Re: "you still miss the biggest and most obvious point, i.e., that you're too close to the trees to see the forest..."
I certainly think you are very wrong about that, GZ!
(And, I'd caution you that - to continue your analogy - you could probably benefit from a course in how to identify some of those 'trees in the forest' yourself. ESPECIALLY if you want to actually effect any changes in that 'forest'! Hell, GZ, there are some differences between oaks and pines and maples and firs that are QUITE USEFUL TO KNOW to a forester intent on pruning or forest management. :-)
Same goes with the Islamic world - where, (apparently), you are having difficulties even *knowing* where most of the fighters opposing us in Iraq are actually coming from, or what sects they belong too, or what their nationalities are, etc....
Re: "... the biggest and most obvious fact is that islamic extremists want you dead and me dead, and they want all of Western civilization removed..."
You are not telling me above ANYTHING that I don't already know, nor haven't freely acknowledged so many times over that I couldn't even begin to count the many times for you.
WHY you insist on believing that no one else thinks that fundamentalist Islam poses a real threat and a challenge to the 'Western' way of pluralism, Democracy, and rule-of-law in civil society and religious tolerance (or, for that matter, that EVERY strident form of religion that tries to impose a Theocratic rule on society, and impose it's values by dint of Totalitarian force on the world...) poses a threat still astounds me....
How could you possibly fail to notice that? Or fail to notice that a policy of 'divide and conquer' (which I have advanced many times) is JUST THAT... a classic policy choice designed to *DEFEAT* an enemy?
Please do not make the mistake of falsely assuming that *only* those who loudly proclaim such clap-trap as 'nuke 'em all' (without even being able to draw up a proper list of the 'enemy', or rationally identify consequences) are the "only" people who are willing to "fight to win"... 'cause it just ain't so!
Re: "... but they have no difference when it comes to ending Western civilization."
As I previously pointed-out: the differences between the Sunni and the Shia goals and world-views *do* certainly are many, and have important consequences --- unless you are prepared to say, as a parallel example perhaps, that "Stalin's Communists 'were the exact same thing' as Hitler's Nazis."
I FREELY AGREE that in *ONE* important sense, extremist Sunnis and extremist Shia, (and Soviet Communists and Nazis), DO have some important similarities between them... in that they act to achieve totalitarian rule over others and a subjugation of individual liberty to mandated top-down rules.
Still, ideologically the differences are considerable and (if one is to EVER hope to successfully OPPOSE such forces), EXTREMELY IMPORTANT TO KNOW.
"If one wishes to defeat an enemy, first know the enemy." --- Sun Tsu
Re: "stand back and spend a quiet moment considering that point, especially today, Tuesday, September 11th..."
If you want to assign a valuable lesson to the 9-11 aniversary, I'd suggest this one: GET REAL and LEARN SOMETHING USEFUL TO KNOWN about the many, many enemies we have.
(Learn things that will help us to turn strategic conflicts to our advantage... and stop 'shooting ourselves in the foot', stop taking SELF-DEFEATING actions.)
In other words, enough with the 'babe lost in the woods' routine, enough with floundering ineffectually and spending ourselves into the poorhouse.
Get 'smart'. Get TRICKY. Get *effective*. And stop losing. |
