Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Quick Hits - September 12, 2012

Yesterday, on the 11th anniversary of the devastating terror attack by al-Qaeda on the United States which killed nearly 3,000 people, we got a reminder that the war that we are engaged in neither started on 9/11/01 or is approaching its end.

In Cairo, Egypt, a mob of at least 1,000 islamic fundamentalist fanatics stormed the US Embassy to Egypt, tore down and desecrated the US Flag, and replaced the US Flag with the black flag of al-Qaeda.

A little later in the day, in Benghazi, Libya, another violent mob stormed and burned to the ground the US Consulate in the Libyan city - killing one American.  Then, according to CBS News, Libyan security forces identified the US Ambassador to Libya in a car attempting to leave the area of the US Consulate - which was then attacked by the mob using rocket propelled grenades.  The US Ambassador and two others were killed - with some reporting that the body of the US Ambassador was then paraded around the streets of Benghazi in a manner similar to the desecration of US dead in Mogadishu and Fallujah.

In both of these attacks, the mobs were 'motivated' and 'justified' in their actions by insults towards Islam and the Islamic Prophet Mohammed made in a film released on the internet by individuals or groups inside the US supportive of the Egyptian Christian Copt sect - and outraged at the institutional persecution and violence being conducted in Egypt towards the Copts in the wake of the Muslim Brotherhood takeover of the Egyptian government in Egypt's 'Arab Spring'.

The initial responses from the US Embassy in Cairo in the wake of the mob storming the Embassy grounds were not to condemn the violent mob and the 'justification' for violence - but that the entire fault rested with those behind the film on the internet - saying that the problem was due to those who hid behind free speech and religious liberty to attack Islam.  Tweets and comments from the Embassy in Arabic apparently were even worse - effectively supporting the violent mobs and their justification.

In the wake of this, the President and Secretary of State embarked on damage control to move away from blaming the creators of the internet video and project outrage towards the violent mobs - saying that the attacks were unwarranted and that those responsible would be brought to justice.  But even after this united front, it appears that officials in the Embassy in Cairo continue to hold the film makers responsible for 'provoking' the mob.

While some are making comparisons between this event and the Administration's policies and responses to that of another failed President, Jimmy Carter, this is a little too simplistic for me.  The real issue and similarities with the failures of Carter comes from the common fecklessness, vapidity, and fundamental failures in the foreign policy approach and agenda of the Obama Administration within this region and towards radical islamofascists.

At least since the Iranian Islamic Revolution of 1978, and the abandonment of the Shah of Iran by Jimmy Carter, there is an institutional blindness, misunderstanding, and naivete towards radical fundamentalist islam and the threat it poses towards the US and the West.  Despite decades of words and actions against the US and West by those who embrace radical fundamental Islam, far too many within the US and West do not accept or believe that they see themselves at war with us and our beliefs.

Yet this group represents as basic a threat to our values and existence as the Leninist / Stalinists of the Soviet Union during the Cold War as democratic capitalism fought communism.  They are unwilling to compromise, because to them, their religious faith and beliefs cannot be reformed and cannot be compromised upon and still exist.  They hold that all the challenges that they face are the result that they, as a people, have been inadequately faithful to Allah - and to regain the power and prestige that Islam once held as it expanded via the sword, Islam must return to a strict interpretation and practice of Islam as defined in the Qu'ran and embrace jihad against the unbeliever and infidel.

In the last three plus decades, our 'experts' don't accept this as the approach of radical Islam even though this comes from their own words and actions.  This is as naive as the approach that far too many took towards the fascist threat of the late 1920's-1930's - ignoring the aggression of fascist Italy and Nazi Germany.  The world ignored Italy invading Ethiopia - and this exposed the League of Nations as a irrelevant  organization.  The world refused to take action in 1936 when Hitler renounced the Versailles Treaty and remilitarized the Rhineland.  The world refused to take action over Kristalnacht and the German persecution of Jews.  When Hitler set his sights on the Czechoslovakia, the leaders of Britain and France ceded the Czechs to Hitler in a blatant effort to appease a tyrant.

The same fecklessness is rampant in our history since 1979 regarding the demands of islamofascists - whether they are nation-states or non-state entities like the al-Qaeda terrorist group.

When hundreds of thousands of Iranians took to the streets to protest the rigging of the national elections to keep the islamic fundamentalists in power over the will of the people, the Obama Administration refused to stand with those people against their tyrannical regime even as the regime murdered thousands in the streets. But when radical islamists, in the phony 'Arab Spring', demonstrated and fought to seize power from secular dictators, the Obama Administration could not wait to provide assistance for their takeover of their country.

In Tunisia, Libya, and Egypt, the US supported radical islamists taking power.  Yet, as in Iran, this same  feckless Administration will do nothing to support the people trying to overthrow the despotic Assad regime in Syria.  Into this vacumn, radical Islamic fundamentalists are now leading the effort to overthrow the Assad regime - and perhaps bring yet another major military power into a direct and open hostility towards not only the US, but Western Civilization including the state of Israel - which is the only nation in the region that fully embraces Western values and beliefs.

Egypt today is now controlled by the Muslim Brotherhood - a fundamentalist radical Islam organization that is the spiritual parent of al-Qaeda which was behind the 9/11/01 terror attack on the US.  They see Shari'a as the new political and legal system for Egypt - a strict interpretation of the Qu'ran - as the course for Egypt.  Their enemies are now many of the same people and government who helped them overthrow the secular dictatorship of Mubarak - because we are 'infidels' and 'unbelievers'.

In Egypt, the Christian Copts are being persecuted by the Egyptian government and radical Islamists.  Their churches are being destroyed.  They are being physically attacked and forced underground because there is no tolerance in Islam for other faiths.  Yet we say nothing about this because we 'fear' enraging the radical Islamic fundamentalists....who rage against the 'infidel' with or without 'provocation'.


A Danish journalist publishes cartoons of the Islamic Prophet Mohammed - and radical Muslims riot and threaten him with death.  Who is at fault for the violence, death, and destruction?  Not the radical Muslims like 'Rage Boy' above - but the fault is with the Danish journalist and those who apparently believe in 'free speech'.  No one asks the radical Muslims to be tolerant and respectful - as Christians and Jews are expected to be when their faith and beliefs are 'insulted'.

US military forces in Afghanistan, following a procedure defined in the Islamic Holy Book as to how to dispose of desecrated Holy Books - books desecrated by the supposed 'true believers' - riots and violence break out in Afghanistan, Pakistan, and other areas populated by Muslims over the 'insult' delivered to Islam by the destruction of these books.  But outrage over the violence and destruction of these radical Muslims? No - our government makes excuses for their actions and attempts to appease the radicals.

The former US Ambassador to the United Nations under Ronald Reagan, Jeanne Kirkpatrick, a Democrat, once termed the far left and appeasers in the US as members of the 'Blame America First' crowd.  This group would look at the challenges and issues around the world and see the fault as America's no matter who, what, when, where, and how.  Our enemies aren't motivated, according to these nimrods, by their own goals, desires, and agenda - but simply react to the 'provocations' of the United States.  Our enemies aren't evil, we are.

Members of this club are in charge of our government and foreign policy today.  They don't look at the symbolism of the attacks taking place on the anniversary of 9/11 or the vapid 'justification' - their immediate response is that the rioters are justified and were provoked because their faith was 'insulted'.

It's amazing that this is what 'insults' and discredit's Islam - not the fact that the reaction of the 'faithful' is to grab the sword.  Of course, Islam has its roots in the 7th century - cannot be 'reformed' - and therefore will act / react as if it were still the 7th century.

The only surprise should be that events like this didn't happen before on this anniversary.

The response of the Obama Administration, the 'intellectuals' of the US State Department, isn't a surprise.  These groups side more with those waging war against the US and its traditional values than they do with the traditional democratic capitalistic values of Western Civilization.  We are a country that was in need of 'fundamental change'.  We are a country where political correctness is more important than standing up for traditional values.

The American voter contemplating whom to vote for in November now has a example of the fecklessness and incompetence of the foreign policy agenda of Barack Obama and his Administration to match with that of the President's incompetent domestic and economic policies.

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