Terrorism Synergy

Let me see if I get this logic straight. We have various heart attacks if our well documented Western citizens are recruited by ISIS and end up in Syria helping to establish an Islamic Caliphate.

But at the same time we are allowing over a million undocumented refugees to flow into the heart of Europe coming directly from Syria and Afghanistan.

And then we get surprised when some ISIS recruits kill scores of innocent civilians in Paris.

Synergy is when 1 plus 1 equals 3. And these lax borders are creating synergy for Islamic terrorists. Why bother with old methods of infiltrating your enemy country and establishing a new identity? Just throw your suspicious identity away and sail to Greece in a rubber dingy with thousands of other men of fighting age. Walk to Germany and get distributed to any of the EU countries.

I'm tired of being politically correct here. There is a religious war going on and the enemy has stormed the walls. They are within our cities and killing our citizens. This has to end.

But how to end this? As in anything else there is a continuum of possible responses. On one extreme is doing nothing and the other is exterminating all Muslims. Clearly we cannot go to the latter extreme but it is time we moved a little further from the former extreme. The little surveillance we are conducting is not keeping us safe.

How about an end to Muslim immigration in the West? Is that going too far?

Kent Haruf on National Leadership

Below is a quote from one of my favorite authors. This particular book is on my wish list and I'll get to it eventually; I read the first book in the series: Plainsong. But what a great idea is represented by this quote! And what happens next? “And so we know the satisfaction of hate. We know the sweet joy of revenge. How it feels good to get even. Oh, that was a nice idea Jesus had. That was a pretty notion, but you can't love people who do evil. It's neither sensible or practical. It's not wise to the world to love people who do such terrible wrong. There is no way on earth we can love our enemies. They'll only do wickedness and hatefulness again. And worse, they'll think they can get away with this wickedness and evil, because they'll think we're weak and afraid. What would the world come to?

But I want to say to you here on this hot July morning in Holt, what if Jesus wasn't kidding? What if he wasn't talking about some never-never land? What if he really did mean what he said two thousand years ago? What if he was thoroughly wise to the world and knew firsthand cruelty and wickedness and evil and hate? Knew it all so well from personal firsthand experience? And what if in spite of all that he knew, he still said love your enemies? Turn your cheek. Pray for those who misuse you. What if he meant every word of what he said? What then would the world come to?

And what if we tried it? What if we said to our enemies: We are the most powerful nation on earth. We can destroy you. We can kill your children. We can make ruins of your cities and villages and when we're finished you won't even know how to look for the places where they used to be. We have the power to take away your water and to scorch your earth, to rob you of the very fundamentals of life. We can change the actual day into actual night. We can do these things to you. And more.

But what if we say, Listen: Instead of any of these, we are going to give willingly and generously to you. We are going to spend the great American national treasure and the will and the human lives that we would have spent on destruction, and instead we are going to turn them all toward creation. We'll mend your roads and highways, expand your schools, modernize your wells and water supplies, save your ancient artifacts and art and culture, preserve your temples and mosques. In fact, we are going to love you. And again we say, no matter what has gone before, no matter what you've done: We are going to love you. We have set our hearts to it. We will treat you like brothers and sisters. We are going to turn our collective national cheek and present it to be stricken a second time, if need be, and offer it to you. Listen, we--

But then he was abruptly halted.” ―     Kent Haruf,     Benediction    

Elie Wiesel's plea for Middle East peace.

Medal of Honor Winner speaks of teamwork

Sergeant Kyle White received a well-deserved Medal of Honor today for heroics in Afghanistan.

Here's what he had to say about his team:

"I wear this medal for my team. Battles are not won by men. If that were true, the Taliban would have won on that trail in Afghanistan, because they had every tactical advantage including the numbers. Battles are won by spirit, and spirit is present in the relationships built from the trust and sacrifice we share with one another in times of hardship, and by that definition cannot be possessed by one person."

McCain challenges Obama on Russia's invasion of Ukraine

For those are curious what John McCain would have been like as president rather than Barack Obama, here's a chance to see what the old war hawk would do in today's Crimean crisis.

In a recent Op-Ed, McCain criticizes Obama in his lead up to and handling of the crisis. He says Obama lacked resolve in Afghanistan and Iraq and allowed Bashar-al-Assad to cross his 'Red Line' without repercussions. He claims that Putin sees this lack of resolve as weakness to exploit.

McCain doesn't recommend military action other than NATO exercises, but he strongly insists on sanctions, removing Russia from the G8 and refusing Russian oligarchs places in the West to "park their ill-gotten proceeds."

It's a rare occasion to see how two leaders would deal with a crisis. Let's see what Obama does.

Pakistani Hero

The grave of Aitzaz Hasan on Friday. Basit Gilani/European Pressphoto Agency Heroes come in all shapes and sizes but one constant remains. Will you give your life to save others?  On Monday, a 15 year old boy on his way to school spotted someone wearing his school uniform but acting suspiciously. He confronted the man and tackled him when he tried to escape. The suicide bomber detonated his explosives, killing himself and Aitzaz Hasan. This selfless act saved the lives of scores of his fellow students. Read more about him in this article. Now Pakistan is calling for this hero to be honored for his stand against Taliban extremism. I'll add my voice to the chorus.

Why doesn't the Egyptian Leadership prevent rapes?

In Mubarak's Egypt, with the omnipresent police force, women walked the streets in relative safety. Now, under the auspices of the Muslim Brotherhood, there can be as many as 18 rapes in a single square in a single evening. Most are gang-rapes by groups of men.

The response by the Muslim Brotherhood? "Sometimes a girl contributes 100% to her own raping when she puts herself in these conditions." Read the NY Times article for more shocking details.

Some ultraconservative Islamists condemned the women for speaking out: "You see those women speaking like ogres, without shame, politeness, fear or even femininity," declared a televisions preacher, Ahmed Abdullah, also known as Sheik Abu Islam.

Such a woman is 'like a demon,' he said, wondering why anyone should sympathize with those 'naked' women who 'went there to get raped."

On YouTube you can find videos of these horrific attacks.

I think a fair judgement of the effectiveness of any government is how well it protects its people. Using this creterion, the new Egyptian Government is extremely ineffective.

Al Qaeda in Mali

I would find it amusing to hear of barely educated Madrassah boys from Al-Qaeda telling the Islamic scholars of Timbuktu that they knew better what Islam was all about if it weren't for the destruction these savages caused. Fortunately, tens of thousands of priceless scrolls and documents were spirited away to protection before they were destroyed.

Too bad the people of Timbuktu had to endure Shariah law at the hands of these interlopers. This NY Times article details some of the hardships the residents had to face until they were liberated by French soldiers. Beatings of women who showed their faces, amputation of thieves' hands, executions.

Ripples from the Arab Spring are still hitting Saharan Africa in ways that frighten me. Which country will next feel the crushing blow of Hezbollah-financed hordes? Morocco?

Flash Mobs fuel Arab protests

When I first read about flash mobs back in 2003 I was amused. But hidden in the article was a question of whether this technology could be used for protests. Seattle's anti-globalization protests were one of the first to use it. I'm sure lots of repressive governments saw the potential at the same time and started preparing. NY Times 2003 flash mob article

But the biggest show of using social networks to protest a dictatorship is still going on in Egypt.

Wael Ghonim, a Google marketing man, just got out of an Egyptian jail after 10 days of blindfolded imprisonment. He admitted to being one of the people who set up the Facebook page protesting the death of Khaled Said, who was beaten to death by Egptian police while in custody. No wonder Egypt has shut down Facebook and Twitter.

There is a new type of leader emerging. Reluctant, perhaps, but still powerful. Let's see how this works out.

Video of Wael Ghonim discussing the protests:

Watch him here addressing the crowds. Not much of a rabble-rouser but he brought the crowd together. To what end?

Here's an article about Wael Ghonim setting up the facebook page: NY Times article about facebook page

And here are some of my favorite flash mobs. Enjoy!

Hallelujah Chorus:

Grand Central Freeze:

Leadership within the Arab turmoil

It has been a busy January. Coptic Christians start off rioting to protest a shooting that spreads throughout Egypt. Tunisia's government collapses, protesters take to the streets in Lebanon and Yemen, and even the West Bank and Jordan are boiling. Where will this all lead?

I watched the Iranian revolution, while traveling in Europe in 1979, and was dismayed to see how the pro-democracy leaders were roughly pushed aside by the Revolutionary Guards who fought to install a theocracy of Ayatollas.

What will happen in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen and Jordan? I'm afraid that one of two things are most likely. One will be the crushing of the opposition like last year's crushing of the polical opposition in Iran. Or, worse yet for the US and Israel, the installation of Muslim theocracies. These groups are ready opponents, with strong Iranian backing and are just waiting to rush in and fill the power vacuum left by their despotic predecessors. The Muslim Brotherhood's backing of  Mohamed ElBaradei smacks of polical expediency, designed to lend credibility to their cause. I've no doubt that, with Mr. ElBaradei at their head, they will win an election, then toss him aside to set up another Iranian-backed religious dictatorship.

Mr. ElBaradei is one of the few Egyptian leaders who seems to be keen about setting up a real democracy. I hope he lives up to his committment to not seek the leadership until an effective democratic process has time to take hold. He is smart enough to know that, due to Mubarek's repressions, the only opposition existent is the Muslim Brotherhood.

I doubt the ability of any Arab country to go against millenia of clan rivalries to set up a democratic country. We watched in the 1990's as the Philippines and Eastern Europe threw off their dictators and embraced democracy (except maybe Russia).  But it seems to be impossible for Arabs, Persians or Afghans to do anything similar. I am especially fearful that the Coptic Christians, who started this all, will be the first victims of a Muslim dictatorship that takes Mubarak's place. All eyes are on Mr. ElBaradei.