Of “Moderates” and Radicals
By Ted Belman
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“Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists”
So said Pres Bush after 9/11. He went on to identify N. Korea, Iran and Iraq, the “axis of evil” and to declare the “war on terror”. The last thing he wanted to do was to identify the enemy. N. Korea was included in the list for fear that someone might think, G-d forbid, that Moslems were the enemy or that Islam was the enemy just as Communists and Communism were during the Cold War.
It’s not that he didn’t know who the enemy was. After all, 15 of the 19 highjackers were Saudis who were inspired by Saudi supported Wahabbism. Its not that he viewed the use of terror as the enemy because the US had created al Qaeda to use terror to defeat the Russians in Afghanistan. It is not that this was the first time that the US was attacked by Arabs or Muslims starting with the Islamic revolution in Iran and the hostage taking of US diplomats.
And don’t forget the US coddled Arafat and his terrorists and demanded Israel let them back into the territories and restrained Israel thereafter..
Angelo Codeville, a professor of international relations at Boston University, wondered and wrote a startling article in the Fall of ’02, Post Mortem to a Phony War. If you missed this article, don’t miss it now. It’s a classic.
Without debating why Bush invaded Iraq rather than Iran or whether he invaded because of WMDs or because he wanted to transform the ME, what we do know for sure was that the price of oil tripled making huge profits for oil countries and oil companies, the US military industrial complex did land office business and Halliburton didn’t do shabbily either from their no-bid contracts.
Little noticed was that the Roadmap, with its recital of the Saudi Peace Plan, was announced days later. The linkage was undeniable. I wrote about this in Perfecting the Unifying Theory.
In the lead up to the Iraq invasion Bush quickly learned who was not “with us”. This group included France, Russia and Turkey. He was later to learn that this group included Iran, Syria and Saudi Arabia, all of whom fully supported the “insurgencies”. It sure is lonely at the top.
Last year US casualties got so high that she began looking for an exit strategy with little talk about a victory strategy. The Iraq Study Group was formed and published its report a year ago. The Washington Post advised that,
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“the Panel said the United States should launch a new round of Middle East diplomacy, including a revived effort to solve the Israeli-Palestinian dispute, aimed at building an international consensus for stabilizing Iraq.
As part of this initiative, the group urged the Bush administration to break with its policy of not having high-level dialogues with Iran and Syria, though members of the commission held out little hope that the two countries, longtime rivals of the United States, would be interested in joining the effort.”
Why was it necessary to restart the peace process in order to build a “consensus for stabilizing Iraq”. Why not have a peace process in Iraq? This either suggests that the reason for the insurgency was to force the US to start the peace process, or that everyone saw no need to help the US in Iraq unless they got Israel as a quid pro quo for their help. In other words the ISG Report recommended Israel as the sacrificial lamb to appease the monster and extricate the US.
Although Bush publicly opposed the Report and opted for the “surge” instead, the Report was the beginning of the efforts to form a coalition of “moderates” and to bring about Annapolis.
This coalition was ostensibly to stabilize Iraq but was really to contain Iran. Thus, the moderates v the radicals as the US saw it and needed it. But the Arabs saw it differently. Islam requires the expulsion of the big Satan, USA, and the little Satan, Israel, from the ME. All the countries in the ME, whether they be Arab or Iranian, “moderate” or radical or ally or foe, demonize and vilify the US and Israel. The ISG Report recommended feeding Israel to the alligator in the hope it would be satisfied or at worst, that the US would be eaten last.
Too bad they didn’t bother to read the poll which Reason Magazine reported on a year ago under the title Islamic Radicals and Moderates Not All That Different
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Foreign Policy is reporting a poll of 9000 Muslims in 9 countries that finds that distinguishing moderates from radicals is not going to be easy. The poll identified moderates and radicals using a 5 point scale in which participants were asked if the 9/11 atrocities were justified or not. Moderates scored 1 to 2 points and radicals 4 to 5 points. The poll found that 92 percent of radicals and 91 percent of moderates said that religion was really important in their lives. Also, moderates were slightly more likely to have attended religious services in the past week. In addition, radicals were more highly educated and richer than moderates. Radicals were more hopeful about the future. Both admire the West for its technology (top response), but most surprisingly, both equally esteemed the West for its liberty (second most frequent response). What do they think the West should do to improve relations? Both moderates and radicals first choice was respect Islam. However, radicals next choice was for the West to avoid imposing its policies and beliefs, while moderates yearned for economic development and jobs.
How moderate can the moderates be if they think Islam is worthy of respect?
The US began to paint Iran as a threat to the US, Israel and the Arabs in aid of building such a coalition. It also began to promote Abbas and Fatah as moderates, despite considerable evidence to the contrary, in order to elicit their support in fighting Hamas and it began to openly support the Siniori government in Lebanon to resist Hezbollah and Syria. All to no avail.
Saudi Arabia had plans of its own. It was not worried about the “radicals” because it is a radical itself. It arranged to reconcile the radical, Hamas, with the “moderate” Fatah in defiance of US policy. It forced the US to invite a radical, Syria, to Annapolis and ceded Lebanon to Syrian influence. To cap it off, the Saudi King Abdullah walked hand in hand with Ahmedinejad for all to see. Poor Tzipi Livni, no Arab would shake her hand. Actions speak louder than words.
The US saw this all coming and made a strategic decision to engage the arch radical, Iran. And so it released the NIE report as the beginning of Iran’s transformation from radical to moderate. Now everyone is a moderate except Israel who is considered by the world, as the radical.
Israel, the only true moderate, doesn’t have a friend in the world and must face nuclear Iran alone and from Auschwitz borders.
Ted, I regard this commentary as one of the most accurate, most concise and most intelligent explanation of the actions of the US and the thinking of Bush. Perhap one day, they will understand that appeasement with our enemies can ruin your day.
I was attending a Chanuka party last evening and a young Jewish couple stated to me, quote: ” We do not believe in war in any instance so shoud the citizens of the US and Israel. We should totally disarm and the Arabs would talk peace.” Maybe I’m glad to be so old that I won’t live to see Israel destroyed.
With all this phony appeasement going on and everyone being viewed in a completely different way (terrorists as moderates) than was the case one year ago, something must give.
This business is really about an attempt by the US to cut its losses. It is also an attempt to get the GOP elected once again (which will be a miracle if they can pull it off). The US cannot afford another confrontation. It is broke and going down for the count. Everything from now on will be headed towards a pullout together with Saudi, Iranian and Syrian cooperation. The damning of Israel makes all terror nations very happy and in a jolly cooperative mood and the US knows this. I think that Israel knows what is going on and biding its time for the pullout of US troops from Iraq which will change the scenario entirely.
The US is in fact telling neighboring countries that the time has come for them to carve up Iraq among themselves. It is the war dividend that they have all been waiting for. Turkey has refrained from a full scale attack in the north of Iraq because the US has told them to bide their time because when they (the US) are gone it will be theirs to do as the please.
When the US is gone, there will be a war between Saudi and Iran (effectively a Sunni-Shiite war) bringing in much of the ME. This war will determine the future of the ME and the future of Islam.
For now Israel is the sacrificial lamb that the others can feast on while they prepare for the bigger confrontation over Iraq. The Palestinians are just cannon fodder for the Arabs – they really don’t give a darn about Palestinians and they would prefer not having another country that might be divided between the secular and Islam to complicate matters. The State of Intifada is the only State that Arabs want.
I think that Iran will provoke or find a pretense to start a confrontation with one or more of the Gulf States (over one of those islands that they endlessly bicker over between Iran, the UAE and others in the Gulf). This war will be in addition and complement to the upcoming war over Iraq.
Since I cannot believe that Israel’s leaders are as feckless and silly as they have appeared to be over the last few years, I must assume that they too are biding their time and will act decisively when the rest of the Arab world are fighting among themselves over the future of the ME and over Islam.
Bush never made it cleared whom he was “for” — people errantly believed he was for the good guys, when, in fact, he was for himself.
Great article, Ted!
The dislocation of the Bush Administration’s policies is spreading in all fronts, causing great trouble among the Republicans for Nov. 2008. I am not sure there is still time to correct so many errors in such a short time.
Ted,
The source of it all is Saudi Arabia. Either Condi Rice has no insights into Islam, or President Bush doesn’t want to hear it, and that has, in my opinion, cost American soldiers their lives.
Saudi Arabia and its oil billionaires have been allowed to wield their influence through endowments in Academia that has even led to misinformation in history textbooks, where Islam is not identified as slave brokers in Africa, and where Islam is painted as Christianity’s little brother. The War on Terror is a start in righting the United States, at least, back to an even keel with our political culture and basic morals. But we must go further.
It is WRONG to play a game of moral equivalency with the Arabs/Muslims/Palestinians vis a vis Israel. This Islamic Religion and the “culture” of violence, religious hatred and misogyny that festers around it has nothing in common with American or Israeli/Jewish values WHATSOEVER. Islam has all the heavy lifting to do when it comes to building peace, and I resent the efforts of my own country in forcing Israel to even discuss ceding land to an opponent who has not first even ceased hostilities.
I’m sick to death of the bending over backward lying and positioning to appease the Oil Arabs’s demand for “fairness” in the Middle East peace process. Calling for the end of Israel is enough for me–I consider that a declaration of war against the United States, at least.
I teach German. The Holocaust is a constant reminder of what happens when a culture or nation is allowed to sally forth with genocidal pronouncements unchecked. Saudi Arabia has not recognized Israel, so why the hell are they allowed anywhere near the status of an ally? Why is ONE Saudi national allowed in the United States? Why are they not punished for their abetting of Arab violence? And ulitately, President Bush, why do you not see how vicious and hateful these people are?
We can make the following litmus test a requirement for relations with the United States. No country should be allowed to achieve ally status with the United States that does not 1) recognize Israel’s right to exist in peace within its current borders; 2) renounce all religious teachings of violence and hatred; 3) forbid use of religious structures and institutions for housing or purchasing weapons of any kind; 4) make terrorist/suicide bomber recruitment a capital crime; 5)allow women equal social and political status with men 6)forbid the practice of female sexual mutilation.
A nation that can make these pronouncements and adopt these measures is properly a friend of the United States.
All others can go straight to hell. I’ll be happy to help them along.
Thanks to JABridge
We certainly are on the same page.
Thanks to Soloman and Ed for their generous remarks. Rachel Ehrenfeld wrote to say “Excellent”.
Yes, W. Bush is for himself…..and around 3000 members of the Skull & Bones of Yale University. This also includes most of our presidents of the past 30 years approximately. These are the elite of the elite and they are all for one world government, one world religion, ten states under this union. no middle class or upper middle class……just laborers of the peasant or slave catagory and the Elite. That is why the aim of trilaterilization of the North American continent is so much on the fast track. It is to get Canada and the United States down to the income levels of the poor of Mexico. Therefore, competition for The Bush family and others can compete against China and the rest of the East and middle East. Of course what then is described as freedom and liberty is that which the government establishment defines as and issues to whom ever as they please or displease. Meanwhile, Israel is left completely, absolutely alone on its own. No nation in the world will come to assist. The Christian portion of the Bible of New Testament and the Jewish portion of the Bible of Old Testament come together in absolute unision of thiks fact….Israel will stand alone…..G-d however takes over the fight against all nations and blood will flow waist deep in the valley of Armagedon. Pray my friends of Israel. Pray your hearts out to G-d now before He won’t listen any more. Christians will be gathered and destroyed we will be of no use for you. There are already 14 brand new massive holding centers built here in the United States. When trilaterilization comes into effect our Constitution is dead and ther no longer exists the Bill of Rights people as myself will be moved to these centers without charge and without legal advise, and without representation of any kind, nor a court to hear my plea. It will be holecaust. Then they will attempt to come and get you………..in holecaust. You have a promise of protection……we have no such promise as infidels.
Shalom JJ Facinosr,
Even if NAFTA got US and Canadian wage rates to the level of the “poor of Mexico”, the US/NAFTA labor component would still not be competitive with Chinese labor.
China has the cheapest and most productive labor in the world.
If Boeing didn’t move to China, they’d be in the history books with Penn Central RR.
Kol tuv,
If it were between Boeing going down the tubes or the workers in the US and Canada going down the tubes, then ciao Boeing and every other corporation sponsored by US tax dollars which take their company overseas while stuffing their bank accounts with profits and even more US financial ‘incentives.’
If these companies can not make it without corporate welfare (thus not having a true capitalist economy) then tough for them.
Why should the worker cheer for their former workplace if the company sets them on the lap of welfare and moves overseas. That is not logical.
You think Mussolini lost the war? Think again.