That being said, here's a genuinely troubling report from the al-Nuyorq Times: Americans Said to Meet Rebels, Exploiting Rift
BAGHDAD, Iraq, Jan. 6 - American officials are talking with local Iraqi insurgent leaders to exploit a rift that has opened between homegrown insurgents and radical groups like Al Qaeda, and to draw the local leaders into the political process, according to a Western diplomat, an Iraqi political leader and an Iraqi insurgent leader.
The sources appear to be legitimate, and you can read the whole thing if you like, but my analysis is simply this: Don't ever deal with Islamic terrorists. Ever. The United States is still struggling, it seems, to shake off the habitual inclination to make concessions to evil for short-term gain at the cost of enriching and emboldening that evil in the long-term. It's a dangerous game, and if anyone's going to play it, it should be the Iraqi people after we leave.
If this report is true, it is not only an indicator of America's willingness to take a wholly retrograde step, and not only a sign that liberal democracy is living on borrowed time in Iraq; more importantly, it is an undeniable illustration of our profound ignorance of Islam and jihad. It is at least willful ignorance in the face of the widely available veritable guidebook of religious totalitarianism and holy war, the Koran. It's all there in black and white, in beautiful, flowing Arabic script, unreformed and still interpreted literally.
Jihad has never changed. Only the world has changed, and Western civilization seems forever bent on proving Santayana right.
—
originally posted at Clarity & Resolve
copyright ©2005 Patrick D. O'Brien cannot be copied, published, or otherwise used (except for quotes) without express permission of author
Sometimes, the News Really Is Bad
I devote a certain amount of copy to criticizing big media for their demonstrable hostility to a strong, united front on the war against jihad. They don't care that we're at war (or worse, they won't even admit that we're at war), and this leads to unbalanced, ideological reporting that is more often than not geared toward impugning the Bush administration. Like any other area of human endeavor, there is usually enough negativity to contend with in life without inventing more.
That being said, here's a genuinely troubling report from the al-Nuyorq Times: Americans Said to Meet Rebels, Exploiting Rift
The sources appear to be legitimate, and you can read the whole thing if you like, but my analysis is simply this: Don't ever deal with Islamic terrorists. Ever. The United States is still struggling, it seems, to shake off the habitual inclination to make concessions to evil for short-term gain at the cost of enriching and emboldening that evil in the long-term. It's a dangerous game, and if anyone's going to play it, it should be the Iraqi people after we leave.
If this report is true, it is not only an indicator of America's willingness to take a wholly retrograde step, and not only a sign that liberal democracy is living on borrowed time in Iraq; more importantly, it is an undeniable illustration of our profound ignorance of Islam and jihad. It is at least willful ignorance in the face of the widely available veritable guidebook of religious totalitarianism and holy war, the Koran. It's all there in black and white, in beautiful, flowing Arabic script, unreformed and still interpreted literally.
Jihad has never changed. Only the world has changed, and Western civilization seems forever bent on proving Santayana right.
—
originally posted at Clarity & Resolve
copyright ©2005 Patrick D. O'Brien cannot be copied, published, or otherwise used (except for quotes) without express permission of author
Posted by Patrick at January 7, 2006 04:44 PM