Jeffrey D. Sachs
Terrorism is not rooted in insanity or religion; it’s rooted in geopolitics
Almost every terrorist attack in the West or against Western embassies and personnel has been accompanied by the message that it is in retaliation for Western meddling in the Middle East.
We in the West hate to acknowledge — and most refuse to believe — that our leaders have been flagrantly wasteful of Muslim lives for a century now, in countless wars and military encounters instigated by overwhelming Western power.
Ending the terror of radical Islam will require ending the West’s wars for control in the Middle East. Fortunately, the Age of Oil is gradually coming to an end.
From the jihadist perspective, daily life is ultra-violent. Death is pervasive, coming as often as not from the bombs, drones, and troops of the United States, France, and other Western powers.
NEW YORK — French Prime Minister Manuel Valls was not speaking metaphorically when he said that France is at war with radical Islam. There is, indeed, a full-fledged war underway, and the heinous terrorist attacks in Paris were part of it.
Yet, like most wars, this one is about more than religion, fanaticism, and ideology. It is also about geopolitics, and its ultimate solution lies in geopolitics as well.
Crimes like those in Paris, New York, London, and Madrid — attacks on countless cafes, malls, buses, trains, and nightclubs — affront our most basic human values, because they involve the deliberate murder of innocents and seek to spread fear throughout society. We are wont to declare them the work of lunatics and sociopaths, and we feel repulsed by the very idea that they may have an explanation beyond the insanity of their perpetrators.
Yet, in most cases, terrorism is not rooted in insanity. It is more often an act of war, albeit war by the weak rather than by organized states and their armies. Islamist terrorism is a reflection, indeed an extension, of today’s wars in the Middle East. And with the meddling of outside powers, those wars are becoming a single regional war — one that is continually morphing, expanding, and becoming increasingly violent.
From the jihadist perspective — the one that American or French Muslims, for example, may pick up in training camps in Afghanistan, Syria, and Yemen — daily life is ultra-violent. Death is pervasive, coming as often as not from the bombs, drones, and troops of the United States, France, and other Western powers. And the victims are often the innocent “collateral damage” of Western strikes that hit homes, weddings, funerals, and community meetings.
We in the West hate to acknowledge — and most refuse to believe — that our leaders have been flagrantly wasteful of Muslim lives for a century now, in countless wars and military encounters instigated by overwhelming Western power. What is the message to Muslims of the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq in 2003? More than 100,000 Iraqi civilians — a very conservative estimate — died in a war that was based on utterly false pretenses. The U.S. has never apologized, much less even recognized the civilian slaughter.
Or consider Syria, where an estimated 200,000 Syrians have recently died, 3.7 million have fled the country, and 7.6 million have been internally displaced in a civil war that was stoked in no small part by the U.S., Saudi Arabia, and other allied powers. Since 2011, the CIA and U.S. allies have poured in weapons, finance, and training in an attempt to topple President Bashar al-Assad. For the U.S. and its allies, the war is little more than a proxy battle to weaken Assad’s patrons, Iran and Russia. Yet Syrian civilians are the cannon fodder.
Long before there was Islamist terrorism in the West, the United Kingdom, France, and the U.S. relied on diplomatic chicanery and launched coups, wars, and covert operations in the Middle East to assert and maintain Western political control over the region.. Historians know this sordid story, but most Westerners do not (in no small part because many of the interventions have been covert).
Since the fall of the Ottoman Empire a century ago, Western powers have sought to control the Middle East for a variety of reasons, including claims on oil, access to international sea routes, Israel’s security, and geopolitical competition with Russia in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, and Iran.
The U.S. now has more than 20 military bases in six countries in the region (Afghanistan, Bahrain, Djibouti, the United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Turkey) and large-scale military deployments in many others, including Egypt, Kuwait, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia. It has funded violence for decades, arming and training the mujahedeen (in effect building the precursor of Al Qaeda) in Afghanistan to fight the Soviets; stoking the Iraq-Iran War in the 1980s; invading Iraq in 2003; trying to topple Assad since 2011; and waging relentless drone attacks in recent years.
The fact that jihadist terrorist attacks in the West are relatively new, occurring only in the last generation or so, indicates that they are a blowback — or at least an extension — of the Middle East wars. With very few exceptions, the countries that have been attacked are those that have been engaged in the post-1990 Western-led military operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya, and Syria.
The terrorists themselves cast their actions in political terms, even though we rarely listen; indeed, the terrorists’ words are typically reported only briefly, if at all. But the fact is that almost every terrorist attack in the West or against Western embassies and personnel has been accompanied by the message that it is in retaliation for Western meddling in the Middle East. The Paris terrorists pointed to France’s operations in Syria.
To be clear, Western actions do not provide Islamist terrorism with a scintilla of justification. The reason to point out these actions is to make clear what Islamist terrorism in the West represents to the terrorists: Middle East violence on an expanded front. The West has done much to create that front, arming favored actors, launching proxy wars, and taking the lives of civilians in unconscionable numbers.
Ending the terror of radical Islam will require ending the West’s wars for control in the Middle East. Fortunately, the Age of Oil is gradually coming to an end. We should make that end come faster: climate safety will require that we leave most fossil-fuel resources in the ground. Nor do the other ancient motives for Western interference apply any longer. The U.K. no longer needs to protect its trade routes to colonial India, and the U.S. no longer needs a ring of military bases to contain the Soviet Union.
It is time for the West to allow the Arab world to govern itself and to choose its path without Western military interference. And there are heartening reasons to believe that a self-governing Arab Middle East would wisely choose to become a peaceful global crossroads and a partner in science, culture, and development.
The Arab world has played that beneficent role in the past, and it can do so again. The region is filled with talented people, and the overwhelming majority in the region want to get on with their lives in peace, educate and raise their children in health and safety, and participate in global society. Their objectives — prosperity and human security — are our own.
Global warming was proved a hoax then climate change didn't move the masses. Now the left has morphed into "climate safety" as their latest buzzwords. Their latest posit is based on leaving resources on the ground. I suppose where they will remain safe and sound.
ReplyDeleteThis particular charlatan promotes the advancement of civilization from his NYC ivory tower Columbia University. I suggest he expand his save the world crusade in his own backyard. Take a trip across the Verranzano and get a good look at the cubic miles of waste stacked up on Statan Island. Jog down to the Hudson during a rain storm and watch the sewers flush their jetsam out towards the Statue of Liberty. Cleanliness and virtue begin at home Mr. Sachs. In between giving your lectures on "Earth Health" I suggest you petition your communist mayor to clean up your own neighborhood.
As usual Willliam you completely dodge an issue you don't want to hear.
Delete"We in the West hate to acknowledge — and most refuse to believe — that our leaders have been flagrantly wasteful of Muslim lives for a century now....." Obviously he knows you exist.
So I guess it's our fault that almost three thousand Americans were slaughtered down the street from where this charlatan lectures. It's our fault huh ric.
DeleteIt's our fault that journalists have been beheaded and culled out and executed.
It's our fault that mothers strap bombs on their young children and sent them on suicidal missions.
Blame America first huh ric. Your default position.
Seems to me that the terrorists started it. First there was the bombing in the garage of the World Trade Center. Next there was 9/11, the most horrendous attack on U.S. soil since the war of 1812. We responded by instituting the "war on terrorism". Then we attacked Iraq, who had nothing to do with 9/11. This confused foreign policy did indeed result in a massive response from the Muslim terrorists. I think is we had left Hussein and Khadaffi alone they would have controlled the terrorists in their respective countries. But, hindsight is 20/20 as we all know. Juslt some random thoughts.
ReplyDeleteGo back Mick and read the 4th paragraph. were there terrorists before we started meddling?
DeleteTerror in Antiquity: 1st -14th Century AD
DeleteThe earliest known organization that exhibited aspects of a modern terrorist organization was the Zealots of Judea. Known to the Romans as sicarii, or dagger-men , they carried on an underground campaign of assassination of Roman occupation forces, as well as any Jews they felt had collaborated with the Romans. Their motive was an uncompromising belief that they could not remain faithful to the dictates of Judaism while living as Roman subjects. Eventually, the Zealot revolt became open, and they were finally besieged and committed mass suicide at the fortification of Masada.
The Assassins were the next group to show recognizable characteristics of terrorism, as we know it today. A breakaway faction of Shia Islam called the Nizari Ismalis adopted the tactic of assassination of enemy leaders because the cult's limited manpower prevented open combat. Their leader, Hassam-I Sabbah, based the cult in the mountains of Northern Iran. Their tactic of sending a lone assassin to successfully kill a key enemy leader at the certain sacrifice of his own life (the killers waited next to their victims to be killed or captured) inspired fearful awe in their enemies.
Even though both the Zealots and the Assassins operated in antiquity, they are relevant today: First as forerunners of modern terrorists in aspects of motivation, organization, targeting, and goals. Secondly, although both were ultimate failures, the fact that they are remembered hundreds of years later, demonstrates the deep psychological impact they caused.
Early Origins of Terrorism: 14th -18th Century
From the time of the Assassins (late 13th century) to the 1700s, terror and barbarism were widely used in warfare and conflict , but key ingredients for terrorism were lacking. Until the rise of the modern nation state after the Treaty of Westphalia in 1648, the sort of central authority and cohesive society that terrorism attempts to influence barely existed. Communications were inadequate and controlled, and the causes that might inspire terrorism (religious schism, insurrection, ethnic strife) typically led to open warfare. By the time kingdoms and principalities became nations, they had sufficient means to enforce their authority and suppress activities such as terrorism.
The French Revolution provided the first uses of the words "Terrorist" and "Terrorism". Use of the word "terrorism" began in 1795 in reference to the Reign of Terror initiated by the Revolutionary government. The agents of the Committee of Public Safety and the National Convention that enforced the policies of "The Terror" were referred to as 'Terrorists". The French Revolution provided an example to future states in oppressing their populations. It also inspired a reaction by royalists and other opponents of the Revolution who employed terrorist tactics such as assassination and intimidation in resistance to the Revolutionary agents. The Parisian mobs played a critical role at key points before, during, and after the Revolution. Such extra-legal activities as killing prominent officials and aristocrats in gruesome spectacles started long before the guillotine was first used.
Entering the Modern Era: The 19th Century
DeleteDuring the late 19th century, radical political theories and improvements in weapons technology spurred the formation of small groups of revolutionaries who effectively attacked nation-states. Anarchists espousing belief in the "propaganda of the deed" produced some striking successes, assassinating heads of state from Russia, France, Spain, Italy, and the United States. However, their lack of organization and refusal to cooperate with other social movements in political efforts rendered anarchists ineffective as a political movement. In contrast, Communism's role as an ideological basis for political terrorism was just beginning, and would become much more significant in the 20th century.
Another trend in the late 19th century was the increasing tide of nationalism throughout the world, in which the nation (the identity of a people) and the political state were combined. As states began to emphasize national identities, peoples that had been conquered or colonized could, like the Jews at the times of the Zealots, opt for assimilation or struggle. The best-known nationalist conflict from this time is still unresolved - the multi-century struggle of Irish nationalism. Nationalism, like communism, became a much greater ideological force in the 20th century.
The terrorist group from this period that serves as a model in many ways for what was to come was the Russian Narodnya Volya (Peoples Will). They differed in some ways from modern terrorists, especially in that they would sometimes call off attacks that might endanger individuals other than their intended target. Other than this quirk, we see many of the traits of terrorism here for the first time; clandestine, cellular organization; impatience and inability for the task of organizing the constituents they claim to represent; and a tendency to increase the level of violence as pressures on the group mount.
The Early 20th Century
DeleteThe first half of the 20th century saw two events that influenced the nature of conflict to the present day. The effects of two World Wars inflamed passions and hopes of nationalists throughout the world, and severely damaged the legitimacy of the international order and governments.
Nationalism on the Rise
Nationalism intensified during the early 20th century throughout the world. It became an especially powerful force in the subject peoples of various colonial empires. Although dissent and resistance were common in many colonial possessions, and sometimes resulted in open warfare, nationalist identities became a focal point for these actions.
Gradually, as nations became closely tied to concepts of race and ethnicity, international political developments began to support such concepts. Members of ethnic groups whose states had been absorbed by others or had ceased to exist as separate nations saw opportunities to realize nationalist ambitions. Several of these groups chose terror as a method to conduct their struggle and make their situation known to world powers they hoped would be sympathetic. In Europe, both the Irish and the Macedonians had existing terrorist campaigns as part of their ongoing struggle for independence, but had to initiate bloody uprisings to further their cause. The Irish were partially successful, the Macedonians failed.
Damaged Legitimacy
The "total war" practices of all combatants of WWII provided further justification for the "everybody does it" view of the use of terror and violations of the law of war. The desensitization of people and communities to violence that started in World War I accelerated during World War II. The intensity of the conflict between starkly opposed ideologies led to excesses on the part of all participants. New weapons and strategies that targeted the enemies' civilian population to destroy their economic capacity for conflict exposed virtually every civilian to the hazards of combatants. The major powers' support of partisan and resistance organizations using terrorist tactics was viewed as an acceptance of their legitimacy. It seemed that civilians had become legitimate targets, despite any rules forbidding it.
Cold War Developments
DeleteThe bi-polar world of the Cold War changed perception of conflicts the world over. Relatively minor confrontations took on significance as arenas where the superpowers could compete without risking escalation to full nuclear war. Warfare between the East and the West took place on the peripheries, and was limited in scope to prevent escalation. During the immediate postwar period, terrorism was more of a tactical choice by leaders of nationalist insurgencies and revolutions. Successful campaigns for independence from colonial rule occurred throughout the world, and many employed terrorism as a supporting tactic. When terrorism was used, it was used within the framework of larger movements, and coordinated with political, social, and military action. Even when terrorism came to dominate the other aspects of a nationalist struggle, such as the Palestinian campaign against Israel, it was (and is) combined with other activities.
Throughout the Cold War, the Soviet Union provided direct and indirect assistance to revolutionary movements around the world. Many anti-colonial movements found the revolutionary extremism of communism attractive. Leaders of these "wars of national liberation" saw the advantage of free weapons and training. They also realized that the assistance and patronage of the Eastern Bloc meant increased international legitimacy. Many of these organizations and individuals utilized terrorism in support of their political and military objectives. The policy of the Soviet Union to support revolutionary struggles everywhere, and to export revolution to non-communist countries, provided extremists willing to employ violence and terror as the means to realize their ambitions.
The Internationalization of Terror
The age of modern terrorism might be said to have begun in 1968 when the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) hijacked an El Al airliner en route from Tel Aviv to Rome. While hijackings of airliners had occurred before, this was the first time that the nationality of the carrier (Israeli) and its symbolic value was a specific operational aim. Also a first was the deliberate use of the passengers as hostages for demands made publicly against the Israeli government. The combination of these unique events, added to the international scope of the operation, gained significant media attention. The founder of PFLP, Dr. George Habash observed that the level of coverage was tremendously greater than battles with Israeli soldiers in their previous area of operations. "At least the world is talking about us now."
Another aspect of this internationalization is the cooperation between extremist organizations in conducting terrorist operations. Cooperative training between Palestinian groups and European radicals started as early as 1970, and joint operations between the PFLP and the Japanese Red Army (JRA) began in 1974. Since then international terrorist cooperation in training, operations, and support has continued to grow, and continues to this day. Motives range from the ideological, such as the 1980s alliance of the Western European Marxist-oriented groups, to financial, as when the IRA exported its expertise in bomb making as far afield as Colombia
Current State of Terrorism
DeleteThe largest act of international terrorism occurred on September 11, 2001 in a set of co-ordinated attacks on the United States of America, where Islamic terrorists hijacked civilian airliners and used them to attack the World Trade Centre (WTC) towers in New York City and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. The effects of 9/11 had a significant impact on the American psyche and led to global reverberations. Other major terrorist attacks have also occurred in New Delhi (Indian Parliament attacked); Bali car bomb attack; London subway bombings; Madrid train station bombings; attacks in Mumbai (hotels, train station and a Jewish outreach centre), Nigeria, Pakistan, Paris, and more. The operational and strategic epicentre of Islamic terrorism is mostly centred in Pakistan, Afghanistan and parts of Syria. Refer to our blog for more recent terror incidents and analysis.
Terrorism has been with us for a very long time.
Thomas Jefferson’s Response to Muslims in 1801 is More Important Today Than Ever
DeleteBy
Diana
on
January 17, 2015
Thomas Jefferson’s response to Muslims in 1801 is more important today than ever. America’s first war with Islamic terrorists should be remembered.
From Wikipedia:
The First Barbary War (1801–1805) also known as the Tripolitan War or the Barbary Coast War, was the first of two wars fought between the United States and the Northwest African Berber Muslim states known collectively as the Barbary States. These were the Ottoman provinces of Tripoli, Algiers, and Tunis, which were enjoying a large autonomy, as well as the independent Sultanate of Morocco. The war was fought because U.S. President Thomas Jefferson refused to pay the high tributes demanded by the Barbary states and because they were seizing American merchant ships and enslaving the crews for high ransoms. It was the first declared war the United States fought on foreign land and seas.
From Downtrend:
In 1786, Jefferson and John Adams met with Tripoli’s ambassador to Great Britain. They asked this ‘diplomat’ by what right his nation attacked American ships and enslaved her citizens and why the Muslims held such hostility toward this new nation, with which neither Tripoli nor any of the other Barbary Coast nations had any previous contact. The answer was quite revealing. Sidi Haji Abdul Rahman Adja (the ambassador) replied that Islam:
“Was founded on the Laws of their Prophet, that it was written in their Qur’an, that all nations who should not have acknowledged their authority were sinners, that it was their right and duty to make war upon them wherever they could be found, and to make slaves of all they could take as Prisoners, and that every Musselman (Muslim) who should be slain in battle was sure to go to Paradise.”
That is indeed quite revealing. Yet, America continued paying ransoms to these terrorists for the next fifteen years or so. Until Jefferson became President. Then, the Pasha (leader) of Tripoli sent a demand to the new leader for an immediate payment of $225,000 and $25,000 per year on an ongoing basis. Jefferson flatly refused, leading the Pasha to cut down the flagpole of the American consulate and declaring war on the United States. The rest of the terrorist states followed suit.
Jefferson had formerly been against raising a navy, but this soon changed as he was determined to meet force with force. A squadron of vessels was sent to the area and Congress authorized Jefferson to have the US ships seize all vessels and goods that belonged to the Pasha and anything else deemed necessary. As they saw the US was actually committed to the fight, Algiers and Tunis quickly abandoned the war and allegiance to Tripoli. Obviously, the US won the war. In fact, this was the reason why the line “to the shores of Tripoli” was added to the Marine Corps hymn.
100 Years of Western Meddling in the Middle East (Or, Is the Friend of the Enemy of my Enemy's Friends an Enemy - Always?)
DeleteIn the timeline below, I'm not even including Afghanistan, long a proxy war between the US and Russia ... nor am I including the usual focus on Israel and Palestine. This is just an overview - a brief timeline - of the chaos that has been caused in a large part by the US, Britain, and France in the nations of Iran, Iraq, and Syria over the last 100 years. Follow along....if you can.....
1911: WWI: Russia and Britain occupy Iran. Britain stays10 years.
1916: Britain and France develop the Sykes-Picot Agreement, a secret Plan to divide the entire middle east outside of the Arabian peninsula.
1920: Britain receives Palestine, Jordan, and what is now Iraq, and installs Sunni elites into power. France occupies what is today Syria and Lebanon. France transfers some Lebanese territory to Syria, and continues occupation of both until 1946.
1921: Britain withdraws from Iran, and Reza Khan becomes Shah of Iran.
1941: WWII begins. Iraqis overthrow puppet British government in Iraq. Britain and Russia occupy Iran and Iraq to guarantee oil supplies for the Allied effort. Shah Reza Khan is deposed by the superpowers; his son Reza Pahlavi is installed as new Shah of Iran in return for western access to oil. Britain stays in Iraq until 1948.
1943: Lebanon gains independence from France; Britain occupies both Lebanon and Syria to avoid alliances with Germany.
1948: State of Israel established. Syria, Egypt, Lebanon and Syria declare war on Israel. Syria undergoes years of internal revolts following their defeat, many based on ethnic and religious rivalries.
1951: Iranians elect Mosaddegh as Prime Minister.
1953: Mosaddegh nationalizes oil fields, and is subsequently overthrown in US-UK led coup d’etat. The Shah assumes complete control and crushes opposition with torture and secret police with US-UK support.
1958: Iraqis revolt against British-installed Monarchy and Saddam Hussein's Ba'athist party assumes control.
1966: Ba’athist Party also takes control in Syria, but the group is divided between pro and anti Iraq factions.
Delete1970: The Anti-Iraq wing of the Ba’athist Party, supported by the military, overthrows the Syrian government and installs anti-Iraq Ba’athist Hafez el-Assad as leader.
1975: Civil War breaks out in Lebanon.
1976: Syria begins a 30 year occupation and effective control of Lebanon.
1978: Iranians revolt against the Shah; The Iranian Revolution installs Ayatollah Khomeini in a theocratic state.
1979: US refuses to return the Shah to Iran to face trial; students take Americans Embassy hostage for 444 days.
1980: Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein invades Iran, receiving financial, military, and chemical weapons from the US.
1988: Hussein’s Iraq launches chemical genocide against Kurdish minority in northern Iraq.
1990: Iraq annexes Kuwait. US, France, UK, and Syria enter the Gulf War against Hussein; Kurds rebel in the north.
1998: US President Clinton signs Iraq Liberation Act, calling for “regime change” in Iraq.
2000: Syria’s Hafez el-Assad dies; his son Bashar al-Azzad takes control.
2001: Al Qaeda attacks the United States. US State Department meets with Iran secretly in Switzerland to obtain cooperation on the overthrow of the Taliban in Afghanistan and al qaeda throughout the region.
2002: President Bush refers to Iran as being part of the “Axis of Evil” and US-Iran relations deteriorate quickly.
2003: US-led coalition enters Iraq and overthrows Hussein. Shi’ite led coalition government installed, with a semi-autonomous Kurdish region in the north.
2005: A series of assassinations of Lebanese officials is blamed on Syria’s Assad; protests and pressure from the west result in Syria’s withdrawal from Lebanon.
2008: Lebanon’s new Cabinet establishes Hezbollah, a Shi’ite paramilitary organization, with legal status. Hezbollah is committed to driving the Americans, French, and British out of the Levant, is funded by Iran, and allied with Syria’s Assad in the Syrian Civil War.
2011: US Troops leave Iraq, and Sunni-Shi’ite struggles accelerate. The “Arab Spring” spreads to Syria and full-scale civil war ensues, resulting in over 100,000 deaths and 2 million refugees. Anti-Assad forces include Kurds and ISIS (“Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant”) allies in the northeast of Syria.
2014: The Sunni-dominated ISIS military assume effective control over eastern Syria, and begin successful invasion of Western Iraq.
News outlets and US Government Hawks reduce the march of ISIS to that of "al qaeda linked militants" - a simpleton's version.
Yep. President McKinley was assassinated by an Anarchist, the equivalent of our modern terrorists.
ReplyDeleteA little story: Several years ago, almost twenty thereabouts, I spent a considerable amount of time working in Mexico with Telmex. I worked closely with an engineer from their company and we travelled to several cities over a period of a couple of years. We got to know each other quite well and talked about customs, politics, worldview, etc. He once told me that the Mexican people considered Americans as stupid. Not in the academic sense, although that is a reoccurring thought that I have, rather in our understanding of the world around us, what people think of America and why. He said that Americans had no idea of the long held resentments held by Mexicans that much of the Southwest US was once part and parcel of Mexico. He said that Americans would not realize until it had happened that those lands would once again be filled with Mexicans and Mexican culture. While the borders might not change, Mexico would reclaim its lands.
ReplyDeleteThe struggle over western interference is only one facet and a good diversion to the much broader issue of reclaiming territories lost from the days of the Ottoman Empire and the desire for Islam to rule the world. This is no exaggeration.. Islam is a religion and law in one and the objective is for the world to be ruled by Islamic law. In the wests quest to create a multicultural world, we fail to remember that some cultures and their habits are like oil and water… it is difficult to reconcile ‘cruel and unusual punishment’ with the loss of a hand for petty theft… or imagining a world where women are both ignorant and equal at the same time or have freedom of choice yet have their sexuality ripped from them as a girl.
I do not deny blowback as a consequence of poor foreign policy and think it is time to reconsider the importance of the alliances and expeditions we engage ourselves with. We have yet to enter a war since WWII that was urgent enough for us to feel the need to win it… That alone speaks volumes. You may indeed be correct that oil is at the end of its run… but even if the west were to withdraw from Arabia completely, lands in Palestine (named by the Romans… previously Judea), Eastern Europe, China and Africa will be directly challenged by a forceful expansion of Islam and the more we attempt to incorporate it in the US and other western societies, the more friction there will be. Because in attempting to meld Islamic law with our republic you will see a reaction that looks very much like what happens when you put sodium in water.
A thought occurred to me while writing this. There has been much to say about Chris Kyle and his attitude towards the job he was given. We have chosen to have and fund and all volunteer standing army. We have deployed them impetuously and complain when it goes wrong. We would hope that the individuals hired to do the various military jobs are professional and deadly serious… it is astonishing that we create soldiers like Chris and then demonize them for being the experts we expect them to be… a slightly different kind of blowback wouldn’t you say?