Professional Soldiers ® - The Reverse Domino Theory

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Re: You need to come live in my world for awhile.

Sheikh al-Qaradhawi is a Qatari. Qatari Muslims are overwhelmingly Wahhabi Sunnis. A minority in Iraq, Sunnis far outnumber Shi'ites in the rest of the Muslim World (Shi'ites are a majority in Iran and a plurality in Lebanon).

Sheikh Tantawi probably flip-flops because he holds Egyptian government-appointed positions. I would guess his true instincts are closer to the kill all infidels side, but this is occasionally embarassing to Mubarak, so Tantawi gets reined in from time to time.

BTW, I only linked to one, but I noted four studies: one of all Palestinian suicide bombers, one of PIJ and Hamas suicide bombers, one of Jewish terrorists and one of Lebanese Hizbullah fighters. Unfortunately, Palestinian terrorists are the best subject for studies like this because they present a rather large database.

I can't cite studies but my recollection is that a number of Western terrorist groups also fiot the profile of being more educated and wealthier than the population in general. The Weather Underground was almost entirely college kids and evolved out of a student group. Patty Hearst, noted earlier, was probably the only SLA member who wasn't a college-educated, white and middle class - she was a 19-year old white rich kid. Baader-Meinhof also fits the profile.

The only real point I had with all of this is that if you want to drain the swamp the terrorist recruiters swim in, political reform is probably more important than economic reform. In that sense, we are on the right track by pushing for democratic reform and greater openness. But nothing will ever eliminate all terrorism, so this is still about the best way to manage the problem. For me, the answer is pretty much threefold: (1) hunt down and kill every terrorist we can, (2) push for greater freedom in the Middle East to help cut off the recruiting network (a little DOL) and (3) demand greater Muslim accountability regarding the actions of those who claim to act in the name of Islam. In the long run, we need an Islamic Enlightenment, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for that.

Re: Re: You need to come live in my world for awhile.

Quote:

Originally posted by Airbornelawyer
A minority in Iraq, Sunnis far outnumber Shi'ites in the rest of the Muslim World (Shi'ites are a majority in Iran and a plurality in Lebanon).

They also make up a large percentage (I heard 70, but am not sure I believe it) of Bahrainis.

Re: Re: You need to come live in my world for awhile.

Quote:

Originally posted by Airbornelawyer
The only real point I had with all of this is that if you want to drain the swamp the terrorist recruiters swim in, political reform is probably more important than economic reform. In that sense, we are on the right track by pushing for democratic reform and greater openness. But nothing will ever eliminate all terrorism, so this is still about the best way to manage the problem. For me, the answer is pretty much threefold: (1) hunt down and kill every terrorist we can, (2) push for greater freedom in the Middle East to help cut off the recruiting network (a little DOL) and (3) demand greater Muslim accountability regarding the actions of those who claim to act in the name of Islam. In the long run, we need an Islamic Enlightenment, but I'm not holding my breath waiting for that.

There are some people with whom I'd like you to speak.

"Your ideas are intriguing and I wish to subscribe to your newsletter."

Re: Re: Re: You need to come live in my world for awhile.

Quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo
They also make up a large percentage (I heard 70, but am not sure I believe it) of Bahrainis.

Seventy to seventy-five percent of the total population; I'm not sure what the breakdown is for Bahraini citizens (a third of Bahrain's population is expatriate).

Re: Re: You need to come live in my world for awhile.

Quote:

Originally posted by Airbornelawyer
(3) demand greater Muslim accountability regarding the actions of those who claim to act in the name of Islam.

An interesting point you bring up. I found the following two articles of interest.

http://www.greeleynet.com/~cnotess/views2.htm
http://www.travelbrochuregraphics.co...t_islamism.htm

Re: Re: Re: Re: You need to come live in my world for awhile.

Quote:

Originally posted by Airbornelawyer
Seventy to seventy-five percent of the total population; I'm not sure what the breakdown is for Bahraini citizens (a third of Bahrain's population is expatriate).

I got the sense that the expat ratio was much higher than that.

Thanks for the lesson. Assholes killing themselves in the name of Allah is STILL not an explanation that I accept.

Quote:

Originally posted by Airbornelawyer
Depends on the meaning of "is".

Actually, for those trying to justify suicide bombers, it depends on the meaning of "suicide".

According to Sheikh Yusuf al-Qaradhawi, possibly the most influential Sunni religious authority today: "He who commits suicide kills himself for his own benefit, while he who commits martyrdom sacrifices himself for the sake of his religion and his nation. While someone who commits suicide has lost hope with himself and with the spirit of God, the Mujahid is full of hope with regard to God's spirit and mercy. He fights his enemy and the enemy of God with this new weapon, which destiny has put in the hands of the weak, so that they would fight against the evil of the strong and arrogant. The Mujahid becomes a 'human bomb' that blows up at a specific place and time, in the midst of the enemies of God and the homeland, leaving them helpless in the face of the brave martyr who... sold his soul to God, and sought the martyrdom for the sake of God."

The former head Sheikh of al-Azhar University in Cairo, Muhammad Sayyed Tantawi, said in August 1998, "Any explosion that leads to the death of innocent women and children is a criminal act, carried out only by people who are base, cowards and traitors, because a rational man with just a bit of respect and manliness, refrains from such operations altogether." However, he was talking about the embassy bombings in Africa. When it comes to Israelis, "...suicide operations are of self-defense and a kind of martyrdom, as long as the intention behind them is to kill the enemy's soldiers, and not women or children." (April 2001) That makes him a relative moderate. Of course, back in May 1998, Tantawi had this to say: "It is every Muslim, Palestinian and Arab's right to blow himself up in the heart of Israel, an honorable death is better than a life of humiliation. All religious laws have demanded the use of force against the enemy and fighting against those who stand by Israel; there is no escape from fighting, from Jihad, and from defense, and whoever refrains from such things is not a believer." No distinction regarding targets there.

Quote:

Originally posted by Jimbo
An interesting point you bring up. I found the following two articles of interest.

http://www.greeleynet.com/~cnotess/views2.htm
http://www.travelbrochuregraphics.co...t_islamism.htm

"(2) Children raised in a tradition of honor and shame, on average, grow into adulthood with a somewhat fragile self-assurance, tending to blame others for their own failures. Constructing personal and group identities has become very difficult as a culture changes from Premodern to Postmodern in a matter of a few decades, skipping much of the intermediate stage of Modernity. Thus, the social and psychological aspects affecting a young person's construction of his or her identity is an important topic essential to an understanding of the social and psychological forces that influence some young Muslims to opt for violence against those whom they blame as the cause of their hardships.

(3) Many high school students, both in America and in the Middle East, Christians and Muslims, do not learn how to analyze a text, a speech and other sources of information by using critical methods of text analysis to ascertain the truth of the text. As a result they believe that what they see and hear is realistic and true, whether it be from news broadcasts on radio and television, by writers in the newspapers, by clerics, or by other community leaders."