The other side of the coin
Jill Carroll asked to die by gun - Conflict in Iraq - MSNBC.com
The bold text is at the core of what the 'doves' (most Democrats, for example, as well as most Americans right now) would say is the reason why we need to be OUT of Iraq. Our meddling in foreign policy (the way we have so far) breeds contempt in people and creates extremism.
That's a very valid point.
However, even if we were to leave the entire Middle East to its own devices, that will not stop the march of extreme Islam in its attempt to cover the world in sharia law. If history is any guide, we should be wise to recall how Islam spread in the world some several hundred years ago--by the sword. Well...for that matter, so did Christianity at many points in history. But (with few exceptions nowadays), Christians don't forcibly convert people to Christianity.
It seems that only in Islam do we have people going across major tracts of land and bodies of water to create fear in the name of a religion. In Christianity, Jesus tells his apostles that when they preach His word in foreign towns, if the townspeople do not accept the teachings, to leave the town and dust off their (the apostles') feet, leaving the town to its own devices. Does Islam teach this? I've never heard of it. As I've understood it, the path of Islam isn't complete until every single human being on the planet is converted. Or, they're left as second-class citizens in a caliphate.
So leaving Iraq might help reduce hatred in the general populace, and maybe make the pool of willing jihadists smaller. But it won't eliminate it. History has indicated (see my article below) that acts of extremism are less likely (not completely absent, but less likely) in democratic countries. The last truly homegrown terrorist I can recall, that wasn't linked to any outside religion, was McVeigh (I could be wrong). But the Middle East and parts of Africa--especially places where democracy is either very new or non-existant--seems to be a breeding ground of extremism.
Personally, I feel we need to finish the job in Iraq. We also need to ensure that it's a country by Iraqis, of Iraqis, and for Iraqis. We need to get them up on their feet--if it includes sending in more troops to quell the insurgency, then so be it--and then let them do as they need to, unless we're asked for help.
That's my feelings on it, anyway.
As days turned to months, Carroll, who speaks Arabic and moved to Iraq to fulfill a dream of being a foreign correspondent, said she was interrogated, but, at times, was given a remote control to a television set where she watched the Oprah Winfrey show. She said her captors also let her play with their children.
At one point, she said they served her from a platter of chicken and rice "that would have been fit for an honored guest."
"We have no problem with you. Our problem is with your government," her captors told her as they prepared to release tapes of the journalist wearing a headscarf and weeping.
The bold text is at the core of what the 'doves' (most Democrats, for example, as well as most Americans right now) would say is the reason why we need to be OUT of Iraq. Our meddling in foreign policy (the way we have so far) breeds contempt in people and creates extremism.
That's a very valid point.
However, even if we were to leave the entire Middle East to its own devices, that will not stop the march of extreme Islam in its attempt to cover the world in sharia law. If history is any guide, we should be wise to recall how Islam spread in the world some several hundred years ago--by the sword. Well...for that matter, so did Christianity at many points in history. But (with few exceptions nowadays), Christians don't forcibly convert people to Christianity.
It seems that only in Islam do we have people going across major tracts of land and bodies of water to create fear in the name of a religion. In Christianity, Jesus tells his apostles that when they preach His word in foreign towns, if the townspeople do not accept the teachings, to leave the town and dust off their (the apostles') feet, leaving the town to its own devices. Does Islam teach this? I've never heard of it. As I've understood it, the path of Islam isn't complete until every single human being on the planet is converted. Or, they're left as second-class citizens in a caliphate.
So leaving Iraq might help reduce hatred in the general populace, and maybe make the pool of willing jihadists smaller. But it won't eliminate it. History has indicated (see my article below) that acts of extremism are less likely (not completely absent, but less likely) in democratic countries. The last truly homegrown terrorist I can recall, that wasn't linked to any outside religion, was McVeigh (I could be wrong). But the Middle East and parts of Africa--especially places where democracy is either very new or non-existant--seems to be a breeding ground of extremism.
Personally, I feel we need to finish the job in Iraq. We also need to ensure that it's a country by Iraqis, of Iraqis, and for Iraqis. We need to get them up on their feet--if it includes sending in more troops to quell the insurgency, then so be it--and then let them do as they need to, unless we're asked for help.
That's my feelings on it, anyway.
posted by xanadian at 9:28 PM
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