I'm a fan Hugh Hewitt's radio show as well as most of his writings. But here again with the Tancredo's"Bomb Mecca" comments, and more precisely the Senator's followup I think Hugh is just "whipping that pony into a frenzy".
I wrote here that I think we need less of this "woodshed" mentality in the blogsphere. I might want to call the Senator's , comment's stupid, or just not thought out well enough, but to continually attempt to divide the Moon of Islam into two spheres, "light and dark", is intellectually and factually untrue. There may be different facets of adherance, but the Moon is still the Moon.
Senator Tancredo's followup does make interesting points. One of which is the silence of Moderate Muslims and especially the condoning of terrorist acts by others. No not every one of the billion plus followers of Isam believe as Osam or his followers, but there are more indications that there are many more than we realize. One also has to remember that Mecca is central to Bin Laden's theology (remember the history of Mecca and Medina); and the fact that Mecca's physical location in Saudi Arabia, a country that that see has having more or less 'rogue friendship" with the US, it is important that we take it into the equasion.
I served in the "Kingdom", with the US Army back in 1983, on special assignment. Mecca, though a devout holy place for many Muslims, was also on our charts as a place that we knew that extremists dwelt. If you think they won't use a "Holy Place" to plan their activities, and preach their version of Islam to the masses, you are deceived out of your socks. We can't afford to leave "any rock" unturned in this War on Terror, lest we pay the price.
No, I dont' advocate "Mecca on the Table", but Mecca IS an issue, and it should be a crucial strategic point in the War on Terror. One much remember, these extremists look at this as a Holy War, the Crusades Continued, and as such no "religious' target is off their table.
I do believe, in giving the Senator the benefit of the doubt. Although I do think that originally he should have put it in more precise terms.
However this absured idea that Tancredo's comments will 'unnecessarily inflame' the extremists, or necessarily turn the "light side" of the Moon against us is nonsense.
Hugh writes:
"Tancredo's foolishness will no doubt be used, as was Dick Durbin's outrageous comparison of the American military to Nazis and Khmer Rouge, by propagandists for Islamist extremists. But Tancredo's attemp to hide himself under the wings of John Howard and other eloquent spokesmen who reject the dangeorus idea that the West is generating the attacks on itself overlooks Howard's --and Blair's and Bush's-- refusal to be drawn into Islam bashing or incediary rhetoric like Tancredo's."
Hugh? They've been inflamed to the nth degree for some time now. Extemist would use Dick Cheney going to the hospital for a check up as propaganda.
"The United State is locked in a deadly war with Islamists who would indeed use nukes against American cities if they could, or any other WMD for that matter. There are some states that support these Islamists, including the governments of Iran and Syria, and some of the elites in Saudi Arabia.
But there are also governments like those in Eygpt, Jordan, and Pakistan that are providing us enormously valuable assistance in the war, governements which come under huge pressure from their fundamentalist Muslim populations to stop assisting the "crusaders."
Hugh is going a little off base here. Simply while Egypt, Jordan and Pakistan have been "helpful", Eygpt's military is spintered and festered with Osam Bin Laden sympathizers, and Pakistan? Well the main reason we don't have Bin Laden "dead or alive" is due to their "stalling" our efforts in the area that we know Osama is hiding which borders their country. In my opinion they need to crap Osama or get off our wagon.
The absense of posittive comments on Tancredo's statements, doesn't necessarily constitute disagreement with them. I'll could tell you that there are a lot of military experts, who I converse with daily, who to some extent agree.
I think it's time to get off the horse.
Subscribe by Email
Follow Updates Articles from This Blog via Email
No Comments