Ishmael
Literotica Guru
- Joined
- Nov 24, 2001
- Posts
- 84,005
We Are At War
We are at war with Islam. Not part of Islam, all of Islam. It can be no other way as things stand today. We are told that only a small percentage of Islam are Jihadist fanatics, on on the surface that is true. 10%, a fairly universally agreed on figure, is much smaller than 90%. The 10% representing the estimated number of radicals. But 10% represents 160,000,000 people. 10% doesn't appear so small anymore, does it? Worse still, according more than a few polls, upwards of 50% more are in sympathy with the goals of the fanatics while not exactly wanting to participate. That's one hell of a big support group, 800,000,000 to use a number. What's worse is there is no way to know which is which. They don't wear uniforms or badges, don't have tattoos, and are of no particular gender, race, or national origin. So who are the Jihadists? You don't know, I don't know, and it's becoming apparent that the various governments haven't a clue either.
The Barbarians Aren't at the Gates
They're already inside the gates of every Western nation. As has been so vividly demonstrated recently they can be natural born citizens. The waging of Jihad is a state of mind based on a Theological Philosophy, a Philosophy that can be adopted by anyone at anytime. And while we're informed that that Philosophy is a 'False' Philosophy, it appears to be very valid in the minds of those that choose to adopt those beliefs. We are told that Farook's wife was instrumental in his radicalization. And that is most likely the case. But the fact remains that he was a natural born citizen who held a very good job. By any measure he should have been living the American dream. Obviously that wasn't enough for him. On top of that there are regimes throughout the Islamic world that are actively recruiting these Jihadists. Not necessarily to actively promote war against the west, but by recruiting their radicals and sending them elsewhere they are protecting their own regimes. It is a matter of their own self-interest in maintaining their own power.
Who Do You Trust?
The government(s) that up until recently have made every attempt to minimize the problem while piling burden upon burden on the average citizen in the name of making them "safe?" How much more burden are you willing to bear with regard to the invasion of privacy, travel restrictions, the right, even the ability, to peaceably assemble? Not to mention the constant bleeding of the economies and taxpayers. Are we to be totally disarmed in the hopes that the government(s) will always be one step ahead of the Jihadist? Does anyone realistically think that that is even possible?
When Will the Peaceful Rise Up?
President Obama did make a telling remark/request last evening. He enjoined the 'Peaceful' of the Faith to rise up against their barbaric brethren. It's about time a national leader did so and I do applaud him for that. But how realistic is that request? Not every German was a Nazi, and not every Southerner held slaves or even agreed with slavery. Not every Frenchman wanted to follow Napoleon to Moscow either. But by intimidation, blood relations, Philosophical identification, or for so many other reasons those bloody wars were waged none the less. Had the majority of any of those populations risen up and said "NO!", those wars would have never been fought. But the fact is they didn't rise up and say, NO1, and as a consequence suffered right along with those that went willingly into battle. And that IS the nature of war. The innocent and pacifist supporters suffer right along with the combatant. So when will the 'Peaceful' rise up as a population and scream, "NO! at the top of their lungs? Before or after a wholesale war is waged against Islam?
The Paradigm of History
It is an old saw that the generals always try to fight the previous war. And there is more truth in that than most anyone, including the military, want to admit to. The paradigm we are operating under is the paradigm of the Cold War. Limited warfare, preferably with proxies, so as not to draw major powers into conflict. And this made perfect sense when said major powers were poised to unleash a nuclear Armageddon. But that is NOT the case today. The geological heart of Islam is in no position to unleash such weapons on the West. This is a case where the major powers can act in concert of they so choose. The paradigm of today is one resurrected from WWII. Total war with the goal of unconditional surrender. That is the only way to get the radicals to rethink the validity of their Philosophy. As long as they believe that their efforts are having an effect there is no reason for them to re-evaluate their belief system.
No, We Didn't Ask for This
Islam has been at war with the west since it's beginnings with only a brief period, 'The Golden Age', of relative peace. And that age was based on a markedly different Theological Philosophy than exists in Islam today. Blaming yourself for your own murder at the hands of a thug is pointless, and quite stupid. To do so is to tacitly admit that the thugs were right all along. It actually validates their criminal activity and invites more of the same. If you were a shopkeeper it's the akin to hanging a sign out front reading, "Rob me and Kill me." I can think of no rational person that would do that, so why are we basically doing that with regards to this conflict. As in any war the goal is to prosecute the war until your enemy is no longer capable of doing you harm. Why have we forgotten that?
Ishmael
We are at war with Islam. Not part of Islam, all of Islam. It can be no other way as things stand today. We are told that only a small percentage of Islam are Jihadist fanatics, on on the surface that is true. 10%, a fairly universally agreed on figure, is much smaller than 90%. The 10% representing the estimated number of radicals. But 10% represents 160,000,000 people. 10% doesn't appear so small anymore, does it? Worse still, according more than a few polls, upwards of 50% more are in sympathy with the goals of the fanatics while not exactly wanting to participate. That's one hell of a big support group, 800,000,000 to use a number. What's worse is there is no way to know which is which. They don't wear uniforms or badges, don't have tattoos, and are of no particular gender, race, or national origin. So who are the Jihadists? You don't know, I don't know, and it's becoming apparent that the various governments haven't a clue either.
The Barbarians Aren't at the Gates
They're already inside the gates of every Western nation. As has been so vividly demonstrated recently they can be natural born citizens. The waging of Jihad is a state of mind based on a Theological Philosophy, a Philosophy that can be adopted by anyone at anytime. And while we're informed that that Philosophy is a 'False' Philosophy, it appears to be very valid in the minds of those that choose to adopt those beliefs. We are told that Farook's wife was instrumental in his radicalization. And that is most likely the case. But the fact remains that he was a natural born citizen who held a very good job. By any measure he should have been living the American dream. Obviously that wasn't enough for him. On top of that there are regimes throughout the Islamic world that are actively recruiting these Jihadists. Not necessarily to actively promote war against the west, but by recruiting their radicals and sending them elsewhere they are protecting their own regimes. It is a matter of their own self-interest in maintaining their own power.
Who Do You Trust?
The government(s) that up until recently have made every attempt to minimize the problem while piling burden upon burden on the average citizen in the name of making them "safe?" How much more burden are you willing to bear with regard to the invasion of privacy, travel restrictions, the right, even the ability, to peaceably assemble? Not to mention the constant bleeding of the economies and taxpayers. Are we to be totally disarmed in the hopes that the government(s) will always be one step ahead of the Jihadist? Does anyone realistically think that that is even possible?
When Will the Peaceful Rise Up?
President Obama did make a telling remark/request last evening. He enjoined the 'Peaceful' of the Faith to rise up against their barbaric brethren. It's about time a national leader did so and I do applaud him for that. But how realistic is that request? Not every German was a Nazi, and not every Southerner held slaves or even agreed with slavery. Not every Frenchman wanted to follow Napoleon to Moscow either. But by intimidation, blood relations, Philosophical identification, or for so many other reasons those bloody wars were waged none the less. Had the majority of any of those populations risen up and said "NO!", those wars would have never been fought. But the fact is they didn't rise up and say, NO1, and as a consequence suffered right along with those that went willingly into battle. And that IS the nature of war. The innocent and pacifist supporters suffer right along with the combatant. So when will the 'Peaceful' rise up as a population and scream, "NO! at the top of their lungs? Before or after a wholesale war is waged against Islam?
The Paradigm of History
It is an old saw that the generals always try to fight the previous war. And there is more truth in that than most anyone, including the military, want to admit to. The paradigm we are operating under is the paradigm of the Cold War. Limited warfare, preferably with proxies, so as not to draw major powers into conflict. And this made perfect sense when said major powers were poised to unleash a nuclear Armageddon. But that is NOT the case today. The geological heart of Islam is in no position to unleash such weapons on the West. This is a case where the major powers can act in concert of they so choose. The paradigm of today is one resurrected from WWII. Total war with the goal of unconditional surrender. That is the only way to get the radicals to rethink the validity of their Philosophy. As long as they believe that their efforts are having an effect there is no reason for them to re-evaluate their belief system.
No, We Didn't Ask for This
Islam has been at war with the west since it's beginnings with only a brief period, 'The Golden Age', of relative peace. And that age was based on a markedly different Theological Philosophy than exists in Islam today. Blaming yourself for your own murder at the hands of a thug is pointless, and quite stupid. To do so is to tacitly admit that the thugs were right all along. It actually validates their criminal activity and invites more of the same. If you were a shopkeeper it's the akin to hanging a sign out front reading, "Rob me and Kill me." I can think of no rational person that would do that, so why are we basically doing that with regards to this conflict. As in any war the goal is to prosecute the war until your enemy is no longer capable of doing you harm. Why have we forgotten that?
Ishmael
