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Politics : Foreign Policy Discussion Thread -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?


To: ChinuSFO who wrote (6358)12/28/2003 6:06:42 PM
From: Hawkmoon  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 15987
 
The question is whether Bush is winning the war on terrorism? The following is what I mean by victory in war on terrorism.

Uh... excuse me? Who do you think has been advising, training, and transporting many of those Philipine soldiers?

Yep.. the United States..

And I'm more than happy to permit the Philipino President take all the glory for "winning" her war.. It's results, not credit, that I'm interested in..

As for how the US is doing, we haven't had a major terrorist attack in the US since 9/11. We have assisted, or personally, captured scores of Al-Qaeda leaders, including the man who orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. We have hundreds of terrorist suspects detained in Guantanamo, and apparently thwarted recent attacks via French airliners.

Furthermore, we've force the Islamic militants to concentrate their activities on their own regional territories, or soft targets, rather than the US. And that is how the US has traditionally fought its wars... overseas.

Thus, I'd say we're doing pretty damn good.. We've made some mistakes (primarily post-war in Iraq), but we're making some decent progress, and hopefully (re?)learning some lessons.

Hawk



To: ChinuSFO who wrote (6358)12/28/2003 6:27:28 PM
From: lorne  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 15987
 
Chinu. From the article you posted...." President Gloria Arroyo has been responsible for breaking the backbone of the dreaded hostage-taking Abu Sayyaf Group in the south, since the time she started her term in 2001, a senior government official said."....

Agreed. She is doing a good job of ridding Her country of muslim terrorists.

As for your original statement...." It is the war on terrorism that is at issue. Not the displacement of Saddam. The question is whether Bush is winning the war on terrorism? The following is what I mean by victory in war on terrorism.".....

The USA is fighting a war against muslim
terrorists...WORLDWIDE..... President Gloria Arroyo is fighting muslim terrorists within Her own country....Big difference. IMO. if muslim terrorists were concentrated in the USA as they are in the Philippines and that was the extent of the muslim terrorists that represent a threat to the USA they would be long gone NOW!

Muslim terrorists are worldwide and Prez Bush is fighting a war worldwide against them and IMO. Yes he is winning.



To: ChinuSFO who wrote (6358)12/28/2003 7:04:27 PM
From: lorne  Read Replies (2) | Respond to of 15987
 
Chinu. Is this how the islam mind thinks? No wonder they are the enemy of the entire world. 1500 years in the past. What a very sick culture. Their foreign policy stinks.

Palestinian Authority Sermons 2000-2003
By: Steven Stalinsky
December 26, 2003 No.24

Introduction
The following report consists of Palestinian sermons from 2000-2003. Each Khatib (preacher) is a paid employee of the Palestinian Authority (PA). The sermons are broadcast live every Friday at noon from mosques under control of the PA and are shown on PA television. Part I of this report includes the common themes of the sermons, such as: calls for the destruction of the U.S., the perceived American Crusader war against Islam, honoring Shahids and the rewards of the martyrs, educating children to martyrdom, and antisemitism, including calls for the killing of Jews. Part II includes Palestinian leaders being questioned by Western journalists about the content of the sermons, and is followed by Part III, the transcripts of the Friday sermons.

memri.org

Shahids & the Rewards of Martyrdom

Sermons often call for Palestinians to become martyrs, or Shahids. Within the sermons, it is told that those who become a Shahid feel no pain and receive rewards in the afterlife, such as 72 black-eyed virgins. Family members of the Shahids are also praised in sermons. As Sheikh Isma'il Aal Radhwan stated, "[Even when] a martyr's organs are being chopped off, and he turns into torn organs that spread all over, in order to meet Allah, Muhammad, and his friends, it would not be [considered] a loss… This is the honor given to our martyrs, the martyrs of the Islamic nation, who were killed due to their loyalty to Allah... The sacrifice of convoys of martyrs [will continue] until Allah grants us victory very soon. The willingness for sacrifice and for death we see amongst those who were cast by Allah into a war with the Jews, should not come at all as a surprise… Oh believing brothers, we do not feel a loss... The martyr, if he meets Allah, is forgiven with the first drop of blood; he is saved from the torments of the grave; he sees his place in Paradise; he is saved from the Great Horror [of the day of judgment]; he is given 72 black-eyed women; he vouches for 70 of his family to be accepted to Paradise; he is crowned with the Crown of glory, whose precious stone is better than all of this world and what is in it…" [8]

The virtues of martyrdom are the subject of many of Sheikh Ibrahim Mudeiris's sermons: "Blessings to those who wage [Jihad] with their body… Blessings to our Shahids who sacrifice their souls easily for the sake of Allah… B lessings to the happy Shahids within the entrails of the green bird in Paradise. Blessings to the Shahids whose sins are forgiven with the first drop of their blood." [9] On another occasion, he stated, "Know that a Shahid [who falls] on this land is considered more than one Shahid someplace else. Yes, there are traditions that a Shahid here [in Jerusalem] is worth 70 Shahids in a place other than this good land…" [10]
------------------------------------------------
Themes of Arab hatred of the U.S. within sermons often have Islamic historical undertones. For example, the leading Palestinian religious figure, Mufti of Jerusalem and the Palestinian Territories Sheikh Ikrimeh Sabri, stated in a sermon on PA radio, "Allah, destroy the U.S., its helpers and its agents. Allah, destroy Britain, its helpers and its agents. Allah, prepare those who will unite the Muslims and march in the steps of Saladin. Allah, we ask you for forgiveness before death, and mercy and forgiveness after death. Allah, grant victory to Islam and the Muslims…" [3] The U.S. and its allies are also commonly referred to as Christian and Jewish Crusaders who must be fought. For example, Dr. Ahmad Abu Halabiya, speaking at a mosque named after UAE President Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan, stated, "Allah the almighty has called upon us not to ally with the Jews or the Christians, not to like them, not to become their partners, not to support them, and not to sign agreements with them… Allah, deal with the Jews, your enemies and the enemies of Islam. Deal with the Crusaders, and America, and Europe behind them…" [4]

More here>>>>>
memri.org



To: ChinuSFO who wrote (6358)12/29/2003 3:26:27 PM
From: MSI  Read Replies (1) | Respond to of 15987
 
The following is what I mean by victory in war on terrorism.

Good point.

You would think the US could manage as well as a developing country, and do so without pyrotechnics and tens of thousands of dead, and an administration so embarassed by the numbers of dead they refuse to account for them. That's hard to swallow. Even Hitler counted the dead.

The trick being played in the US is to spread military control domestically and worldwide (incl. the Philippines), and lie or dissemble about numbers and type of threats, as well as invasions and casualties, to make it easier to politically and financially control US citizens without accountability. The target by both terrorism and the administration is, as always, the US citizenry.