Archives for October 2004

This one time at band camp.

I am not sure how many people have read his Fatwa in which he outlines his reasons for declaring war.



There are many “interesting” points and it is worth reading just to gain a better understanding. I thought that this was particularly interesting:

“We say to the Defence Secretary that his talk can induce a grieving mother to laughter! and shows the fears that had enshrined you all. Where was this false courage of yours when the explosion in Beirut took place on 1983 AD (1403 A.H). You were turned into scattered pits and pieces at that time; 241 mainly marines solders were killed. And where was this courage of yours when two explosions made you to leave Aden in lees than twenty four hours!

But your most disgraceful case was in Somalia; where- after vigorous propaganda about the power of the USA and its post cold war leadership of the new world order- you moved tens of thousands of international force, including twenty eight thousands American solders into Somalia. However, when tens of your solders were killed in minor battles and one American Pilot was dragged in the streets of Mogadishu you left the area carrying disappointment, humiliation, defeat and your dead with you. Clinton appeared in front of the whole world threatening and promising revenge , but these threats were merely a preparation for withdrawal. You have been disgraced by Allah and you withdrew; the extent of your impotence and weaknesses became very clear. It was a pleasure for the “heart” of every Muslim and a remedy to the “chests” of believing nations to see you defeated in the three Islamic cities of Beirut , Aden and Mogadishu. ”



The lack of a strong response gave him the “misunderstanding” that the US was weak and that it did not have the “balls” to respond. That created a real problem. This is not meant to be a rant in which is “Rah-Rah USA” but to assist in presenting that this is not a new phenomena or issue. I really am not a fan of Bush, but it is patently false to say that all of the current problems are based upon his actions in office.



and you might look at the places he mentions by name here:



“I say to Secretary of Defence: The sons of the land of the two Holy Places had come out to fight against the Russian in Afghanistan, the Serb in Bosnia-Herzegovina and today they are fighting in Chechenia and -by the Permission of Allah- they have been made victorious over your partner, the Russians. By the command of Allah, they are also fighting in Tajakistan.”

Many people are starting to buy into Osama Bin Laden’s propaganda about his motives and reasons for declaring war on the West. Even some of those who are more informed are beginning to think that maybe it is as simple as pulling troops out of Iraq, Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia.

But you need to stop and consider a few things. It is relatively recent that Bin Laden began to include the Palestinians in his rhetoric. For years they were treated by him the way most of the Arab world always has, they were ignored and then fed lip service.

And now he includes them because it is one device that he can use as a wedge to cause trouble. Did you notice that he has not stated any sort of acknowledgement of Israel’s right to exist. Did you notice that Arafat does not claim any relationship or desire to be aligned with him.

Amidst all this talk there are some other considerations. Do you remember what kind of rule the Taliban instituted in Afghanistan. It was not an open progressive society. It was in many ways among the more backward and repressive societies. It is kind of a contradiction given the historical contribution of Islamic scholars to math and science.

Bin Laden’s message is as benign as Hitler to Chamberlain and Europe. He looks to buy time for himself and his minions so that he can work on bigger picture items of pushing the return of the Islamic Caliphate and a goal of one day seeing the West and the world become part of one giant Islamic nation.

He is a solid salesman of snake oil, but his vinters brew poison and do not offer real gestures of conciliation or hope. It is like the story of the frog and the scorpion. If you allow the scorpion to ride your back you will be stung.

“Bin Laden suggested Bush was slow to react to the Sept. 11 attacks, giving the hijackers more time than they expected. At the time of the attacks, the president was listening to schoolchildren in Florida reading a book.

“It never occurred to us that the commander-in-chief of the American armed forces would leave 50,000 of his citizens in the two towers to face these horrors alone,” he said, referring to the number of people who worked at the World Trade Center.

“It appeared to him (Bush) that a little girl’s talk about her goat and its butting was more important than the planes and their butting of the skyscrapers. That gave us three times the required time to carry out the operations, thank God,” he said. ”

None of this surprises me. Osama is not stupid and is very specific in the messages he sends. They all have a design and purpose. This is further proof that he is not isolated or removed from the media as he parrots comments made about Bush. Need I remind you that it was Michael Moore who pushed this angle first.



As for my own interpretation, here is what he hopes to achieve with this note:



1) He wants to be a modern Saladin to Muslims and will use this as a recruitment video.



2) He wants to taunt Bush.



3) He is trying to instill fear and terror in America.



None of those are profound, but I would be remiss if I didn’t mention them.

I think that this is a very powerful piece. Here are some very powerful excerpts.



“Even those of us who (however unhappily) favor the disengagement can, and must, understand this sense of betrayal. Because these Israeli citizens were encouraged by Labor no less than by Likkud to build homes in Gush Katif, and they did so with exemplary dedication. Because, our protestations to the contrary notwithstanding, we are withdrawing under fire. Because Ariel Sharon effectively promised these people that this would not happen, and they supported him with that assurance in mind. Because homes will be destroyed, communities dismantled, playgrounds abandoned, synagogues emptied, batei midrash razed. Because those who left Yamit (in the Sinai, when it was returned to Egypt, and was then destroyed by Israeli bulldozers) could at least console themselves with the knowledge that it was land for peace, while this week, we could not point to anything that we were getting in return for our evacuation.

Because there are cemeteries in the Gaza settlements, where these citizens have buried their parents and their children. And what should happen to those graves? Shall we disinter the children killed and buried there, and force those people to relive once again the torment of those funerals? Or shall we leave the graves there, even as the Palestinians move in, pretending that we don’t recall the desecrations of Joseph’s Tomb in 2000, or of the Mount of Olives before the Six Day War?

Sadly, we hear little validation of the settlers’ angst from those who favor the withdrawal. Where is the grieving on the “left” for a human tragedy of enormous proportions? Have we become so embittered that we feel nothing for those whom we must dislodge? Is that what statehood has wrought?”

Yotz’im me-azah, matchilim le-daber,” proclaimed the other side. “Leave Gaza, and Start Speaking,” as if there were anyone with whom to speak. What was intended to be a declaration of hope, struck me as naive, as Pollyannaish, as a reflection of precisely what is wrong with those with whom I agree that we need to leave, but who see our part of the world with an optimism I do not share. The arms-smuggling tunnels between Egypt and Gaza will continue, and Israeli papers warned this week that Palestinians may have smuggled in weapons capable of bringing down a plane. (The Ben Gurion airport isn’t that far from Gaza.) The firing of Kassam rockets will also continue, that we know. The IDF will be in Gaza long into the future. The residents will leave, but our forces will not be able to. Ironically, “yotz’im me-azah, matchilim le-daber” confirms the sense of futility which has Kfar Darom in its grip. We are leaving out of desperation, because too many of us are dying, not because we have a peace partner.”

and

“This week was cause for mourning. Because of what we did. What we had to do, and will have to do. And because, as the anniversary of Yitzhak Rabin’s murder reminds us, though we may have taken the first steps to save our bodies, we have a long way to go if we are to repair our souls.”