Five years have now passed since 9/11, but we are no closer now to winning the “War on Terror” than we were on day one after the ruthless and cruel tragedy on that sunny September day in New York.
There are some very good reasons for this. One of them is the determination of Western leaders not to identify and name the enemy. Without identifying and naming the enemy - Islam in this case - then no significant achievements can be made in the war in which we are engaged.
With each passing day, we are able to read stories of appeasement of the enemy. Indeed, our political élite is going out of its way to make Muslims feel at home in the West, out of its way to make excuses for Muslims, out of its way to apologize for Muslims, out of its way to inform the electorate that Islam is a ‘religion of peace’ and love. In fact, President Bush bends over backwards to appease Muslims in America and throughout the world. Just look at the Iftaar banquets held in the White House for prominent Muslims in the States and from throughout the Islamic world. And read the statements that Bush has recently made on the occasions of Ramadan and Eid al-Fitr:
"I send greetings to the many Muslims observing Ramadan in America and around the world.Then there’s this message sent to Muslims on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr:
Ramadan is the holiest time of the Muslim year and an important holiday when Muslims take time for prayer, fasting, and personal sacrifice. According to Islamic teachings, this month represents when God delivered His word to the prophet Muhammad in the form of the Qur'an. Ramadan is also an opportunity to gather with friends and family and show thanks for God's blessings through works of charity.
Ramadan and the upcoming holiday seasons are a good time to remember the common values that bind us together. Our society is enriched by our Muslim citizens whose commitment to faith reminds us of the gift of religious freedom in our country.
Laura and I send our best wishes for a blessed Ramadan. Ramadan Mubarak." - GEORGE W. BUSH
October 20, 2006By now, it should be becoming increasingly obvious to all thinking people that there is something going on behind the scenes. There is more to this than meets the eye. It is becoming increasingly obvious that Western leaders are in cahoots with Muslims, especially Gulf Arabs who have the petrodollars which Western governments are so determined to get back into Western economies, and perhaps also into their pockets!
"I send greetings to Muslims in the United States and around the world celebrating Eid al-Fitr.
Islam is a great faith that has transcended racial and ethnic divisions and brought hope and comfort to many people. Throughout Ramadan, Muslims have fasted to focus their minds on faith and to direct their hearts to charity. Eid al-Fitr marks the completion of this holy month with the Festival of Breaking the Fast. During this joyous celebration, Muslims thank God for his guidance and blessings by gathering with family and friends, sharing traditional foods, and showing compassion to those in need.
America is strengthened by the countless contributions of our Muslim citizens, and we value our ties with Muslim nations throughout the world. For people of all faiths, Eid al-Fitr is an opportunity to reflect on the values we share and the friendships that bind all who trace their faith back to God's call to Abraham.
Laura and I send our best wishes for a joyous Eid and for health, happiness, and prosperity in the year ahead. Eid Mubarak.
GEORGE W. BUSH"
For those petrodollars, there are no limits to the depths to which our leaders will sink. No price is too high for the likes of Blair and Bush. The Saudi royal family have become like ‘brothers’ to them. The money must be rolling in!
Only today, I read on Jihad Watch that Georgetown University is in receipt of $20 million from Prince Al-Waleed bin Talal. Muslims, especially rich ones, are buying influence everywhere in the West.
Then we have CAIR, the Council on American-Islamic Relations, backing Keith Ellison as a Democratic representative who could well become the first Muslim in Congress. The backing money for the funding can surely also be traced back to Saudi Arabia. And so it goes on, both sides of the Atlantic Ocean.
I think we are deluding ourselves if we continue to think that this problem is one merely of ignorance on the part of our political representatives. It must be obvious to all of us by now that there is something quite sinister going on at the top! As I have said so many times before, rich Muslim Arabs are buying up our businesses, and they are funding Islamic schools and Islamic propagation centres too. In addition, tens of millions of dollars are being spent on proseltyzing literature for the purpose of daw’ah.
This, it would now seem, is not a problem of ignorance; rather, it is a problem of the enormous amounts of money changing hands at the very top of our societies. Isn’t it true to say that too many people at the top of Western political and business life are making far too much money from rich Muslim Arabs even to contemplate changing course?
Depressing as it is to think about this, it must be faced. I stated in my book, The Dawning of a New Dark Age, that régime change in Saudi Arabia might be a blessing in disguise for the West. I stand firm behind my idea.
The way things are going with the powers that be here in the West, and the way that the House of Saud has successfully bought influence in the States and the United Kingdom, and in many other Western countries besides, then it is difficult to see how, in the long term, Western civilization can survive. This is an onslaught of colossal proportions. Our leaders are certainly not going to stop this scramble for the petrodollar. To me, it seems that our only hope is for a new world order.
Osama bin Laden objects to American and Western influence in Saudi Arabia in particular, and in the Arab world in general. In fact, it is one of his main gripes. Don’t we object to the increasing influence of Islam in Western countries too? Are his objectives and ours that different? Aren’t they opposite sides of the same coin? Would it, perhaps, be true to say that were Osama bin Laden to manage to bring about régime change in Saudi Arabia that we would also have a chance of saving Western civilization from the onslaught of Islam? And wouldn’t it be the irony of ironies if the very man we despise so much were to bring about the conditions necessary for the survival of the West?
Is Osama bin Laden our only hope of change at the top, I wonder? And are his objectives really so terrible for the West? If our leaders won’t change, then maybe Osama bin Laden is the one to force change upon them. For indeed, were there to be the kind of Saudi Arabia that he envisions, we would surely know who our real enemies are.
©Mark Alexander*
*All rights reserved
29 comments:
Yes Mark, you are right, our fearless leaders' grubby little fingers are, it would seem, stuck tight in a Saudi handshake. That their love of money blinds them to the legacy they will ultimately bequeath to their children, is a sad irony that appears lost to all reason. Given the Arab propensity to be contemptuous of any and all who are not Arab, I wonder just what they must say and think, behind the backs of these foolish, irresponsible, ignorant chasers after manna.
Oh what a wasteland the secularists have wrought. I wonder, did they ever in their wildest imaginings consider what devestation their philosophies would be midwife to. The wanton destruction of religious faith, has left such a vacuum in the soul of the Western man, that we all risk slavery and destitution, with nary a whimper from our institutions and ruling elites, for they are all too busy, selling themselves into the jaws of those who will enslave them and all the rest of us.
The danger is worse in Europe as the path the ruling cliques have taken, has brought the very concept of the role of Law and Order, and Government into disrepute, with the concomittant effect of weakening the polity of societies. This weakness has been seen by our enemies, who have moved into the void to exploit it all to their advantage, and boy, have they ever.
While I redily conceed that the established structures of the Christian faith, have become sterile by their own follies; I do wonder if their aren't untold millions of souls, still with a belief, but with no place to go. Yes, the atheists and the secularists and above all the Marxists, would like nothing better than to see the back of what they percieve is a major obstacle to their designs; not the established church per say, but the underlying philosophy which impedes their progress...the morality and social mores which infuse the Christian spirit. After all, how can any self respecting social engineer, ever expect any usefull results, when all these foolish people keep on insisting that there is a right and a wrong; no, for him to have any hope of success, he must first clean the mold, and then and only then will he be able to fashion his own design from basic clay.
As some wise wit has said, inflation sure has made those 30 pieces of silver into a nice chunk of change. I don't know though, but if I was one of those receiving their portion of silver, I think I might be inclined to recall just exactly what fate befell Judas.
Oh yes, as to your point about Osama, having a point, yes I agree. Though I do wonder, should Osama and friends achieve their goals, and overthrow the Royal House of Saud, just how long the money spiggot would be turned off, before he and his cronies would once again see the value of splashing around the moolah, and re-open the flood gates. After all, its not as if reality will not intrude pretty quickly should the House of Bin Laden turn off the oil spiggot; I mean, what are they going to eat. But then again, an enourmous economic recession may actually have some positive long term benefits, think of all the suicides amongst the great and the good as they witnessed their life's work evaporate in front of their noses, that would thin out the ranks of the corrupt and the venal. Sorry to be so cynical, but given the direction world events have taken of late, just what will be required to shake our ruling elites out of their hazzy dream scape. Truth be told, we don't need them to wake up, we need to kick the bums out.
You’re right; the corruption will end if the Saudi regime fell. It might force us to find other sources of energy. It will certainly mean that whoever is president can’t sell us out and lie to us about our “friends.” It will be like the Hamas election; the lies that were used to whitewash Arafat were no longer of any use.
The administration will still sell us out, of course, but it will become harder. Of course, the current Saudi regime is the Taliban, as Osama’s Swiss sister-in-law once said in an interview to a stunned reporter (Diane Sawyer?) Like the Arafat-Hamas change, the burkqa will fall and the naked truth will be exposed.
I think people are starting to realized that it isn’t “just a few fanatics.”
Mark - I am total agreement. But you forgot to add that slow march toward consolidation of regions such as the EU, which is well on its way towar realization, and the not-much-talked-about North American Union that now is being organized, has the backing of thos same petrodollars.
The EU was created on the premise of a dialogue outlined by Bat Ye'or in Eurabia, in which the European elite sold its soul for a steady supply of oil and cheap labor...and trade.
The North American Union is being organized on the quiet side, to provide...cheap labor, trade, and somehow, a steady supply of oil.
All of this is being done under the noses of the masses that are being distracted by local politic and sleazy, frothy entertainment.
No one is receiving a serious education, being taught how to think, or how to defend themselves against invasion. In fact, there is a movement against self-defense, against Patriotism, national identity, and so on.
Very few pick up hints and put two-and-two together. Blair and Bush make some of the decisions, but let's be clear: they don't make all the decisions and haven't created the mess we are in all by themselves.
And once they are gone from office, will problems automatically clear up? Certainly not. I have no confidence in future leaders to reverse or even change course. It's in the best interest of the elite to move forward with policies already in place.
Huge amounts of money will go into their pockets regardless of their political or religious affiliations. We are being had.
Mark, WOW! The pure, unvarnished truth about the so-called 'war on terror'. At last, someone has had the couage to 'tell it like it is'. Many thanks for standing up for western civilization when our greedy, lying, craven politicians will not raise a finger, lest they must forego the blood money they are pocketing from the Middle East.
Just Another Richard:
Yes Mark, you are right, our fearless leaders' grubby little fingers are, it would seem, stuck tight in a Saudi handshake.
THIS is the problem!
Jason:
I think people are starting to realize that it isn’t “just a few fanatics.”
It isn't. And that's a fact. This is a REAL war against those that wish to destroy us.
Spanish Diplomat:
I think you are too sophisticated with your assertion.
Really? How so?
Eleanor:
We are being had. There's no doubt about that.
USIP:
Thanks for your words of comfort. I do think I am right.
Mark
Yes. We need new ways of looking at these problems. If what you say here was done with what I said elsewhere about Iraq, Afghanistan, and a bit of stirring in the rest of the Ummah, we could all sit back and take a ringside seat for a couple of generations as they ripped themselves apart.
It's certainly the case that what we're doing now is not improving our situation. Indeed ...
Spanish Diplomat above commented on my place too, and is making me think ... but I'm not yet persuaded that we're wrong in wanting an entirely new approach. What was it one of our politicos said - "think the unthinkable". But that was only words because they immediately reverted to thinking their same old thinks. And anyway, he talks about economic factores as if we don't have to bite the bullet on oil.
We'd have to eject our own Muslim masses too, as part of the equation.
I would have commented yesterday but blogger was down for maintenance, and later I was tied up elsewhere.
Sir Henry:
Yes. We need new ways of looking at these problems. If what you say here was done with what I said elsewhere about Iraq, Afghanistan, and a bit of stirring in the rest of the Ummah, we could all sit back and take a ringside seat for a couple of generations as they ripped themselves apart.
Yes indeed! We need a paradigm shift. The current way is ensuring that the West is being Islamized; indeed, it is promoting it by inaction and servitude to the West's masters in Saudi Arabia.
We need to ask ourselves ONE simple question: WHO IS PROPPING UP WHOM? IS THE WEST PROPPING UP SAUDI ARABIA, OR IS SAUDI ARABIA PROPPING UP WESTERN POLITICIANS AND WESTERN COMMERCE?
It's certainly the case that what we're doing now is not improving our situation. Indeed ...
It's not. It's not improving our situation one little bit.
Spanish Diplomat above commented on my place too, and is making me think ... but I'm not yet persuaded that we're wrong in wanting an entirely new approach.
I'm still waiting for Spanish Diplomat to come back and explain to me why he thinks my thinking on this is too sophisticated. In fact, I think I'm thinking logically and clearly. And in a very straightforward way. But I stand to be corrected, of course.
What was it one of our politicos said - "think the unthinkable". But that was only words because they immediately reverted to thinking their same old thinks.
Politicos are good at the glib one-liner. Only the very few politicos think creatively, and fewer still are prepared to take bold decisions.
And anyway, he talks about economic factores as if we don't have to bite the bullet on oil.
Oil has become a sacred cow.
We'd have to eject our own Muslim masses too, as part of the equation.
Yes, we would. But would that be such a bad thing. They're giving us an ongoing nightmare anyway. And worse it will get! Have you read the latest news on Islam from Australia? Click HERE, HERE, and HERE.
These people just don't fit in in the modern world, do they? We need to expel them before they turn our clocks back in synch with theirs!
I would have commented yesterday but blogger was down for maintenance, and later I was tied up elsewhere.
As they would say Down Under: No worries mate! :-)
Another accurate dissection of the links between Western politics and the Saudi-terror-state.
Our politicians think they are so clever. They assume that with all their sophsticated technology and snoop satellites etc., they can keep sitting on top of this simmering pot and keep the lid from blowing off.
Meanwhile of course, as you say, the grease of buck-sheesh is applied to the gate-valves in the oil-fields, and the black-gold keeps pouring in to prop up our festering relationships with that region. We shall not easily cure what has become our unsustainable addiction to oil and all it's products.
We cannot go back now, it's true, but where is the serious planning for the obvious collapse of the advanced ecoomies, that would follow ,should our friend, old BL, ever engineer his triumphant donkey ride into Mecca as the Mahdiman?
I suppose we could see some of our politicos fawning at the feet of the red-faced one as he shakes his locks and sweat-pearls shower his faithful millions as they rampage through the treeless avenues of that City, as the bodies of the old regime swing in the hot desert breeze from atop the lamp-posts and street signs.
But one thing is certain,.. the face of the world will be changed forever.
None will be able to turn their gaze from the impact of an Shariaised central ummah-State.
BL does have a big problem though, in the shape of the other Pretender to the throne. Who can visualise BL in bed with the mad-mendicant Armenedjad?
Why, this dear chappie has already bagged the top job for himself, and even prepared the landing pad for the returning one, back home in his Persian Paradise.
Armenedjad, his hands radiating with cobalt blue glow as he raises his alchemical digits from the Plutonium -pot, would either have to chummy up with BL in a carve-up of the new Caliphate, or set his dogs of war across the mountains and desert for the next unwinnable war against one of his neighbours.
Such things are in the realms of fantasy of course, but that one day the Capital of Islam will fall to a million strong mob, is more than possible.
Will America stand by as the Saudi King and all his brothers, cousins, slaves and wives, exit on their fleet of Royal Boeing 747's, and where will they set down their wheels?
Can you see it now, the USA giving refuge to the escapees of the "legitimate" Saudi Government?
The Sixth Fleet,(and the seventh eighth and ninth!!) the Airforces of Nato, all steaming in to the Gulf, to kick ass on behalf of the rag-tag puppeteers of Bedhouin descent?
What a freaking dilemma that will be, and as the spigots are spun to close,or set ablaze in wanton waste, where will we, G>B> and Europe stand?
With our less than three week supply chain of oil, suddenly Russia will seem like our bestest friend of all time, and we will be giving them the whole damn Football League, let alone letting a few Rusky billionaires buy a couple of Clubs!
I think you are right though, Mark.
It is events such as these you postulate, that will smack our faces up to the windscreen, and few will not be affected by these events.
That we will be up Shit-Creek, is not in doubt, and only then will the shock of change produce a new vision of our Destiny.
The Governments of our time will continue to sell our silver and legalise our enemies to co-habit with our wives, because they will do anything and everything to maintain "stability."
All systems though, become chaotic at some point, and at that moment none shall escape the need to re-evaluate their World.
If the prsent duffers in Western Governments still prevail, on the fall of the House of Saud, it looks more like we will send our soldiers to re-instate them, and turf out the usurpers, rather than take the opportunity to do whatever it may take to solve the problem permanently.
If the chance to stand up for our Civilisation is missed, then we will succumn to final servitude, despite our populations' waking up to reality.
Hello Mirrorman!
It is events such as these you postulate, that will smack our faces up to the windscreen, and few will not be affected by these events.
If they happen, and they might well, then people won't know what's hit them! As you say: All will be affected.
I don't know about you; but I'm sick of all the fawning, obsequiousness, and servility. Our politicians and businessmen are past masters at this sort of behviour. And their Saudi masters lap it up!
I think we are deluding ourselves if we continue to think that this problem is one merely of ignorance on the part of our political representatives.
I have two rules for understanding history:
1. It always comes down to the money.
2. Never trust any politician.
We don't have statesmen any longer!
Just Another Richard has made an excellent point, and I happen to agree with him:
While I redily conceed that the established structures of the Christian faith, have become sterile by their own follies; I do wonder if their aren't untold millions of souls, still with a belief, but with no place to go.
President Bush once referred to "addiction to oil." But now that the price per barrel is down, sources of alternative energy are no longer of great concern. What short memories we have! As if the monetary cost of oil is the problem in the first place!
Mark,
From the first link about Australia (You left that link in a previous comment);
THE nation's most senior Muslim cleric has blamed immodestly dressed women who don't wear Islamic headdress for being preyed on by men and likened them to abandoned "meat" that attracts voracious animals.
In a Ramadan sermon that has outraged Muslim women leaders, Sydney-based Sheik Taj Din al-Hilali also alluded to the infamous Sydney gang rapes, suggesting the attackers were not entirely to blame.
While not specifically referring to the rapes, brutal attacks on four women for which a group of young Lebanese men received long jail sentences, Sheik Hilali said there were women who "sway suggestively" and wore make-up and immodest dress ... "and then you get a judge without mercy (rahma) and gives you 65 years".
"But the problem, but the problem all began with who?" he asked.
If this isn't reason for deporting him, what the hell is?
Always:
That outburst by that Australian 'mufti' was typical of the way Muslims think.
Of course I agree with you that this is good enough reason for kicking him out; but somehow, I doubt it will be done.
We can expect many more outbursts like this in the coming weeks, months and years. They just go to show the disparity in thinking between the average Westerner/Christian/atheist (etc) and the average Muslim.
When I worked in the MIddle East, I heard lots of talk like this; and most of it didn't come from muftis, either.
The fact of the matter is that Westerners are in for a rude awakening. They won't know what's hit them once this goes into full swing!
Always:
I have two rules for understanding history:
1. It always comes down to the money.
2. Never trust any politician.
We don't have statesmen any longer!
And damn good rules they are, too! Money is always in the equation somewhere. You can bet your life on that.
President Bush once referred to "addiction to oil." But now that the price per barrel is down, sources of alternative energy are no longer of great concern. What short memories we have! As if the monetary cost of oil is the problem in the first place!
Now that the price of "gas" has come down there in the States, you can rest assured that alternative energy sources will no longer be discussed.
As you said: People have short memories. But if and when the Saudi régime is toppled, then there's be a hue and cry! They'll all be asking why something wasn't done about alternative fuel long ago. But, of course, it will be too late. The damage will have been done.
As you say: As if the main problem were monetary cost.
Sickening!
Spanish Diplomat:
Osama bin Ladin and co. are our enemies -period.
Yes, Osama & Co are our enemies. Nobody is disputing that. But what I am questioning is whether the Saudi royal family are the real, true friends our politicians think they are. Further, I am merely pointing out that one of Osama bin Laden's gripes is the mirror image of the concerns of many Westerners, namely that Islam is growing to much and too strong here in the West. Moreover, the Saudi régime is fuelling this growth.
There is little point in denying this, since it is an indisputable fact. It probably doesn't go down well in cocktail parties on the diplomatic circuit, but it happens to be the truth. For some inexplicable reason, our Foreign Office has a 'love affair' with all things Arab. The people don't generally share these sentiments.
If they were to seize power in Saudi Arabia I don´t see how come this would be good for us.
I am not arguing that it will be "good for us"; I am merely arguing that it might be the paradigm shift we need to solve the ever growing problems we now have with Islam and terrorism in the West. After all, it cannot be denied that the West is funding this war against itself! You surely cannot deny that, Spanish Diplomat.
As for procuring oil, there are other sources of oil. Russia, for example, immediately comes to mind.
Moreover, the West should have been developing alternative energy sources long ago. But it didn't. So we should be redoubling our efforts now to make up for lost time. The status quo is "not good for us", I can assure you of that.
From the economic point of view this is evident, I think (and you cannot win a war withour money, so if we enter an economic crisis we suffer).
No, war can be won without money. But war generally brings with it huge national debt.
But you seem to be forgetting something. Saudis need us just as much as we need them. This isn't a one-way thing. That's where people who don't understand economics go badly wrong. The Saudis have to import just about all their foodstuffs , clothing, household goods, etc. Even they can't live forever on camel's milk and dates! And even if they could, they certainly wouldn't want to. I'm sure of that.
From the political point of view, they would control a powerful country in terms of influence and ressources, which would make them more dangerous.
Not if they were contained. I would drop an "Iron Veil" to separate them from us. I introduced this idea in my book.
Perhaps after the seizure, it is true, there would be a general awakening in the West as how dangerous they are. But... what if it didn´t?
I believe there would be an awakening. People, now, are largely in the dark, because of political spin, the silent, pro-Muslim MSM, their lack of knowledge of history, and so on. But that, then, would all change. I'm sure that most people in the build-up to the Second World War were not so well-versed on German history, either. But they soon learnt. It's surprising how quickly people can learn when the pressure is on.
I keep thinking over GWB's pandering to Muslims with his various announcements, two of which are posted here. One portion particularly bothers me:
I send greetings to Muslims in the United States and around the world celebrating Eid al-Fitr.
"Around the world"? What is that all about?
All I can come up with is GWB's oil bond with the House of Saud.
GWB's support of Saudi's royal family gives both psychological and monetary support to that ruling family.
And in my mind's eye, I still GWB holding hands with and kissing that Saudi prince at the Crawford Ranch. Ugh!
I don't see Western leaders giving commensurate support to Christianity. Formerly, I heard more of that support, expressed in various ways. But now Western leaders keep harping on "the religion of peace" and "the cultural contributions of Islam." Sounds like bowing to mammon to me!
The West has lost its moral compass. Our leaders and our lukewarm churches are selling us out--literally and figuratively.
My last point...GWB said:
According to Islamic teachings, this month represents when God delivered His word to the prophet Muhammad in the form of the Qur'an. Ramadan is also an opportunity to gather with friends and family and show thanks for God's blessings through works of charity.
God? Islam is all about Allah! The origins of Allah reach back to the false god Baal. And Baal was certainly not the same God whom Jews and Christians worship.
The West has lost its spiritual compass as well. Muslims recognize that weakness. In fact, that weakness on the part of the West is one reason our leaders fail to recognize the Islam is waging a religious war.
Spanish Diplomat:
I have re-read your latest comment yet again; and I have come to the conclusion that you really do not seem to have understood my point at all.
You seem to think that I have some sympathy with Osama bin Laden. Let me clarify that point first. I DO NOT! I HAVE ZERO SYMPATHY EITHER WITH HIM OR HIS CAUSE.
What I am trying to say is this: We must try and see this from OBL's standpoint as well as our own if we are to have any chance of resolving these issues.
Osama bin Laden and his ilk are well aware of the mutual backscratching that is going on in high circles between members of the Saudi royal family and Western leaders. There is no doubt about the fact that much money is changing hands; and many, many people are becoming very rich from the proceeds.
The wealth of the Saudi royal family, in particular, is the stuff of legends. The famale members of the family, the Saudi princesses, for example, go shopping in London, New York and Paris, and spend in an afternoon on frocks, shoes, handbags and jewellery amounts of money that ordinary Saudis would take a lifetime to earn and save! Rolls Royces are given as bakhsheesh to members of the royal family in return for lucrative Saudi contracts. All this while the ordinary people of Saudi Arabia suffer. The average annual income of the Saudi in the souk has actually gone down, not up! The same cannot be said about the enormous wealth of the privileged classes in that country.
OBL & co know this. Further, they have an aversion to the further Westernization of their society in particular, and the Middle East in general. Now this is something which we Westerners find as an irrational fear, because we think that our ideas of liberal democracy and freedom are unquestionably good. They do not see it that way. Not at all!
We in the West fear the creeping Islamization of the West. So, this is what I mean when I say that OBL's fears are in many ways the mirror opposite of the fears of many in the West. I think that these fears, on both sides, need to be addressed.
The status quo is promoting these fears. It is fertilizing them.
Some liberals think that all this terrorism is stemming from poverty, and so on. This is an erroneous assessment of the facts. Whilst the average income of the man in the souk has gone down in the past decade, one can hardly say that most Saudis live on the poverty line (even though many are strapped for cash). Our problems are stemming from a clash of ideologies. They want things one way; we want things another way. They see their societies moving away from Islam; we see our societies moving towards it. Nobody is happy about this. Nobody I know would be happy to see an Islamized West no more than most Saudis and Muslims would be happy to see a Westernized Dar ul Islam.
So what I am saying is that perhaps, just perhaps, we need to start looking at this problem from another way; and maybe, just maybe, we need a paradigm shift in order to solve this most intractable of problems. That's what I am saying, Spanish Diplomat. I am NOT, I repeat NOT, expressing ANY sympathy for Osama bin Laden or any of his followers or henchmen!
Hmmmm, interesting!
I wilL Hve to think about what you have written!
A Free Man:
A warm welcome to this forum!
Do think about what I have written here; and do, please, report back with your thoughts. I am sure I speak for all when I say: We shall look forward to reading them.
I think this is a brilliant insight, Mark Many thanks for sharing this with us (I apologize for the fact that my 'full stop' otherwise known as a 'period' is not functioning -- alas, alack) Anyway, my hat is off to you for your thoughtful post!
USIP:
I think this is a brilliant insight, Mark Many thanks for sharing this with us (I apologize for the fact that my 'full stop' otherwise known as a 'period' is not functioning -- alas, alack) Anyway, my hat is off to you for your thoughtful post!
Thank you for your very kind comment. Much appreciated!
I'm mortified that the 'full stop' on your computer doesn't work! I cannot imagine not being able to use the 'full stop' on my computer! :-)
May your computer soon be back to full health!
Great come back, Mark! I appreciate your sense of humor, especially in view of the fact that my 'full stop' is not functioning HA HA HA
Great come back?
I didn't know I'd been down! Or is this an Americanism?
Yes, Mark. Indeed, this is an Americanism.
Yes, Temple, I agree.
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