion,'' says Khaled, ''does things just to bring harm to human beings with no political reason.'' Oh. Obviously, she and the BBC use the same dictionary. How many planes must one hijack to be elevated (or lowered) to the status of ''terrorist''? Things could be worse. The BBC could have called her a ''frequent flyer.'' But maybe that isn't sadistic enough. How about Miriam Farahat? Farahat, known as Um Nidal – Mother of the Struggle – serves as a Hamas member of the Palestinian Parliament. Her claim to fame? Three of her six sons died in campaigns to murder Israelis. A Hamas recruitment video features Farahat showing her 17-year-old son how to kill Israelis, and telling him not to come back. Mission accomplished. In 2002, that son murdered five Jewish students. Another son was killed when the Israeli Air Force blew up his vehicle, which was carrying Kassam rockets. Farahat celebrated his death, ''I am so proud. I wish I had more sons to offer.'' What about Nizar al-Hindawi? In 1986, Hindawi, a Jordanian, and his pregnant Irish Catholic girlfriend made arrangements for marriage. They discussed plans for an immediate flight from London's Heathrow airport to Tel Aviv, Israel, followed by a trip to Jordan for the marriage ceremony and a honeymoon. But Hindawi booked a separate flight for his pregnant fiance, explaining to her that – oops! – his employer had already paid for him to travel to Israel on a later flight. He bought her a ticket to Israel on El Al, giving her a wheeled suitcase to use. An alert Heathrow airport El Al screening agent, suspicious of an unmarried, visibly pregnant Irish woman traveling alone to Israel for a vacation during Passover, ordered her luggage searched. Security discovered a false bottom in the suitcase – clearly unknown to the young pregnant girl – underneath which lay 3.5 pounds of the same type of plastic explosive later used to blow up a Pan Am plane over Lockerbie, Scotland. The suitcase also contained a trigger mechanism disguised as a functioning calculator. In the book ''Victory in Tripoli,'' Joshua London writes about the Muslim Barbary pirates. They attacked American shipping vessels in the 18th century, often boarding ships and enslaving crewmembers. Thomas Jefferson, then U.S. ambassador to France, and John Adams, then ambassador to Britain, visited the resident ambassador from Tripoli (modern-day Libya) in London to negotiate a treaty to protect American ships from Barbary pirates. Why, asked Adams and Jefferson, is your government so hostile to the fledgling United States of America? After all, we have no quarrel with you, nor you with us. The Tripolitan ambassador told them – as reported to the Continental Congress – ''that it was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Koran, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman [Muslim] who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise." Yes, they are that ''sadistic.'' And yes, we are ''really in for a long and awful war.''
Underscores the sickness of these scum to be sure. It amazes me that we have people in this world still so savage and brutal and acting on that brutality in the misguided name of religion. To some extent (but to a far, far lesser degree obviously) that is what bothers me sometimes about the far right Christian movement in this country. I am not godless by any means but in no way do I share their extreme fervor for their beliefs and in no way do I want these people setting down the law for me with their own elected officials and judges. Again, in no way am I comparing the moral values of the two groups but I am saying that I am always bothered by religious extremism when those extremists would have me adopt their own particular views and customs.
A Old Soldiers view.. Colonel Ivey's parting thoughts on Iraq After 30 years in the Army, Col. William Ivey is retiring, again. At his previous retirement he was Chief of Staff, US 8th Army, Korea. Col. Ivey returned to active duty so he could serve in Iraq, where he was Deputy CO, Task Force 134 for 14 months. He has kindly given us permission to publish his final assessment of the situation there. We salute this distinguished warrior, and add our deep thanks for his long and devoted service to our country. Al Qaida is wounded and is lashing out. Although not defeated, our operations have significantly degraded their leadership capability. They are having success in killing Shia civilians, which gives the Shia militias an excuse to murder Sunnis in retaliation. This sectarian militia violence poses the largest threat to the stability of Iraq, and therefore we are focusing much of our effort against the various militias. Despite the impression given by much of the press, we don’t ride and walk around all day waiting to be blown up by an IED. Our intelligence enables us to conduct raids every day and every night to kill or capture specific targets, which in turn leads to more intelligence. Concurrently we are training the Iraqi Army, which is becoming quite good at accepting battlespace from us and taking the lead in the fight. We still have a number of challenges training the police. We turned over the security of the first province to the Iraqi security forces, and will steadily add provinces this fall. Caught up in the day to day operations, casualties, and events of this fight, it is easy to become mired in the belief that we are not making progress. One has to occasionally step back from the current fight and assess how far we have come. Since my arrival in May 05, the Iraqis have written and ratified a Constitution, elected a government in a free, democratic process, and made significant progress in developing a capable Army. We have inflicted significant damage on Al Qaida and its leadership, and have prevented them from gaining the initiative. Much work has been done to rebuild the infrastructure that received no attention during Saddam’s regime. However, we still have a tough fight ahead of us. We are focusing on disarming or destroying the militias and securing Baghdad, while concurrently continuing to pound Al Qaida. The Government leaders have said the right things, but now need to follow through with action. They must take concrete steps to unify Iraq and eliminate sectarian violence. They have about six months to get it right and show some progress. Our DOD, DOS, and DOJ advisors are working hard to make it happen. I think it is important to remember that Al Qaida chose to fight us in Iraq, not the other way around. We are their main effort, and their senior leadership understands what is at stake in Iraq. It’s about defeating the United States and establishing a base of operations in the Middle East from which to continue their terrorist quest to establish a caliphate that reaches across North Africa and into Europe, increasing their chances for successful strikes against the U.S. homeland. America needs to wake up and understand that we have more at stake as a country in this fight than we did in WW II. Losing Iraq will provide Al Qaida a significant base of operations and the psychological edge to continue to attack America and enlist allies in their cause. Conversely, defeating Al Qaida in Iraq and establishing a democracy with an economy embracing capitalism will start to unravel the repressive regimes of the Middle East that provide the support base Al Qaida so desperately needs. As I close out this tour, I would be remiss if I did not mention one of the great Americans carrying this fight to the enemy, GEN George Casey. In June he began his third year as the overall commander in Iraq. The continuity he provides in both defeating the enemy and building a democratic Iraq cannot be underestimated. He is shouldering a heavy burden for our country, and America owes him a heavy debt of gratitude. It was my honor to serve with him on both ends of my career. With him the entire tour has been another outstanding Soldier, CSM Jeff Mellinger, an NCO who truly exemplifies the NCO and Ranger Creeds as he moves around Iraq checking on the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, and Marines who are doing the heavy lifting. As I depart, I will miss the great young Americans who do our country’s tough work every day and every night. Their selfless service, dedication, teamwork, camaraderie, and humor in the face of adversity are beacons for all Americans to follow. I will miss the smile on an Iraqi child’s face when we open her new school, and the satisfaction our engineers have when they provide potable water to a village. I will miss the determination of the Iraqi people to risk death in order to exercise their right to vote. I will miss the NCO Corps, truly the backbone of our Army and the single characteristic that distinguishes our Army from every other army in the world. The NCOs guarantee us victory in every endeavor. I won’t miss the rear echelon military bureaucracy we have created to support this operation, despite the valiant efforts of outstanding staff officers and NCOs to fight through it and accomplish the mission. I won’t miss performing or attending memorial services. I thought I had attended my last one on Sunday, but we had another Soldier killed by an IED four days before I left. Losing these great young Americans has become progressively harder each of my 31 years in this business. I guess it has a cumulative effect. We have made an astounding amount of progress in the past 14 months, and are on the edge of winning this fight. The next six months will be decisive. We will destroy the militias and continue to decimate Al Qaida. Our biggest challenge is to get this new Government to step up to the plate, begin cleaning out the corruption, and take decisive steps in securing its people. Concurrently we must help them fight the growing Iranian influence. It is a tough fight, but the Iraqis can do it as long as America does not lose its resolve. With what is at stake for us, we cannot afford to. John B. Dwyer 8 03 06
say what you want about ollie north <t>but i watched an interview with him just after 9/11. he was, essentially, calling for an all out American offensive against any nation that harbors terrorists that wage war against the United States. It was either his counter part, or the host of the show, who scoffed and insisted that the United States had no historical basis for such an action (because, i guess, all actions must require some precident before being taken???)<br/> <br/> anywho, it was ollie north who quickly turned on the host and went into a long tirade about the battles with the Barbary Pirates and a perfect example, and precident, for such a conquest. It appears that no one else there paid attention in history class as no one else seemed prepared for this approach.<br/> <br/> Whether it be WMDs, harboring AlQ or whatever you want to call it. but I sure as hell bought his justification for initiating conflict with various countries for their participation and endorsement of this activity than I have anyone else's 'policy' that's been suggested since.</t>
How many times have I echoed the exact same sentiments on this BB. You have to go after the "sponsor" nations. You must make those with something tangible to lose pay for this.
He makes good points and seems to buy into it 100%. If it's not just rhetoric or a repetition pf the company line then his points should be well taken and we should ramp up in Iraq and get this thing over with. I don't know if we are capapble of ramping up however. It seems as if troop reduction now is not the way to go because while our objectives are in front of us there is a hell of a lot work to be done. The question is do we have the resources and resolve to make it happen in a reasonable amount of time? The civilian strife has complicated our efforts to the extreme and going at it half-way will prolong our stay indefinitely in my opinion. That's not what the American people want to see. I want to put in a disclaimer on the points I make with regard to staying the course. There needs to be a sense of urgency created privately with the Iraqi gov't. as far as a timeline. We need to let them know privately that they must get it done or else face our disinvolvement and departure. Maybe they are already acting urgently but they need to know we're not in this for a long period of time. The Russians were in Afghanistan for many, many years and never accomplished anything other than screwing up two Olympics.
That is my point exactly. The American public does not have the resolve. The American republic that has been protesting against this war from the start has been fueling the resolve of the enemy to fight harder knowing that the American public will not stand for a prolonged war. The American public will not stand for collateral damage. Why do you think they hide in religious icons? They know that they are safe there because America would not knowingly attack there. Our military has it’s hands tied while fighting against an invisible enemy. If they fire on civilians, the American public puts them on trial for war crimes. Of course, the only difference between a civilian and a warrior is whether they push the button on the bomb they are wearing.