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Politics : Stockman Scott's Political Debate Porch -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: lurqer who wrote (26058)	8/22/2003 12:28:29 PM
From: zonder	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 89467

You don't need to know my previous addresses. Suffice it to say I have lived in several places in the Middle East. You see an article on the net and because it voices the opinions of some Arabs, you think they can conjure Jihad because they have Arab names. That error stems from your inadequate understanding of the Arabs, their culture and belief system. The problem with making judgements on the myriad articles & opinions on the internet with an insufficient knowledge base is that you cannot assign relative importance to them. This is one such example. Some scholar in an Egyptian university says non-Muslims setting foot on Muslim soil makes Jihad a duty for all Muslims, men and women. And you fear impending doom. In particular, do you believe anyone has the standing within the Muslim community to call a jihad (lesser variety) to expel “unbelievers”? What? There is no "lesser variety jihad". Anybody can "call" a jihad. The issue is whether or not he will be followed. Some scholars in an Egyptian university, whatever jihad they care to call, will NOT be followed. That is what I am trying to explain to you.

To: lurqer who wrote (26058)	8/22/2003 12:43:39 PM
From: stockman_scott	Respond to of 89467

Australia ‘lied’ about Iraq threat msnbc.com <<...CANBERRA, Australia, Aug. 22 — The Australian government lied about the threat of Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction to justify its involvement in the U.S.-led war, an official inquiry into intelligence on Iraq was told on Friday. A FORMER senior intelligence analyst, Andrew Wilkie, who resigned in March in protest over Australia’s case for war, said Prime Minister John Howard, a close U.S. ally, created a mythical Iraq by dropping ambiguous references in intelligence reports. “The government lied every time it skewed, misrepresented, used selectively and fabricated the Iraq story...The exaggeration was so great it was pure dishonesty,” Wilkie, formerly of the Office of National Assessment (ONA), told the inquiry. The ONA is equivalent to the U.S. National Security Agency. “Key intelligence assessment qualifications like ’probably’, ’could’ and ’uncorroborated evidence suggests’ were frequently dropped. Much more useful words like massive and mammoth were included,” he added. Controversy has been raging in the United States, Britain and Australia over accusations those governments manipulated intelligence on Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction to justify the war with no evidence yet found of biological, chemical or nuclear weapons. Wilkie’s comments to the inquiry are some his strongest yet against Howard’s administration. Since his resignation, Wilkie has made numerous attacks on Howard, embarrassing the Australian leader...>>