February 23, 2010
Islam Is the Enemy
Edward Cline
I read an interesting Spiked column on the current "offensive" in Afghanistan. The author makes several valid points. He all but says that if the war is fought, not to achieve victory, but to attain some altruistic "hearts and minds" goal, then it is pointless to even wage the war.
As the NATO forces prepared to launch their latest doomed offensive to defeat an invisible enemy while winning over hostile hearts and minds, a British lieutenant colonel was quoted as saying, somewhat tactlessly, ‘We are going into the heart of darkness’.
Tactlessly? “The heart of darkness” (a reference to Joseph Conrad’s novel, Heart of Darkness) is ultimately not what Mick Hume alludes to, “an occupation without purpose, a dangerous military offensive without goals, a war without causes but plenty of casualties.” Rather, it is to the enveloping, logical darkness of acting from selfless, altruistic motives. In war, as well as in peace, as a nation’s policy or as a personal one, the object of selflessness and altruism is to sacrifice a value for a non-value, to elevate mediocrity as a means of razing shrines. (See Ellsworth Toohey’s speech on the means and ends of altruism wedded to collectivism in Ayn Rand’s novel, The Fountainhead, for clarification on that issue.)* It is to seek no gain, not even a national security one. In this instance, it is to elevate ourselves in the eyes of semi-literate brutes and world opinion.
If waging the war is a legitimate action (as defeating Nazi Germany and Imperialist Japan was), why is a "Just War" (one that conforms to the “Just War” theory”) centrally linked with befriending an enemy population not deemed to be legitimate, unless it's waged from altruistic motives? How can one win the "hearts and minds" of a population that is still morally, culturally, and epistemologically in the Dark Ages? And even if the population is somehow "befriended," what is the likely longevity of such an accomplishment? What is to stop it from reverting to type, that is, from regressing to its pre-befriended, culturally stagnant state?
One of the major flaws of especially American strategy in Afghanistan is evading the fact that it is not so much the Taliban our military is fighting, but Islam itself. Even if we managed to wipe out the Taliban and al Qaeda, Islam would remain in the culture. Islam is at its core anti-Western, anti-reason, anti-all pro-life values. For example, what guarantee did we ever have that Iraq would not revert back to some form of Islamic law or a corrupt regime? Well, look at the government there. We expended lives and treasure there – thousands of lives and billions of dollars – for what? So that charlatans, non-entities, and mediocrities can vie for power?
Yes – and democratically, too. We believe in “democracy” – not individual rights – and if the Iraqis vote themselves a mongrel, semi-secular, semi-religious government, who are we to judge? After all, it was the “will of the people.”
Would the same thing happen in Afghanistan? Of course. The only alternative, according to “Just War” strategists, is permanent occupation to ensure “stability.” Favorably explicating Gen. Stanley McChrystal’s current military policy and comparing it with the British experience, Max Boot, of the Council on Foreign Relations, concludes:
What Gen. McChrystal realizes, in effect, is that we need to create our own Robert Warburtons. If his experiment succeeds, future commanders can build on the precedent to provide the kind of cultural and linguistic skills that we will need to win the long war against Islamic extremists.
What are McChrystal’s objectives? His Harvard thinking shows through here:
“The biggest thing is in convincing the Afghan people,” General McChrystal said in Istanbul, where he joined Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to brief NATO allies just before the offensive began.
“This is all a war of perceptions,” General McChrystal said. “This is not a physical war in terms of how many people you kill or how much ground you capture, how many bridges you blow up. This is all in the minds of the participants.”
In short, our forces in Afghanistan are commanded by a degree-carrying Kantian. It’s all in your head, you know, what you think “victory” is. War, according to this policy, should be nothing more than armed social work to convert the Patagonians, or the Iraqis, or Afghanis to bring them “stability” and to ourselves self-sacrificing brownie points.
However, what is in the minds of the Taliban? The kind of victory erased from the mind of Gen. Stanley McChrystal.
Can we blame President Barack Obama for his lukewarm "war strategy," if it can be called a strategy at all? Yes. Although he is more focused on waging war against American liberties, not against any foreign threat, his Afghanistan policy, in fact, is simply an application and extension of his assault on American liberties, which he does not value and has demonstrated he is willing to sacrifice. Pundits have come close to the truth when they refer to Obama’s Mideast and Afghanistan policies as “Bush II.” I would call it a policy “aggressive appeasement,” one which now straddles two administrations.
Former president George W. Bush, the hand-holder of Saudi kings and host to regular Ramadan dinners at the White House, set the moral tone of this 10-year war of attrition after 9/11. Islam, he insisted, is a "religion of peace." Obama is of the same mind. Read his Cairo speech. Obama is faced with a threat that did not exist in Bush's time, or at least it is a threat that has grown since then, which is Iran's nuclear-weapons program, which Obama refuses to act on or to permit Israel to eliminate. Obama, like George Bush and his father, former president George H. W. Bush, believes in sacrifice to attain sacrificial ends. Sacrifice of values is the touchstone of moral purity and worth.
I raise this issue because our current Afghanistan strategy is bound to fail, regardless of whatever military gains we might make. To ensure that the Taliban and al Qaeda don't resurge and become another force that could threaten the West, the U.S. would need to apply a "cleansing" policy to the country, similar to the de-Nazification program in Germany and Gen. MacArthur's de-militarism policy in Japan (to eradicate all sources of Nihon gunkoku shugi), so forcefully described by John Lewis in his lectures and book, Nothing Less Than Victory. Essentially, the country would need to be "de-Islamicized."
Can we credibly expect that to happen, even if our policymakers acknowledged the inherent bellicosity of the Islamic creed? No. More progress would be made if we attempted to eradicate Voodooism from Haiti. We "respect" Islam. We go out of our way to not offend Islamic sensibilities – not only in the field, but right here at home.
Instead, our policy advocates “containment” of a nuclear-armed Iran and the pacification of hostile populations with candy and American-built dams and hospitals. Of a war-fighting policy of avoiding civilian casualties at the expense of the lives of American troops.
Would we have won WWII if we had treated Nazi ideology and doctrine, and Japanese militarism, as just examples of "diversity in political and cultural thought,” immune from moral judgment? No. The West, and especially the U.S., has got to stop looking at Islam as simply a religion to "respect," and treat it as the political-theocratic menace it is. Islam, by its doctrinaire nature, is implacable. It cannot be “peaceful” and bellicose at the same time. It must be so thoroughly discredited it would never show its head again. If that leaves Muslims the world-over disillusioned or angry, so be it. Why should we care what they think or even think of us?
Our military forces should be allowed to destroy the Taliban in Afghanistan regardless of their location, proximity to civilians, or any other “extenuating” circumstance. Our forces should be regularly reminded that Islamic “extremists” do not reciprocate such “gentlemanly” rules of war. They should be reminded of 9/11, when nearly 3,000 American and other civilians perished on our own soil, with more to come, if we do not destroy states that sponsor terrorism.
Short of that, the U.S. should just abandon Afghanistan and Pakistan and leave them to their tribal feuds and internal squabbles, but act militarily, if we are threatened, with overwhelming force. Winning the “hearts and minds” of those two countries is a lose-lose proposition, which it is intended to be. That cannot be over-emphasized. That is altruism in war, regardless of Colin Powell’s, Gen. McChrystal’s, or Obama’s assurances. The “shrine” of America can be razed by bleeding it to death in a “war of appeasement” – for the appeasement of zeroes.
Unless that is grasped and acknowledged, in the long run, no amount of victory in Afghanistan is going to matter.
*The Fountainhead, by Ayn Rand. 1943. New York: Plume-Penguin Centennial Edition, 2005, pp. 663-670. The speech can be found in Chapter XI, Part XIV, Howard Roark.
Was the bombing of pearl harbor an act of a Just War?
posted by: Hon A Lulu
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 08:59 AM
Islam is the Enemy?
Islam is 20% of the world population.
How do you fight an enemy that large without just resorting to MASS genocide on a scale never before seen in history?
It's utterly impossible.
posted by: Jason Argon
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 02:42 PM
I would have hoped that America would have learned from the Cold War that you can have a war on people, but you can't have a war on an idea.
posted by: Davi
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 02:44 PM
I'd believe you if I didn't see the photo of Rumsfeld shaking hads with OBL in Afghanistan in 1979 as he was then the Mujaheddin fighting the soviets. Al-queda was the name of the CIA database - OBL was then Tim Osman.
Yes I believe islam is an evil deception, but no I don't believe for a minute they all want to come here and kill us except for the fact that we westerners haven't left them alone in over 200 years. Iran would have been fine with Mosadeqh in the 50's but google Kermit Roosevelt with CIA and he tells how we over threw him for the evil Shah and savak. Wake the heck up people.
posted by: RPL
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 03:25 PM
ARE you ACTUALLY SERIOUS???
First off :
"Islam, by its doctrinaire nature, is implacable. It cannot be “peaceful†and bellicose at the same time. It must be so thoroughly discredited it would never show its head again. If that leaves Muslims the world-over disillusioned or angry, so be it. Why should we care what they think or even think of us?"
Are you actually that
ignorant to even THINK that way???
Islam is NOT implacable, Islam IS peaceful, YOUR ENEMY IS NOT A RELIGION, ITS THE GOVERNMENT... GET THAT IN YOUR BRAIN, ANY GOVERNMENT BASED ON A RELIGION WILL BE CORRUPT.
If the U.S government was strictly christian, it would be a corrupt government, because the leaders command their power at will in the NAME of the religion, NOT BECAUSE the religion itself promotes it, but because the leader says that the religion does.
Also , YOU have absolutely NO right to say that Iran or ANY OTHER COUNTRY IN THIS WORLD should not have nuclear power. YOU are not the only ones living on this earth, and therefor u don't get to decide other people's rights.
What your promoting here is GENOCIDE, you are promoting racism, and you are also showing to this whole community how much of a closed minded and ignorant person you are.
you saying "Why should we care what they think or even think of us?"
is the same thing as me coming to your house and killing your family and then walking away and say "why should i care what he thinks of me now??" and seriously if i did that,i wouldnt care.
Islam doesn't need weapons or terrorists. In just 3-5 years islam will be the world's dominant religion, and in around 35-50 years all of Europe will be Islamic.
If anything, its Christianity that has to go, you people praise a pope as your god, you have over 1000 churches all claiming that the others are false churches and that THEY are right. You have thousands of False prophets claiming to bring messages from God. and when u pray, u pray to jesus, instead of praying to GOD.
There is only ONE Quran, NOT 1000 (the number of different bibles i see out there today).
Your "western" culture, Shouldnt even be considered as a culture, the American continents were discovered only a few centuries ago, while Iran (i.e persian Empire) has lived on for more than 2000 years.
The western "culture" is but a mere toddler compared to that of the mid-eastern culture, and the many other asian cultures.
WHO are YOU, with your 500 years of history, to compete with over 2000 years of tradition? The first WHEEL was made somewhere in serbia, and at that time serbia was part of the Persian Empire. DO NOT MESS WITH THINGS and CONCEPTS which you have NO CHANCE at even STARTING to understand the workings of. YOU ARE NO-ONE.
posted by: Amir
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 07:35 PM
Yes, in fact ignorance is this author's clarion call; atrophy running a close second. Those who are deaf, dumb and blind by choice get exactly what they deserve. To be proud of having fallen for an idea hook, line and sinker is indicative of a shill or one who is simply insipid, myopic and/or sycophantic. There is no American culture; only an attempt at leeching from actual cultures.
Do everyone a favour and find another dimension for your infantile crusade.
posted by: oglamba
Tuesday, February 23, 2010 at 10:03 PM
This Article, if u can call it as such, was very poorly done, and had a very biased opinion.
before blankly stating ur arguments, try to come up with at least some convincing evidence as proof. What you got, is nothin but a load of the garbage i put out for the garbage man to pick up.
this author needs some mental rehab. also some education would be nice, and none of that texas crap.
just to make sure im being very clear, i would like to state that America IS NOT the greatest country in the world. Never was, and never will be. the "greatest" country is NON-existant. there will never be a "greatest" country, jus "GREAT" countrIES. and just because another country's government is not the same as yours, it doesnt mean that theirs is wrong and yours is right. infact, maybe the U.S government is the REAL corrupt country that is infecting this world. if your government wasn't corrupt, you wouldnt have BUSH as your president for 8 years. IF YOUR government wasnt corrupt there wouldnt be THOUSANDS of scandals on it. face it, this little dream bubble that u are having right now, the 1 with the "GREATEST","MOST POWERFUL" country is about to burst. and then you'll see that wat u thought was power, was NOTHING, compared to the power that MANY others in this world are holding right now. even the taliban are more powerful than u. I would like to see you try to convince some1 that god would be with you if u strap a bomb to ur self and go and blow yourself up. I personally dont like the idea of that, but to be able to convince huge numbers of people to go and commit suicide, telling them that heaven will be where they end up, means to have IMMENSE power over people. a power that U.S will not be able to overcome as easily as u think. defeating the taliban, would be like defeating 10, 100, 1000, or maybe 100000 hitlers.
kk im done.
just never say anything bad about things u dont have the brain capacity to understand AGAIN.
you wouldnt say one bad thing about islam if u even learnt to read the first page of the quran. but after u do read the first page, you'll say 100000000 bad things about wat you are defending RIGHT NOW
posted by: Amir
Thursday, February 25, 2010 at 00:44 AM
Nuke 'em 'til they Glow then shot them in the Dark !! Kill 'em all and let God sort out their souls !!
posted by: jimby
Wednesday, March 3, 2010 at 11:17 PM
Amir, I think that you quite realize that the author DOES understand Islam. It is the doctrine of subjugation and total submission, by force if necessary, of all who do not follow it, meaning the West.It is a fascist mindset, revolving around an imaginary being.Islam has great hatred and jealousy towards the West.Two thousand years in the darkness, with very relatively little intellectual or social progress means nothing.Look at the backward shitholes that are Afghanistan,Pakistan,Yemen, etc.On the other hand, your computer, the electricity that powers it, your car, your phone,your medicine,ad infinitum are all directly a result of 300 years of intellectual freedom, which Islam inherently despises. The two cultures are incompatible.
posted by: Rick
Saturday, December 17, 2011 at 03:06 PM
