The Coming War on 'Radical Islam' --- will kill thousands of innocent people and create more terrorists. how more fucking stupid can the US government get?
On Friday, December 2, 2016 at 8:01:33 AM UTC-6, Travis wrote: > > > > > > > > > > Islam (not “radical Islam) has been at war with the West and the > non-Muslim world for 1400 years…about time the US acted like it. > > > > B > > > > > http://www.defenseone.com/ideas/2016/11/coming-war-radical-islam/133479/?oref=defenseone_today_nl > > > The Coming War on ‘Radical Islam’ > > [image: Description: Retired Gen. Michael Flynn, left, introduces > then-Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally, > Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016, in Bedford, N.H.] > > - By Uri Friedman > - November 30, 2016 > > Retired Gen. Michael Flynn, left, introduces then-Republican presidential > candidate Donald Trump at a campaign rally, Thursday, Sept. 29, 2016, in > Bedford, N.H. > > How President-elect Trump’s government could change America’s approach to > terrorism. > > *In the fall of 1990—around the *time U.S. troops arrived > <http://www.npr.org/2011/02/24/133991181/twenty-years-later-first-iraq-war-still-resonates> > in > Saudi Arabia, enraging Osama bin Laden—the historian Bernard Lewis sounded > an alarm in *The Atlantic* > <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/1990/09/the-roots-of-muslim-rage/304643/> > about > brewing anti-Americanism in the Muslim world. “[W]e are facing a mood and a > movement far transcending the level of issues and policies and the > governments that pursue them,” he wrote. “This is no less than a clash of > civilizations—the perhaps irrational but surely historic reaction of an > ancient rival against our Judeo-Christian heritage, our secular present, > and the worldwide expansion of both. It is crucially important that we on > our side should not be provoked into an equally historic but also equally > irrational reaction against that rival.” > > America’s two post-9/11 presidents, George W. Bush and Barack Obama, > attempted a balancing act: combatting jihadist terrorism while seeking to > avoid the impression that the Western and Muslim worlds were engaged in the > kind of clash Lewis described. > > Donald Trump may soon steer the government in a different direction. > Several of the president-elect’s national-security appointees have argued > that the United States is at war with “radical Islamic terrorism,” or > “radical Islam,” or something broader still, such as “Islamism.” They have > described this war as a primarily ideological struggle to preserve Western > civilization, like the wars against Nazism and communism. The war is not > confined to extremist Sunni Muslims or extremist Shia Muslims; the Islamic > State and the Islamic Republic of Iran are seen as two sides of the same > coin. Notably, these appointees have put forth this sweeping > vision before taking charge of the nation’s security—before a terrorist > attack has occurred on their watch. > > Bush certainly described his War on Terror in ways that evoked a > civilizational clash, pitting freedom-lovers against the totalitarian > successors of the Nazis and communists. But he emphasized > <http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/09/20/gen.bush.transcript/> that Islam > was not one of the clashing sides—that the terrorists had perverted the > “peaceful teachings of Islam.” “Some call this evil Islamic radicalism,” he > said > <http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/politics/administration/bushtext_100605.html> > in > 2005. “Others militant jihadism. Still others Islamo-fascism. Whatever it’s > called, this ideology is very different from the religion of Islam.” > > Barack Obama has downgraded Bush’s War to a fight, and the enemy from > Terror to specific terrorist groups. He rejects the notion of a clash of > civilizations, both because he thinks it overestimates the threat > <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/07/america-terrorism-national-security/489872/> > of > terrorism to the United States and because he doesn’t want to affirm the > jihadists’ narrative of a struggle between Islam and infidels in the West. > When a U.S. president uses “loose language that appears to pose a > civilizational conflict between the West and Islam, or the modern world and > Islam, then we make it harder, not easier, for our friends and allies and > ordinary people to resist and push back against the worst impulses inside > the Muslim world,” Obama told > <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/03/obama-doctrine-goldberg-communism-islamism-isis/475833/> > *The Atlantic*’s Jeffrey Goldberg. > > Obama’s approach > <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/06/obama-radical-islam/487079/> > has produced > <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/04/the-obama-doctrine/471525/> > a > backlash that may shape policy in a Trump administration. For years now, > Republicans have condemned > <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/11/isis-paris-attacks-rubio-republicans/416085/> > Obama’s > avoidance of the term “radical Islam,” arguing that it represents the > president’s failure to properly assess and address the threat. Radical > Islam, Obama’s critics contend, is what it sounds like: radicalism rooted > in the religion of Islam. Where Obama sees “violent extremism > <http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/02/19/remarks-president-summit-countering-violent-extremism-february-19-2015>,” > > his critics see militant religiosity. Where Obama sees a clash *within* > Islamic > civilization—between a tiny faction of fanatics and the vast majority of > Muslims—his critics see a clash between Western civilization and a small > yet significant segment of the Muslim world. Where Obama sees a weak enemy > that is getting weaker, his critics see a strong enemy that is getting > stronger. Where Obama sees limits to what the U.S. can do on its own to > eradicate radical interpretations of Islam, his critics see an appalling > lack of effort by the U.S. government. Where Obama sees a serious but > manageable national-security threat, his critics see an ideological and > civilizational challenge to the free world. > > Trump has gone further than many other Republican leaders in advancing the > counterargument to Obama—not just in his proposed policies, like banning or > severely restricting Muslim immigration to the United States, but also in his > rhetoric <https://assets.donaldjtrump.com/Radical_Islam_Speech.pdf>. “I > think Islam hates us,” Trump said > <http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/09/politics/donald-trump-islam-hates-us/> earlier > this year. Asked if he was referring to “radical Islam,” he responded, > “It’s radical, but it’s very hard to define. It’s very hard to separate. > Because you don’t know who’s who.” > > Several members of Trump’s emerging team have described the threat in > similarly stark and broad ways. “We’re in a world war against a messianic > mass movement of evil people, most of them inspired by a totalitarian > ideology: Radical Islam. But we are not permitted to speak or write those > two words, which is potentially fatal to our culture,” writes Michael > Flynn, Trump’s pick for national-security adviser, in a book > <https://books.google.com/books?id=EQgmCwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false> > he > published this summer with the conservative writer Michael Ledeen. > > “I don’t believe all cultures are morally equivalent, and I think the > West, and especially America, is far more civilized, far more ethical and > moral, than the system our main enemies want to impose on us,” Flynn adds. > > “Not all the world’s 1.6 billion Muslims are extremists or terrorists. Not > by a long shot,” wrote > <http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2016/03/22/yes-america-its-war-heres-how-can-stop-losing-and-start-winning.html?intcmp=hpbt1> > Flynn’s > incoming deputy, K.T. McFarland, in March. “But even if just 10 percent > of 1 percent are radicalized, that’s a staggering 1.6 million people bent > on destroying Western civilization and the values we hold dear. The > fascists wanted to control the world. So did the communists. But the > Islamists want to brutally kill a significant percentage of the world—and > that is anyone standing in the way of their end-times caliphate.” Jeff > Sessions, Trump’s choice for attorney general, has invoked > <http://www.sessions.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/news-releases?ID=8384F9F2-ACBC-40B9-8403-A2E2F9B36843> > America’s > “containment” strategy during the Cold War, noting that there “can be no > compromise with this form of radical Islam.” > > As the head of *Breitbart* *News*, Steve Bannon hosted a radio show featuring > numerous guests > <http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2016/09/stephen-bannon-donald-trump-muslims-fear-loathing> > who > claimed that radical Muslim ideologues were clandestinely infiltrating the > U.S. government and trying to extend their belief system across the > country. (Flynn has similarly warned > <http://www.cnn.com/2016/11/23/politics/kfile-michael-flynn-sharia/>, > falsely, that Islamic Sharia law is encroaching on the U.S. legal > system.) In a 2014 speech to the Human Dignity Institute in the Vatican, > Bannon, who will be Trump’s chief strategist in the White House, > characterized > <https://www.buzzfeed.com/lesterfeder/this-is-how-steve-bannon-sees-the-entire-world?utm_term=.vl2K2knkO4#.fx21DQoQpB> > the > current war against “jihadist Islamic fascism” as the latest stage of an > existential, centuries-old struggle between the Judeo-Christian West and > the Islamic world: > > If you look back at the long history of the Judeo-Christian West struggle > against Islam, I believe that our forefathers kept their stance, and I > think they did the right thing. I think they kept it out of the world, > whether it was at Vienna [presumably during the Battle of Vienna > <http://catholicism.org/the-battle-of-vienna-and-the-holy-name-of-mary.html> > in > 1683], or Tours [presumably during the Battle of Tours > <http://www.nationalreview.com/article/361045/battle-tours-raymond-ibrahim> > in > 732], or other places. … We’re in a war of immense proportions. It’s very > easy to play to our baser instincts, and we can’t do that. But our > forefathers didn’t do it either. And they were able to stave this off, and > they were able to defeat it, and they were able to bequeath to us a church > and a civilization that really is the flower of mankind… > > Mike Pompeo, the Kansas congressman who Trump has tapped as his CIA > director, has described the clash in more nuanced terms, stressing > <http://www.kansas.com/news/politics-government/article45703455.html> that > Islam should not be equated with extremism. But he nevertheless claims that > Obama has grossly underestimated the danger of jihadism. “This > administration will go down in history as having, for the first time, put > America in a place, from a national-security perspective, that it has not > found itself [in] in anyone’s lifetime in this room,” he said in a 2015 > speech <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B1KLyEz7k4&feature=youtu.be> to > an audience in Wichita that included many people who clearly were alive > during the nuclear brinksmanship of the Cold War. “The line is drawn not > between faith but between extremists, and those who accept modernity and > those who are barbarians. We should understand that line, and we should > never be fearful to walk right up to the line, find those on the other > side, and crush them.” > > Obama’s policies are misguided because he misunderstands the essence of > the jihadist threat, Trump’s advisers argue. This is why Flynn, for > example, has placed such importance on the words “radical Islam.” They are > meant to indicate that many leaders of groups like ISIS and al-Qaeda are > genuine ideologues, adherents to the fundamentalist Salafi strain of Islam. > If these leaders are thought of merely as violent nihilists to be bombed, > those who are taken out will inevitably be replaced by other true > believers, and the war will never end. > > Flynn arrived at these conclusions after interrogating terrorist suspects > in Iraq and Afghanistan as an intelligence officer in Joint Special > Operations Command. As he told > <http://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2016/10/how-mike-flynn-became-americas-angriest-general-214362> > James > Kitfield in October: > > Over the course of all those interrogations, I concluded that “core Al > Qaeda” wasn’t actually comprised of human beings, but rather it was an > ideology with a particular version of Islam at its center. More than a > religion, this ideology encompasses a political belief system, because its > adherents want to rule things—whether it’s a village, a city, a region or > an entire “caliphate.” And to achieve that goal, they are willing to use > extreme violence. The religious nature of that threat makes it very hard > for Americans to come to grips with. > > Framing the fight as an ideological struggle, however, tends to blur the > distinction between radical Islam, the political movement known as > <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2016/06/the-meaningless-politics-of-liberal-democracies/486089/> > Islamism, > and the religion of Islam. Consider this bewildering exchange > <http://www.aljazeera.com/programmes/headtohead/2016/01/transcript-michael-flynn-160104174144334.html> > between > Flynn and the journalist Mehdi Hasan in January: > > Flynn: We are at war with a radical component of Islam. … Islam is a > political ideology based on a religion. > > Hasan: Islam is? > > Flynn: That’s what I believe and that’s how I like to— > > Hasan: Sorry, do you mean Islamism? Or Islam? Sorry, I’m confused here. > > Flynn: Islamism. Islamism, probably better— > > Hasan: OK, you’re not saying the religion of Islam is a > political ideology? > > Flynn: A political ideology based on a religion. > > The ideological frame also invites a response that goes well beyond > military tactics like drone warfare and air strikes, which Flynn argues > Obama has relied on too heavily. Flynn has called for > <https://books.google.com/books?id=EQgmCwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false> > Cold > War-like information campaigns that promote Western values and expose “the > failures” of radical Islam. Pompeo, an evangelical Christian, has argued > that more Muslim leaders need to speak out against terrorism in the name of > Islam, noting that Protestant leaders have condemned the hateful actions of > the Westboro Baptist Church in his state. “There is a battle of > interpretation within Islam,” he’s said > <http://thinkprogress.org/gop-congressman-american-muslim-leaders-are-potentially-complicit-in-terrorist-acts-3c8fb1ad74b#.okjsb4et7>. > > “It’s not enough to deny responsibility, saying one’s own interpretation > doesn’t support terrorism. Moderate imams must strive to ensure that no > Muslim finds solace for terrorism in the Koran.” > > Flynn has also urged the U.S. government to help Middle Eastern countries > overhaul their economies and develop energy sources other than oil, in an > effort to undermine the socioeconomic grievances that in his view make > jihadist groups appealing to young people. When the journalist Fareed > Zakaria pointed out > <http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1611/20/fzgps.01.html> that this > would require a huge U.S. investment of time and resources that might be > disproportionate to the actual threat, Flynn disagreed. “There was a cost, > post-World War II, called the Marshall Plan for Europe,” he said. “And > Europe is doing pretty darn good.” > > Treating radical Islam as a monolithic ideology tends to swell the ranks > of enemy fighters as well. During an appearance > <http://www.newsmax.com/Newsmax-Tv/mike-pompeo-obama-weakness-terrorists/2015/12/21/id/706706/> > on *The Steve Malzberg Show*, for instance, Pompeo offered an expansive > definition of the threat facing the United States in Syria: “We got to do > it all. [Syrian President Bashar] Assad is a tool of Iran and so to the > extent we’re not prepared to push back on Iran in the form of Assad we’re > making mistakes. We ought to do that, but it’s not just ISIS either: > al-Nusra Front, al-Qaeda. These are all the same two sides of the terror > coin and we got to go crush them all.” > > Many of Trump’s appointees have staked out hardline positions against > Iran, which the U.S. government has labeled > <http://www.cnn.com/2016/06/02/politics/state-department-report-terrorism/> > the > world’s top state supporter of terrorism, and heavily criticized the > agreement brokered by the Obama administration to restrict the Iranian > nuclear program. Pompeo has suggested > <http://www.westminster-institute.org/announcements/events/pompeo/> that > Iran’s brand of Shia radicalism is currently a greater challenge to the > United States than ISIS’s brand of Sunni radicalism. “At the root of most > of the things you see today [in the Middle East] is Iran,” he has said > <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B1KLyEz7k4&feature=youtu.be>. > > When radical Islam is interpreted as a fundamentally anti-American > ideology, the ranks of the enemy can also grow to include other > anti-American entities. “We’re in a global war, facing an enemy alliance > that runs from Pyongyang, North Korea, to Havana, Cuba, and Caracas, > Venezuela,” Flynn wrote > <http://nypost.com/2016/07/09/the-military-fired-me-for-calling-our-enemies-radical-jihadis/> > this > summer, in an echo of George W. Bush’s “axis of evil > <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2009/06/iran-iraq-north-korea-what-now/307563/>” > > formulation. “Along the way, the alliance picks up radical Muslim countries > and organizations such as Iran, al Qaeda, the Taliban and Islamic State. … > If our leaders were interested in winning, they would have to design a > strategy to destroy this global enemy. But they don’t see the global war. > Instead, they timidly nibble around the edges of the battlefields from > Africa to the Middle East, and act as if each fight, whether in Syria, > Iraq, Nigeria, Libya or Afghanistan, can be peacefully resolved by > diplomatic effort.” (When *Bloomberg*’s Eli Lake asked > <https://www.bloomberg.com/view/articles/2016-07-11/michael-flynn-s-all-out-war-on-terror> > how > ISIS, North Korea, Cuba, and Venezuela could all possibly be in alliance, > Flynn responded, “It was a simpler way to explain the relationships.”) > > Traditional U.S. alliances are liable to be reshuffled as well. Trump > wants to partner with Russia to fight ISIS, and both Flynn and Pompeo > have praised Egypt’s authoritarian leader, Abdel Fattah el-Sisi, for > urging <http://www.cnn.com/2015/01/06/africa/egypt-president-speech/> a > “religious revolution” to purge Islam of its radical elements. “I’ve met > President Sisi,” Pompeo said > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B1KLyEz7k4&feature=youtu.be> during his > 2015 speech. “I’ll say it this way: You don’t find many Thomas Jeffersons > over there. Once you accept that … the line needs to be drawn [between] > those who are on the side of extremism and those who are fighting against > it, of whatever faith we may find them.” Flynn and Pompeo want the U.S. > government to amplify Muslim voices like Sisi’s, but their rhetoric on > radical Islam also has the potential to alienate Muslim allies. > > The ideological war could spur the Trump administration to increase the > government’s surveillance powers. “My judgment is that we need to go well > past what is violent extremism,” Pompeo said in Wichita. “If you are > communicating with, talking to, facilitating, providing resources and money > for, educating, training, helping, assisting, and you are part of [a > jihadist] network, you are someone who America has every right and indeed > an obligation to pull from the streets. We have deep constitutional > commitments to what we allow people to do. You all want to be able to talk > about your faith. I talk about mine all the time. I want everyone to be > able to do that. But when you begin to engage with networks around the > world that are part of jihadist organizations, you are no longer talking > about your faith but putting people in my neighborhood at risk.” > > It could also lead to more intensive vetting of immigrants from Muslim > countries. “Questions can be asked: Do you believe in religious freedom, do > you believe in Sharia law or the Constitution, and do you respect > minorities such as women and gays?” Sessions told > <http://www.americanthinker.com/articles/2016/06/sen_jeff_sessions_trump_is_right_on_muslim_immigration_ban.html> > *The American Thinker* in June. “We are not required to admit people if > their philosophies or principles are contrary to the Constitution. We have > to understand that most Muslims do not adhere to this extreme ideology, but > there is nothing wrong to refuse admittance to those who distance > themselves from our values.” > > Relative to the neoconservatives in George W. Bush’s administration, Trump > and his advisers are less inclined to grand visions of nation-building and > democracy-promotion overseas. But they endorse Bush-like shows of military > force. Jihadist groups “must be denied safe havens, and countries that > shelter them have to be issued a brutal choice: either eliminate the > Radical Islamists or you risk direct attack yourselves,” Flynn writes > <https://books.google.com/books?id=EQgmCwAAQBAJ&printsec=frontcover#v=onepage&q&f=false> > . > > “[T]he religious and political transformation of Europe that we call the > Reformation entailed hundreds of years of very bloody fighting,” he adds. > “The world badly needs an Islamic Reformation, and we should not be > surprised if violence is involved.” > > “The line is very clear,” Pompeo noted > <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B1KLyEz7k4&feature=youtu.be> in > Wichita, channeling Bush > <http://edition.cnn.com/2001/US/11/06/gen.attack.on.terror/>. “Are you > with us or against us? If you’re with us: God bless you, Godspeed, let’s go > get ’em. And if you’re against us: Godspeed, I have a missile that is > looking for you.” > > As Flynn, Pompeo, and the others tell it, Obama’s refusal to acknowledge > radical Islam has kept him from implementing the policies they’re > suggesting. But the great irony is that Obama *has* implemented many of > those policies. Obama has launched > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/obama-administration-plans-shake-up-in-propaganda-war-against-the-islamic-state/2016/01/08/d482255c-b585-11e5-a842-0feb51d1d124_story.html> > information > campaigns to discredit ISIS and enlisted > <http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/15/world/middleeast/defense-chief-heads-to-middle-east-as-us-evaluates-isis-strategy.html?mtrref=www.google.com&gwh=7D794A920E54C75BA7FE48176FF95E3F&gwt=pay> > Middle > Eastern countries in the battle against jihadism. He has encouraged > <http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/04/the-obama-doctrine/471525/> > Muslims > to condemn the extremists in their midst and subjected > <http://time.com/4116619/syrian-refugees-screening-process/> Syrian > refugees to what Trump might call “extreme vetting.” He has relied on > <https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/fbi-wants-access-to-internet-browser-history-without-a-warrant-in-terrorism-and-spy-cases/2016/06/06/2d257328-2c0d-11e6-9de3-6e6e7a14000c_story.html> > government > surveillance to fight terrorism, neutralized > <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2015/05/npt-nuclear-deal-iran/393992/> > the > most alarming aspect of the threat posed by Iran, and built > <http://www.theatlantic.com/international/archive/2014/09/obamas-most-important-achievement-in-the-middle-east/379886/> > a > reputation as a formidable terrorist hunter by using military force against > jihadist leaders and operatives in a number of countries. > > But even if U.S. counterterrorism policies don’t dramatically change > during Trump’s presidency, the rhetoric probably will. U.S. officials > will likely describe the fight against terrorism as an epic struggle, and > trace the ideological roots of that terrorism to Islam and a > political-religious movement within the faith that endangers Western > civilization. Bush and Obama stayed away from that rhetoric in part because > of their assessments of the jihadist threat. But they also did so because > they worried that bolstering the clash-of-civilizations narrative would > undermine their efforts to eliminate that threat. The signs so far suggest > that Trump, and many of his advisers, do not share that concern > > > > > ------------------------------ > [image: Avast logo] <https://www.avast.com/antivirus> > > This email has been checked for viruses by Avast antivirus software. > www.avast.com <https://www.avast.com/antivirus> > > > > __._,_.___ > ------------------------------ > Posted by: "Beowulf" <beo...@westerndefense.net <javascript:>> > ------------------------------ > > > Visit Your Group > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/info;_ylc=X3oDMTJmcjdmYjNtBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2Z2hwBHN0aW1lAzE0ODA2NDIyMjY-> > > > - New Members > > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/grendelreport/members/all;_ylc=X3oDMTJnN3ZvOWcxBF9TAzk3MzU5NzE0BGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDdnRsBHNsawN2bWJycwRzdGltZQMxNDgwNjQyMjI2> > > 1 > > [image: Yahoo! Groups] > <https://groups.yahoo.com/neo;_ylc=X3oDMTJlb2kzMXNjBF9TAzk3NDc2NTkwBGdycElkAzIwMTk0ODA2BGdycHNwSWQDMTcwNTMyMzY2NwRzZWMDZnRyBHNsawNnZnAEc3RpbWUDMTQ4MDY0MjIyNg--> > > • Privacy <https://info.yahoo.com/privacy/us/yahoo/groups/details.html> • > Unsubscribe <javascript:> • Terms of Use > <https://info.yahoo.com/legal/us/yahoo/utos/terms/> > > __,_._,___ > > > -- -- Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "PoliticalForum" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to politicalforum+unsubscr...@googlegroups.com. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
