Tuesday, May 25, 2004
Muslim authorities in Egypt have found news way to convert people. While Christian missionaries concentrate on making their case, whether socially or academically, and leaving it up to the individuals, Islam uses force. Young Egyptian women are told, upon entering a shopping mall, that they have won a contest and must come upstairs to sign for it. What they actually sign, Voice of the Martyrs reported today, is a confession of Islam. If they refuse to live by this confession, they are often sexually abused. Abu Ghraib is alive and well...under Muslim management. Many of these girls vanish, never to be seen by their families again. Some religion of peace, this.
A new study is also apparently out showing that Al Qaida still operates at roughly 18,000 strong. The International Institute for Strategic Studies claims that they must be expected to continue their attacks on the US. Well, duh. The only way to neutralize these people is to kill them. They're like termites. The news story from AOL of course put a spin on it, saying that Al Qaida is "far from crippled by the US-led war on terror." Why not, "due to European indifference Al Qaida remains at large"? The War on Terror, this newest chapter in the ongoing struggle between good and evil, has been extremely effective. Iraq and Afghanistan are on a fast track to democratic sovereignty, and Al Qaida is being dismantled. They are not eliminated yet certainly, but they are being eliminated. Giving up now will not help. The real kicker came when one of the study's authors commented: "Efforts to defeat al-Qaida will take time and might accelerate only if there are political developments that now seem elusive, such as the democratization of Iraq and the resolution of conflict in Israel." So if we can't do that right away, what then? Iraq has been an autocracy since the days of Nebuchadnezzar...it won't become a democracy overnight. It's moving more swiftly than I certainly expected. As for Israel, it will be resolved only by the destruction of the Palestinian Authority. Like all lame articles lately, the IISS' study is full of woebegone naysaying. The world is going surprisingly well, but it isn't Heaven yet. That's not Bush's fault.
A new study is also apparently out showing that Al Qaida still operates at roughly 18,000 strong. The International Institute for Strategic Studies claims that they must be expected to continue their attacks on the US. Well, duh. The only way to neutralize these people is to kill them. They're like termites. The news story from AOL of course put a spin on it, saying that Al Qaida is "far from crippled by the US-led war on terror." Why not, "due to European indifference Al Qaida remains at large"? The War on Terror, this newest chapter in the ongoing struggle between good and evil, has been extremely effective. Iraq and Afghanistan are on a fast track to democratic sovereignty, and Al Qaida is being dismantled. They are not eliminated yet certainly, but they are being eliminated. Giving up now will not help. The real kicker came when one of the study's authors commented: "Efforts to defeat al-Qaida will take time and might accelerate only if there are political developments that now seem elusive, such as the democratization of Iraq and the resolution of conflict in Israel." So if we can't do that right away, what then? Iraq has been an autocracy since the days of Nebuchadnezzar...it won't become a democracy overnight. It's moving more swiftly than I certainly expected. As for Israel, it will be resolved only by the destruction of the Palestinian Authority. Like all lame articles lately, the IISS' study is full of woebegone naysaying. The world is going surprisingly well, but it isn't Heaven yet. That's not Bush's fault.
// posted by The Pendragon @ 4:03 PM 
