Much as I like Ralph Peters, he does not understand Islam or UBL and is thinking that they think like we do...oldest mistake in the intel business, "mirroring"...thinking that your enemy thinks like you do and would respond to same stimulus that you would.
Voting and elections and democracy are blasphemous in Islam...being man-made constructs and pursued in lieu of God's government as defined in the Koran. Bruce OSAMA'S NIGHTMARE By RALPH PETERS NEW YORK POST December 29, 2004 -- MONDAY'S message from Osama bin Laden told us what he fears: a vote. Condemning any Iraqi who goes to the polls as an infidel, the terror master hopes to derail the elections. He knows that every ballot cast is a defeat. Anyone who dismisses the importance of the upcoming Iraqi elections need only listen to Monsieur bin Laden's urgent plea for a boycott. Osama praised the atrocities of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, a hands-on executioner, and welcomed his collaboration in efforts to block the balloting. Islamic terrorists distrust the common people. They dread the strength of those who might think for themselves. Convinced that men and women must be governed fiercely from above, the terrorists are the gory religious incarnation of thousands of years of tyranny. Their god is a savage dictator in the clouds. Osama and Zarqawi share an understanding of their weakness. Given a choice, few men and women prefer to be oppressed. Elections are the best weapon humanity has developed against the age-old hierarchies that concentrate power and wealth in the hands of a few, letting grim old men exterminate simple joys. The Islamic-extremist vision of a world governed by the harshest interpretation of their faith could not survive where people pick their own leaders. The terrorists know it. And they fear it. Like other self-appointed elites, they pretend to speak for the average man while despising him as unworthy of having a voice in his own affairs. (A reality-TV show about Islamic terrorism might be called "Intellectuals Gone Wild.") Osama possesses no religious authority to condemn Iraqis for voting. Pretending to revere Islamic tradition, he and his fellow terrorists make up the rules as they go. The slaughter of the innocents, videotaped executions, kidnappings and the assassinations of political candidates have no basis in the Koran. Terrorist Islam is a primitive blood-cult. That cult could not survive in a Middle East where elections became the norm. The upcoming vote in Iraq will be messy, at best. Sunni Arabs may stay home, intimidated by terror and poisoned by demagoguery. But that would no more invalidate the election results than a boycott by college professors would negate the legitimacy of a U.S. election. In a democracy, those who lack the courage or will to vote must bow to the ballots of those who take a stand. The choices Iraqis will make next month may appear as much a rebuke to America as to the terrorists. That, too, is democracy. Instead of worrying about the short-term, we should focus on the long term: Democracy is addictive. As we just saw in Ukraine, democracy allows voters to learn from past mistakes. Any vote is an ultimate win for America. Despite the cries of the experts-for-rent for whom imperfect results always mean failure, we should take heart from Osama's latest message: If any confirmation were needed of the importance of holding elections in Iraq, we just got it. If the terrorists thought they had a chance at the polls, they'd be campaigning instead of killing. Washington simply needs to stay on course. Last-minute jitters must not persuade us to seek an election delay. We should encourage the government of Prime Minister Iyad Allawi to keep the vote on schedule. The only valid reason for a postponement would be if the Iraqis themselves determined a delay was crucial. The terrorists would see even a brief postponement of the voting as a victory for their desperate campaign of assassinations and bombings. Delayed elections would strengthen the terrorists and insurgents, not weaken them, while even voting that seemed a bloody mess to outsiders would be a milestone for the entire Middle East. The elections will be the most important test yet for the people of Iraq - Arabs, Kurds, Turcomans and others. We can't predict the outcome of the elections because the Iraqis themselves don't know what's going to happen. Will they turn out in masses, defying the prophets of doom as the Afghans did? Will they choose religious leaders over secular technocrats? Will elections be used to settle old scores or to make a new start? How many Sunni Arabs will defy the terrorists and vote? How many Iraqis will die as they stand in line at the polling stations? Will other Arab governments - terrified of democracy themselves - condemn the results no matter how much courage Iraqis demonstrate? Will a successful election intensify the cruelty of the terrorists? The only thing of which we may be certain is that our deadliest enemies are doing all they can to stop Iraq's elections. It's the one goal on which the various terrorist factions and insurgent groups agree. If we needed any further proof that our struggle against terror is about human freedom and the dignity of the common man and woman, our enemies are laying it in front of us. Ralph Peters is the author of "Beyond Baghdad: Postmodern War and Peace." -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
