Muslim extremists compared to Yankee revolutionariesFollow

If you were in a tribalistic society and had more power than everyone else and started insulting the dirty girl, people would be lining up to join you and be afraid that you would start on them if they didn't.

FTFY

didn't say it was my solution.

I'm partial to Denis Leary's "Good Year Tit" idea.

FTFY

Yeah, but you think WWII/Terrorism analogies are solid as well

Sure. But the basic concept still stands. You're picking one form of leadership over another. The problem that the ME has had for the last half century or so is that most of the leaders who've stepped up have been powerhungry dictators. So while certainly a good portion of the blame lies on the Wests shoulders for putting them in power, some of that blame also has to lie with the people as well. As several people have pointed out in this thread and others, there seems to be a decided lack of the "good people" standing up and demanding good leaders.

Of course, at least part of that problem stems from the fact that for most of that last 50 years, their leaders have been chosen without their input and those leaders have been oppressive, meaning that standing up for something better has almost always resulted in imprisonment and/or death.

Which, just to toss a more current issue into the mix, is why whether you agree with the motives or method by which we got into the current Iraq situation or not, it's pretty important that we follow through with it. If we withdraw or fail, it'll be yet another in a long line of events where the West disrupts the region, replaces leaders, gets the people riled up and hopeful for something "better" only to abandon them to yet another oppressive regime.

Each time we do this, it gets harder. Certainly, if we fail this time, it wont be easier the next time it's tried...

The Dalai Lama has officially possessed Kelvy.




Edited, Sep 19th 2006 at 8:44am EDT by Elderon

If I may...I'll admit I've skimmed through a great deal of this thread after reading the "denouncement" of 9/11 and other attacks made by this muslim group or that muslim group, but I do think I need to just underline something...

Nobody is denying that most muslim groups do issue a condemnation of such actions...and the media certainly does not cover it up. In fact, the media in this country (thatb eing the UK) is so ridiculously politically correct that it rarely even mentions the word "Islam" and "terrorist" in the same sentance (probably incase they decide to demonstrate the peaceful nature of their religion with yet another violent riot :t).

The problem isn't a lack of reply...it's a lack of action. The second a muslim blows himself up, or chops up his daughter because she tried to marry a non-muslim, or gang rape a woman, the first cry that goes up from the Muslim community is "Islam is a religion of peace! These are not the actions of true muslims!" What you call a denouncement, I call an obvious attempt to distance themselves from what is a rather obvious underlying current in their religion, that they want to pretend doesn't exist.

It is a fact that the greatest terrorists threats in the world right now all origonate from Islamic groups. It is also a fact that there have been almost back to back riots as of late all across europe, perpetrated by Muslims. It is a fact that every few weeks something appears on the news about a Muslim "honour killing". Whether they like to admit it or not, there is an undercurrent of extreme, reationary violence in the Muslim community - whether it's a minority that actually perpetrate it or not - and they make no effort whatsoever to monitor or address it.

Surely someone in the muslim community knows who these bastards are (in fact, I have no doubt that their local religious authority would know them). However, it's been stated many times by muslims in this country that if they knew someone who was planning a terrorist attack, although they might try to talk them out of it, they wouldn't report them to the police...why? Because it would be considered a betrayal of Islam.

I take no comfort whatsoever from statements issued by the muslim community condeming terrorist actions. And I doubt I will take any comfort in them until I see muslims waking up to the fact that, whether they like it or not, their religion is causing far more trouble than its worth in the western world. Sooner or later there's going to be a massive public backlash against them, and it's in their best interests to remove the terrorists from their numbers...and by "remove" I mean "report to the authorities" not "sweep under the carpet and hope they go away".