Zacarias Moussaoui’s trial is in its sentencing phase, and his lawyers are finally hitting their stride in their attempts to keep the needle out of his vein. According to today’s Washington Post,

Michael First, who edits the standard diagnostic manual for the mental health profession, testified in federal court in Alexandria that Moussaoui suffers from delusions and disorganized speech – two of the five symptoms of a paranoid schizophrenic.

First’s diagnosis followed testimony yesterday from clinical psychiatrist Xavier Amador that Moussaoui has paranoid schizophrenia and is delusional. Amador pointed to Moussaoui’s belief that his attorneys are conspiring to kill him.

Moussaoui is the only person charged in the United States in the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks by al-Qaeda terrorists. He pleaded guilty in April 2005 to conspiracy charges, and his defense has been trying to convince the jury he should be spared a death sentence because he is mentally ill.

So Moussaoui is a nut-case, and therefore shouldn’t be executed. Additional experts have testified that he had an unhappy childhood, was abused by his father, and suffered from post-natal stress syndrome (all right, I made that last one up, but you get the idea).

His attorneys are providing him with the standard All-American red-white-and-blue legal defense – “I’m not responsible for my actions because I have X Syndrome” – but Moussaoui isn’t buying it. “It’s a lot of American BS,” he said.

We’ve come to a strange pass, when a statement of the most lambent clarity has to come from an admitted Al Qaeda terrorist.

And, yes, it’s come to this,
It’s come to this,
And wasn’t it a long way down,
Wasn’t it a strange way down?

                    – Leonard Cohen, “Dress Rehearsal Rag”

Isn’t it about time to say good-bye to the law-enforcement approach in the war on “terrorism”? If nothing else illustrates the farce of this strategy, surely the fatuity of the Moussaoui trial does.

If the modern human-rights sensibility holds sway in our dealings with Islamic terrorists, it leads us to the following:

• You can’t shoot them.
• You can’t intern them at Guantanamo.
• You can’t return them to their dusty fly-specked countries of origin, because the repressive Islamic regimes there might not treat them right.
• They get the same legal rights as a full-blown American citizen in a court of law.
• They get a court-appointed lawyer, paid for by you, the American taxpayer, a lawyer who can make motions and petition for change of venue and do all those lawyerly things for years and years until his client dies of old age, or the Shari’ah is finally instituted here in the United States, whichever comes first.
• Failing all the above, they can be declared insane, and then
• In five or ten years’ time a compassionate federal judge can intervene to order their release.

But I’ll buy the idea that Moussaoui is nuts. Heck, I’ll buy the idea that the entirety of Islam is nuts. Whether you think the Twelfth Imam is calling the shots from the bottom of a well, or that 72 virgins await you in Paradise if you just shred some Jews with nails and rat poison, you’re pretty crazy. Maybe Islam needs to don a collective straitjacket and undergo intensive psychotherapy for several centuries in order to get better.

And maybe anybody who really believes in their religion is nuts.

But somehow Christianity and Judaism must have evolved a cultural version of an anti-psychotic drug, so that their followers can look and act sane, and lead normal lives as productive members of the community. So that believers like me can go out in public without scaring the children or peeing in the potted plants.

But not Islam. The only Muslims who are regularly taking their medicine are the ones who live in the West, or have come into long-term contact with it. And not even all of them.

So, insane or otherwise, let’s stop dealing with the mujahideen as criminals. Insane or otherwise, people who conspire to fly passenger jets into our skyscrapers are not criminals.

They are the Enemy, and this is the Long War.

 
Update (4:30pm EST): I drove over to Short Pump to try to get a picture of the site of the Great Jet Fuel Geyser, but the neighborhood was blocked off and immense equipment was in operation all over the area. There was no place to park on Church Road, and the police were directing traffic, so no photos today.

It looked like the EPA and the pipeline people were digging up all the culverts and replacing them. There were huge pumps operating just above Lake Loreine, gushing large amounts of water into the creek. I assume they’ve been drawing the water out of the creek, filtering it, and then putting it back. A strong chemical smell pervaded the whole area.

This is a huge, expensive operation. It makes me wonder how much overhead it adds to Plantation’s 2¢ a gallon pumping costs from Baton Rouge to D.C.

Until last night I didn’t know that there’s a pipeline carrying jet fuel that runs from Louisiana to D.C. It passes under the West End of Richmond near Short Pump in Henrico County, through an area that was mostly countryside thirty years ago, but is now an upscale suburb.

According to a story on last night’s local NBC 12 news,

A 3,000 foot pipe ruptured in Henrico County Monday night, sending jet fuel 30 feet into the air. Residents had to be evacuated from about 20 homes. No one was injured.

The pipeline runs through the Short Pump neighborhood where Barrington Bridge Place meets Church Road. It carries the jet fuel from Baton Rouge, Louisiana to Washington D.C.

This morning, that spill has been contained and residents are home, but they’ve still got to deal with the cleanup.

The actual TV news program had a lot more information, including interviews with local residents, video footage showing the big puddles of jet fuel still standing in people’s driveways, and shots of local emergency crews dealing with the situation. One man described standing in his backyard looking up at a “geyser” of the smelly stuff.

The local paper, the Richmond Times-Dispatch, also has a brief report this morning, including this information:

[Henrico Fire Lt. Gary] Hutchison said Plantation Pipe Line Co. had been working in the neighborhood during that time.

Plantation released a statement that said workers temporarily suspended operations on a portion of its pipeline. The statement said the company is working on the cleanup with emergency responders.

The petroleum product, similar to kerosene, emits flammable vapors, Hutchison said. But cool weather and moist ground reduced potential for the fuel to ignite, he said.

This same pipeline was one of those temporarily shut down by Hurricane Katrina last year. The Plantation Pipeline website says:

The Plantation system consists of approximately 3,100 miles of petroleum products pipelines connected to 130 shipper terminals in 8 states. These delivery terminals are owned by petroleum refiners, marketers, military, and commercial fuel users. Products are tendered to our system from 9 refineries in Mississippi and Louisiana, from other products pipeline systems, and via marine facilities on the Mississippi River. Deliveries of motor gasoline, diesel and home heating fuels, aviation gasolines, kerosenes, commercial and military jet fuels total more than 20 million gallons each day.

Products are received in minimum batches of 25,000 barrels (1,050,000 gallons) and shipped through lines ranging in size from 6 to 30-inches in diameter. A batch leaving Baton Rouge, Louisiana may travel as much as 1,100 miles to reach a final destination such as Washington National or Dulles airports. Total travel time for such a trip is approximately 20 days. Products can be efficiently transported from Baton Rouge to a shipper’s facility in Washington, D.C. for approximately two cents per gallon.

When I see those pipeline signs by the road, I usually think of sludgy oil running through the pipes. But apparently that’s not always the case.

The Plantation site also has a map showing their operation:

Here’s what the CSG Aviation Jet Fuel Information page has to say about jet fuel:

JET A-1

Jet A-1 is a kerosine grade of fuel suitable for most turbine engined aircraft. It is produced to a stringent internationally agreed standard, has a flash point above 38°C (100°F) and a freeze point maximum of -47°C. It is widely available outside the U.S.A. Jet A-1 meets the requirements of British specification DEF STAN 91-91 (Jet A-1), (formerly DERD 2494 (AVTUR)), ASTM specification D1655 (Jet A-1) and IATA Guidance Material (Kerosine Type), NATO Code F-35.

JET A

Jet A is a similar kerosine type of fuel, produced to an ASTM specification and normally only available in the U.S.A. It has the same flash point as Jet A-1 but a higher freeze point maximum (-40°C). It is supplied against the ASTM D1655 (Jet A) specification.

My uninformed opinion is that those Short Pump suburbanites were probably seeing a geyser of Jet A. Now, Jet A is not like gasoline for sheer combustibility, but it is the same stuff that made those big orange fireballs and black clouds around the World Trade Center back in 2001.

It has a flash point of about 120°F, which is not all that hot. What if someone had been out on the back deck firing up a barbecue, or lighting a cigarette?

In that case the NBC 12 story would have been different, a big fireball in the heart of Henrico County instead of a smelly puddle in the backyard. Heck, you’d have seen it yourself on the national news last night.

It makes me think about those 3,100 miles of pipeline. And men in rented cars with binoculars and videocameras, tourists from the Middle East, just here to see the sights.

Checking out the local hot spots. So to speak.

Commenter Bill Keezer sent this picture of an attempt to run the Swan Gate at Davis-Monahan AFB in Tucson. The intruders found out the hard way that the pop up barrier works.

In case you’re wondering: no, it wasn’t terrorists, just pests. Two drunk “undocumented” aliens from south of the Border. Who knows what they had in mind? Or if they even had a mind between them at the time.

The driver will be arrested when he gets out of ICU. The passenger was sent on to a hospital in Mexico.

I think the driver should be returned also, as soon as he’s stable. Why bother prosecuting him when it just means we have to also take care of him?

The noted blogger Fjordman is filing this report via Gates of Vienna.

In my essay about the retreat of the Western world order, I mentioned the possibility of civil strife in the West caused by runaway immigration. This is no longer just a theoretical possibility. It is pretty clear to anybody following the developments in Europe that the situation in France is starting to become rather serious. President Jacques Chirac threw out part of a youth labor law that triggered massive protests and strikes, bowing to intense pressure from students and unions. The unemployment rate for youths under 26 is a staggering 22 percent nationwide, but soars to nearly 50 percent in some of those troubled areas with many Muslim immigrants. French Jews are leaving the country in ever-growing numbers, fleeing a wave of anti-Semitism. Nidra Poller, American ex-pat writer and translator in Paris, has written some appalling stories about aggressive anti-Semitism, such as the murder and brutal torture of French Jew Ilan Halimi early in 2006.

Muslim blogs are calling for violence against the Jews, the whites and the well-to-do. They say, “We must burn France, as Hamas will burn Israel.” The growth of the Islamic population is explosive. According to some, one out of three babies born in France is now a Muslim. Around 70% of French prisoners are Muslims. Hundreds of Muslim ghettos are already de facto following sharia, not French law. Some have pointed out that the French military are not always squeamish, but there are estimates that 15% of the armed forces are already made up of Muslims, and rising. How effective can the army then be in upholding the French republic? At the same time, opinion polls show that the French are now officially the most anti-capitalist nation on earth. France has chosen Socialism and Islam. It will get both, and sink into a quagmire of its own making. Some believe France will quietly become a Muslim country, others believe in civil war in the near future:

The French Disease

Within 20 years, one person out of four in France will be Muslim, and almost certainly poor and angry. So the French disease progresses. It is chronic becoming terminal. On the way toward collapse, there will be no civil war, just moments of harsh violence. The population will change. People with a high level of productivity will choose exile. People with a low level of productivity will immigrate. Jews and Christians will leave. Muslims will arrive.

The unreported race riot in France

Fredric Encel, Professor of international relations at the prestigious École Nationale d’Administration in Paris and a man not known for crying wolf, recently stated that France is becoming a new Lebanon. The implication, far-fetched though it may seem, was that civil upheaval might be no more than a few years off, sparked by growing ethnic and religious polarization.

I’m not sure which of these scenarios is scarier. People keep talking about the nukes that the Iranians may get, but what about the hundreds of nuclear warheads the French have? Will they be used to intimidate the rest of the West? How do we handle an Islamic France, still the heartland of the European continent, with Muslim control of hundreds of nukes? And how do we handle a Bosnia or Lebanon with a population much larger than either of these countries, and with hundreds of nuclear warheads at stake?

If Muslim immigration continues, the impending fall of France could mark the starting point of the Balkanization of much of Europe, perhaps later even North America. I fear this is a world war. Maybe future historians will dub it the Multicultural World War. Just as WW1 was caused by Imperialism, WW2 by Fascism and the Cold War by Communism, this one will be caused by Multiculturalism. The term “the Multicultural World War” has been coined by Fjordman. I find this to be more accurate than “The Islamic World War” because what will cause this world war is Western cultural weakness, through Multiculturalism and Muslim immigration, rather than Islamic strength. As poster DP111 says, this world war may very well be in the form of a global civil war, where you get a succession of civil wars instead of countries invading other countries. Multiculturalism and uncontrolled mass-immigration destroy the internal cohesion of the decadent West, which will slowly fall apart as it has lost the will to defend itself and the belief in its own culture. The wars in the Balkans in the 1990s will in hindsight be seen as a prelude to the Multicultural World War. Rather than a Westernization of the Balkans, we get a Balkanization of the West.

I guess there is some poetic justice in the fact that the country that initiated and has led the creation of Eurabia now gets consumed by its own Frankenstein monster, but we should not gloat over this. The downfall of France is very bad news for the rest of the West. Again, what happens to their nukes and military resources? As stated in the book “Eurabia” by Bat Ye’or, the merger of Europe and the Arab-Islamic world has been encouraged by the French political elite in particular at least since the early 1970s, with a vision of creating a united Europe and Mediterranean basin under French leadership, in what has basically been a French dream since the age of Napoleon, the great hero of current French PM de Villepin. Several prominent French leaders stated quite openly in 2005 that the proposed EU Constitution was basically an enlarged France. Justice Minister Dominique Perben said: “We have finally obtained this ‘Europe à la française’ that we have awaited for so long. This constitutional treaty is an enlarged France. It is a Europe written in French.” Education Minister François Fillon stated: “This Constitution allows the French ambition to assert itself in the big Europe that General de Gaulle hoped and prayed for.” The French dream of an enlarged France. What they may get is a France carved into tiny pieces.

My personal belief is not that we are witnessing the final triumph of Eurabia, but rather the last spasms of the Eurabian Union. There will be at least as big changes in Western Europe over the coming generation as there were in Eastern Europe following the fall of the Berlin Wall. There will be the downfall and disintegration of an anti-democratic, bureaucratic superstate, the European Union instead of the Soviet Union, and there will be the downfall of “soft Socialism” in the shape of the Multicultural welfare state in the West just as you had the downfall of the “hard Socialism” in the East. The difference is that the downfall of Communism in the East happened through a relatively bloodless “Velvet Revolution,” whereas the downfall of Multiculturalism in the West may turn out to be anything but bloodless. And it will come, sooner than many people think. Multiculturalism, cultural Marxism and the idea of forced cultural equality, will collapse just as Communism, the idea of economic Marxism and forced economic equality fell.

The difference is that when Communism was discredited in Eastern Europe, it was still Poles who lived in Polish cities, Bulgarians who lived in Bulgarian cities etc. When the veil of Multiculturalism disappears, it will be Pakistanis who live in London, Turks who live in Berlin, Algerians who live in Paris and Moroccans who live in Amsterdam. And then the show begins.

Europe may not be finished yet, but she will go through a painful period of transition even if we do get a rebirth here. It should be noted that a revolution doesn’t usually come when the oppression is at its worst, but when the grip of the authorities and their totalitarian ideology, in this case Multiculturalism and Political Correctness, seems to be slipping. This was the case with the Soviet Union in the 1980s, and it will be the case with the European Union now. I see increasing signs that the idea of Multiculturalism is on the retreat. Even Germany’s and Europe’s largest newspaper ran a series about the collapse of Multiculturalism recently.

I am not alone in predicting such a turbulent scenario. Prominent critic of Islam in Denmark, Lars Hedegaard, is quoted in Bruce Bawer’s book “While Europe Slept, How Radical Islam is Destroying the West from Within” in support of this dark view:

“If there’s any hope,” Hedegaard suggested dryly, borrowing a line he knew I’d recognize from 1984, “it lies in the proles.” Yet we both knew that the “proles” – if they did take over the reins from the elite – might well lead Europe back down the road to fascism. He did admit that he was glad to be living in Denmark and not elsewhere in Western Europe: “If there’s any place where there’s hope, it’s got to be this country.” But Hedegaard didn’t hold out much hope even for Denmark. “Unless they build up a cadre of intellectuals in Europe who can think,” he said, America “can kiss Europe good-bye.” The Continent’s future, he predicted, “is going to be vastly different than we imagine.. It’s going to be war. Like Lebanon,” with some enclaves dominated by Christians and others by Muslims. There will be “permanent strife,” and no one will have the “power to mollify or mediate… It will be more gruesome than we can imagine.” When the horror comes, he warned, the journalists who helped to bring it about will “wag their heads and flee – and leave it to those who can’t flee to fight it out.”

The population movements we are witnessing now are the largest and fastest in human history. In Europe, they can only be compared to the period often referred to as the Migration Period, following the disintegration of the Roman Empire. However, during the 4th and 5th centuries, the total human population of the world was in the order of 200 million. Today, it is 30 times larger than that, and still growing fast. We also have communications that can transport people anywhere on earth within hours, and media that show ordinary people how much better life is in other countries. On top of that, the Romans didn’t have human rights lawyers advocating that millions of barbarians be let into their lands. Is it a coincidence that the last time we had migrations like this was when large parts of the European continent suffered a complete civilizational breakdown? Is that what we are witnessing now? The second fall of Rome?

Both Thailand and the Philippines, countries where the Muslim population is not much larger than it is in some Western European countries, are facing war. Countries such as France, Holland and Sweden could soon reach a point where the Muslim population will create something akin to civil war, as it already has in the above-mentioned nations. The Islamic world is now at war with most of the major powers on the planet at the same time, from the USA to India and from Russia to Western Europe. It is a real possibility that we will get a full-blown world war because of these events. If so, I don’t think this will happen 50 years from now, but within the coming generation.

There are several possible scenarios:

1. Eurabia

The EU continues its transformation into a continent-wide organization with clear totalitarian leanings, and a very pro-Islamic stance. Europe’s fate is sealed when Turkey is allowed into the Union, and becomes its largest member. Historian Bat Ye’or, who first coined the term “Eurabia”, thinks that Europe’s ties with the Arab-Islamic world are now so firmly entrenched and established that Eurabia is an irreversible fact. Europe will cease to be a Western, democratic continent, and will become an appendix to the Arab world. Eurabia will become a global center for Jihad activities, as the dhimmi taxpayers and infidel Western technology give a boost to the Ummah. Muslims will be heavily concentrated in the major cities, and the dhimmi native population will retreat into the countryside. The old nation states will thus slowly die, as their major cities, which constitute the brain and “head” of its culture, are cut off from the rest of the body. Europe’s decline into Eurabia will be speeded up by the fact that millions of educated natives with the means to it will move to the USA or other nations. There will be no major war in Western Europe, as its civilization is already dead and very few will bother fighting for it.

The only violence will be sporadic Islamic terror attacks to induce fear, and occasional Muslim mob assaults in European streets to remind the dhimmis who is boss. It is conceivable that the center of European civilization will move from Western Europe to Eastern Europe, but even Eastern Europe will be put under severe pressure from Muslims, both in the Middle East and in the West. The basic rule is that the areas Muslims have taken into possession remain in Islamic hands, while the native population and culture is slowly eradicated. If this holds true for us today, then parts of Western Europe are already lost, and will indeed become Eurabia as Bat Ye’or predicts. There are not too many instances I know of where areas once under the sway of Islam have been reclaimed by infidels. The most obvious is of course Spain and the Iberian Peninsula, where the Reconquista took quite a few centuries. I know the Sikhs have kicked Muslims out of Punjab, India. Parts of present-day Israel could be counted, although Arabs and Muslims are trying very hard to wipe Israel off the map. And maybe some of China’s Western provinces could be included. Islam has not been eradicated there, but it is visibly retreating as Chinese authorities are suppressing any signs of rebellion.

What these examples have in common is that both the Christians in Spain, the Sikhs in India and the Jews in Israel were fighting Islam with powerful religious convictions of their own. The Chinese are not usually very religious, but they have an equally strong, even ruthless nationalism and belief in their own civilization. If history is any guide, today’s decadent, bored, post-religious and post-nationalist Europe will be no match for Islam, unless it rediscovers a belief in its own culture and a will to defend it. This will have to happen soon, or the Islamic demographic conquest of much of the continent will be an irreversible fact, anyway. The result of this will then either be Eurabia or a Pakistanization of Europe, the way we have already seen for generations in the Balkans.

2. War

Personally, I think this alternative is at least as likely as the above “Eurabia” scenario. It also contains several sub-scenarios, partly depending upon when the eventual war starts, and partly on whether there is still some Western pride and resistance left in Europe underneath the self-loathing and Multiculturalism:

The Pakistanization of Europe

Muslims aren’t numerous enough to control the entire continent. In the event of war, there will be mutual ethnic cleansing and Muslims will seize parts of Western Europe. For instance, a belt stretching from parts of Germany via Belgium and Holland to France, but maybe even regions within certain nation states. All of Europe will not be lost, but some parts will, and many others will be deeply damaged by the fighting. Many of our cultural treasures will burn. How things will go from there is difficult to predict. Perhaps this new “Pakistan” in the heart of Europe will be the source of constant instability and the staging ground for Jihad incursions into infidel areas, just as Pakistan is to India now. Perhaps we will see a slow reconquest of this area, possibly taking generations or even centuries. Muslim de facto control of hundreds of French nuclear warheads will make the situation a lot more dangerous.

Of course, it could be more than one Muslim region. Kosovo and in part Bosnia are functioning as Islamic bridgeheads in Europe at this moment. There could be several mini-Pakistans created all over the place. In fact present day Kosovo walks, talks and looks like a mini-Pakistan. The “zones” in France sound suspiciously like Muslim “mohallas” in India although the situation is not as bad as in France.

Reconquista – The Second Expulsion of the Moors

Muslims strike too early, before they are ready to seize control over major chunks of Europe. They overestimate their own power, and underestimate the strength that is still left in Europe. It will start, as these things always do, before anyone is ready. Everyone, the Islamists, the proto-dhimmis, the neo-nationalists, the sleepwalking middle class, thinks they have more time than they do. It may start more or less by accident, like WWI, through the act of a fringe player unaware of the forces involved or the stakes of the game. Once a full-blown civil war starts in one country, it can, and probably will, spread to other countries. Given the European Union’s borderless nature, it is unlikely that war will be limited to one nation only. This will create a domino effect, and Muslims will be expelled from Europe yet again, after major bloodshed and millions of dead across the continent. This will result in the collapse of the EU. The Arab world will support the Muslims and will prolong the war, but they won’t win it.

Cultures collide: Muslim immigrants will be expelled from Europe unless they reverse the growing perception of them as a social threat

The Muslims refused to assimilate. They were expelled. This was the story in Europe 400 years ago. We are watching the sequel today. In the clash of cultures between secular Europeans and extremist Muslims, there can ultimately be no compatibility or compromise, only loss by one side or the other of the absolute values it holds dear. European capitulation on European soil, where they remain the dominant majority, is unlikely.

Global Civil War

Europe has been the primary staging ground for one cold and two hot world wars. It could become a major battlefield in an Islamic or Multicultural world war, too. A world war is already simmering, with Muslims clashes against Russia, Europe, Israel, China, India, the USA and Southeast Asia. Once the fighting starts in Europe, it could spread outside the continent and ignite a world war. This is the scenario of “global civil war”.

3. Western Rebirth in Europe

We should discuss the possibility of whether the Islamic threat will force the West to rethink its values and regain its strength. Can this be done, and how would this take place? Is it possible to avoid both major war and Eurabia or is this wishful thinking by now? The growth of Eurabia is closely tied to the growth of the EU. Perhaps we could derail Eurabia by dismantling the EU? This would require that Europe regain her old, cultural and religious dynamic and repel Islam. Just as Islam isn’t the cause of Europe’s current weakness, but rather a secondary infection, it could have the unforeseen and ironic effect of saving Europe from herself. By quite literally putting a dagger at Europe’s throat, the Islamic world will force Europeans to renew themselves or die. Europe will go through a turbulent period of painful, but necessary revival, and will arrive chastened on the other side.

The noted blogger Fjordman is filing this report via Gates of Vienna.

Samuel P. Huntington’s “The Clash of Civilizations” thesis has generated a lot of debate, and some justified criticism. He has been accused of simplification, but also for underestimating the case of Islam. Huntington does talk about “the bloody borders” of the Islamic world. However, he has also stated that there is nothing implicit in Islamic teachings that has created the current turmoil among Muslims, but rather the huge number of young men, the primary instigators of violence in any culture. This is obviously not the case. If Huntington had read books such as “The Legacy of Jihad” by Andrew Bostom or “Onward Muslim Soldiers” by Robert Spencer, he would have understood that Jihad and aggressive violence have been intimately related to Islam on three continents for 1300 years. Yes, an abundance of young men as “cannon fodder” for war or demographic Jihad certainly helps, but this situation was created by the contents of Islamic core texts.

Huntington fails to grasp to what extent Islam is a special case, uniquely aggressive among all established cultures and religions on earth today. Hugh Fitzgerald, Vice President of Robert Spencer’s website Jihad Watch, has explored some of the limitations of the “clash of civilizations” paradigm. As Fitzgerald points out, it gives the impression that America or “the West” or Western Christian or Western post-Christian civilization are the enemy, while in reality the global Islamic Jihad is as much directed at Hindus and Buddhists, and the Eastern Orthodox Christians in the Balkans, and the non-Muslim black Africans, as it is against the much more powerful, and therefore more dangerous, United States of America:

Fitzgerald: Clash of civilizations? Yes and no

The phrase “clash of civilizations,” made famous by Samuel Huntington, is misleading. In Huntington’s formulation, there are the Sinic, the Orthodox, the Hindu, the Islamic, the Western, and so on. And these are all potentially clashing. But this is nonsense. There is only one clash that counts: that of Islam with all of non-Islam. If, in the future, China and America were to go to war, it would not be because the former is “Sinic” and the latter “Christian” or “Western” or some such, but because of perceived Great-Power rivalries — for China and America are now part of the same civilization, the shared, modern, universal civilization, with disagreements at the edges, but nothing like the clash between Islam and all Infidels. In fact, a war between China and America would be about power, and thus no different from, for example, the rivalry, ending in war, between Germany and England in the pre-1914 period. It is interesting to note, meanwhile, that Arab and Muslim analysts around the world tend to prefer the phrase “clash of civilizations” — because it avoids the truthful description of the conflict as one motivated by a belief-system, the belief-system of Islam.

However, Samuel P. Huntington should be credited with some of the honor of placing the significance of culture on the radar of global politics. He is also right in pointing out that the beginning of the 21st century is characterized by a West that has superior, yet declining global power. Rival cultures such as the Chinese and the Islamic ones are asserting themselves. The tectonic plates of global power are shifting in ways they haven’t done for centuries. Maybe future historians will label this age “the retreat of the Western world order.” I say “retreat of” because it is not yet certain that this is the end of the Western world order, although that is a possibility. These massive changes and the real or perceived weakness of the Western civilization that has been dominant globally for centuries could very well create a new world war. Multiculturalism and the inability or unwillingness of Western nations to uphold their borders from massive immigration is viewed by Muslims as an invitation for attack and a signal that their ancient Western rival is weak and ripe for conquest. This is no doubt the background for the ongoing aggressive posture by the Iranian president, among others. We should take this dead seriously, because it is meant that way.

Muslims really do believe that the time has now come for overthrowing the West and putting Islam into the global, dominant position it should have according to their scriptures. They will spare no efforts, including nuclear war, in achieving this goal. The Iranian president has quite openly stated that “Islam will soon rule the world,” which implies that they will have to destroy or subdue the West. Al-Qaeda strategists have earlier outlined a schedule for awakening the Islamic world and crushing the West, with a timeline stretching over the coming fifteen to twenty years. They still stick to this plan, which means that tensions are bound to escalate even further in the near future. Westerners need to understand that a world war of sorts with the Islamic world is already inevitable by now, no matter what we do. The only question is whether this will be a cold or a hot world war. We will rapidly approach the latter, if countries such as Iran are allowed to gain nuclear weapons and continued Muslim immigration pushes Western European nations to the brink of civil war. Iranian nukes need to be prevented at absolutely all costs, if we are to have any chance of avoiding further escalation of the most dangerous kind.

There are many possible scenarios for the first half of the 21st century. Let us have a look at some of them:

1. Another Atlantic/Western century

The intra-Western, Atlantic ties between Europe and North America will still be the most important and defining global axis. This would require that Europe regains her old, cultural and religious dynamic and repels Islam. Just as Islam isn’t the cause of Europe’s current weakness, but rather a secondary infection, it could have the unforeseen and ironic effect of saving Europe from herself. By quite literally putting a dagger at Europe’s throat, the Islamic world will force Europeans to renew themselves or die. Europe will go through a turbulent period of painful, but necessary revival, and will arrive chastened on the other side. Although not impossible, this is probably not the most likely scenario at this point, given the economic and cultural weakness of Europe in particular. The West as a whole also makes up a declining proportion of the world’s population, and globalization makes it more difficult for the West to retain its technological superiority.

2. Another American century

The USA, more than Europe and Asia, will remain the world’s unchallenged superpower. The 21st century will be a continuation of the American Age that started in the 20th century. Europe may foster the strength to repel Islam, but not enough to renew herself, and will fade off the world stage. Alternatively, Islamic-controlled Eurabia emerges triumphant, or the entire continent becomes a nightmare of civil wars where neither side gains a decisive victory. In both cases, Europe will be a source of constant instability. The rise of the Asian economies will be derailed by internal political and cultural problems, or could trigger nationalistic rivalries and devastating intra-Asian wars similar to WW1 in Europe.

3. The Asian/Chinese century

The world will return to the Asia-centric system we had before the rise of Europe and the West. Multiculturalism and uncontrolled mass-immigration destroy the internal cohesion of the decadent West, which will slowly fall apart as it has lost the will to defend itself and the belief in its own culture. The wars in the Balkans in the 1990s will in hindsight be seen as a prelude to the Multicultural World War. Just as Imperialism caused WW1, Fascism WW2 and Communism the Cold War, Multiculturalism and Muslim immigration will drag the West into a war with the Islamic world. Instead of a Westernization of the Balkans, we get a Balkanization of the West. Will this be a world dominated by China, or by Asia as a whole, including India? Perhaps India and Southeast Asia will be bogged down by instability caused by Muslims. The Chinese will watch from the sidelines, quietly playing both sides against the middle as the West and the Islamic world destroy each other. In the end, China will reign supreme as the last man standing.

4. The Pacific century

The USA may remain the world’s leading power, but Europe fades off the global scene and leaves her spot open for Asia. Global affairs will be shaped by the twin pillars of the USA and Asia, mainly China, who will cooperate to contain Islamic extremism, a kind of Global Infidel Alliance. Europe will be the world’s largest open-air museum. The Louvre, the Eiffel Tower, Big Ben and Parliament in England as well as many other landmarks will have been lost during the Eurabian civil wars to expel Islam from Europe. They now exist only as plastic souvenirs that Europeans sell to American and Asian tourists to scrape out a living. These “authentic European souvenirs” will all be made in China, of course.

5. The Anglosphere – Indian century

I believe this is what has been predicted by writer Mark Steyn, among others. The USA and the UK, the major powers of the previous 3 centuries, will be at the centre of this one, too. But they will share the spot with India and some other countries such as Japan, “honorary members” of the Anglosphere. US President Bush has already adopted a policy designed to draw India closer to the United States in a strategic alliance. Perhaps this will be in the shape of a Democratic Union or Democratic Infidel Alliance, which may include parts of Free Europe depending upon the Islamic situation there. This alliance will be suspicious of authoritarian China, and will have hostile relations with the Islamic world.

6. The Global Civil War – Neo-Barbarism and Chaos

The darkest scenario of all. Islam manages to derail the West, both Europe and later North America. This disrupts global trade, and the ripples create unrest even in other parts of the world not directly involved in the fighting, including East Asia and Latin America. India will be drawn directly into the conflict with Islam, as will Russia and Israel. The chaos forces created by Islam and by global mass migration by hundreds of millions of people will erode state power virtually everywhere. Perhaps this trend will be reinforced by the appearance of a new, lethal virus, which will quickly spread to all regions of the world thanks to technological globalization. All of this will create a Global Civil War, the first of its kind in human history. It will disrupt civilization, be that Eastern or Western, for generations to come.

No Dhimmitude says they don’t know if this is a hoax or not — they got it from a French website.

While the loonies complain about Bushchimp and Can’t-Shoot-Straight Cheney, not to mention the “Dump Donald” brigade, here’s what this way comes.

Don’t you wonder how those feminist academic ghettoes will take to the burqa? They all think alike, sound alike, and all too often dress alike. Perhaps a burqa would complete the picture.

 
The week’s winners for April 7th in the Watcher of Weasels Council were clearly tops: no close votes on this go-round. I like that when it happens as it allows me to blather on more than usual.

In the Council section, Rhymes With Right won first place easily. His theme, “Immigration Protests By High School Students” struck a chord with the council voters (note: of the first four posts, ranked by number of votes, immigration was the issue in three of them. What does that tell you?).

Rhymes with Right is a teacher in Texas, so he has his work cut out for him on this subject. As I read his dialogue with his students, I was buoyed with hope:

“Here,” I thought “is a good Socratic teacher, the kind our kids need.” Sometimes, reading about the wack jobs who end up in the classroom, using our children for their own ends, I am filled with despair. Greg dispelled some of those clouds.

On the particular day of this discussion, Greg had been listening to the rumors about the planned walkout of the students so that they could attend whatever latest demonstration being planned by A.N.S.W.E.R. and its cohorts re our country’s immigration conflicts. Leave aside for the moment that ANSWER is a Communist-dominated umbrella organization (yep, the Communists are still here, and for all we know, still being partly funded by the USSR Russia. They are not our friends – and why would they be after we called them the “Evil Empire” and made them take down that blasted Wall?)

But what do kids care? It was a chance to experience solidarity and miss a day of school.

However, Greg cared. So after listening to rumors all day (teachers don’t miss much do they?) he decided to talk to his last class of the day. And I don’t mean “lecture” – Greg talked to them and with them. Socrates would have been proud:

All right, guys, I’m not going to pretend that I haven’t heard some of the chatter about the plans some of you have for tomorrow.

{confused comments from some students, and disingenuous denials from the ring leaders}

You know, I’m the last guy in the world to tell someone not to express their opinion, but I think this whole walkout thing we’ve been seeing on Channel One and I’ve heard you kids talking about here is a bad idea. If you kids walk out, you can expect ISS, Suspensions, or even tickets — and since I keep the gradebook, I know that some of you really don’t need to be out of class any more this grading period.
Besides, do you know how these walkouts are being received by your average middle aged, middle class Anglo like me? Do you? You know, the folks who represent a majority of Americans nationwide? I’ll be glad to tell you.

{the ringleaders are enthusiastic, and the rest of the class would like a chance to stop working}

I was listening to one of the talk radio stations over the last couple of days — I don’t remember which one, with all that’s been going on in my life — and you had a guy saying “I see all these folks waving Mexican flags and chanting “Mexico! Mexico! Mexico!’ I want to go down there and start shouting ‘Go back to! Go back to!’

{one of the ring leaders responds “Mister, I think somebody wants to get his ass jumped doing that.”}

Jose, you’re missing my point. My point is this — has waving a Mexican flag and chanting “Mexico!” done anything to get this guy on your side? Do you think it is doing anything to get your average middle aged, middle class Anglo on your side?

{“uhhh… No”}

Why not?
{“Cuz this isn’t Mexico.”}

Yeah — and what are you supposedly protesting for.

{“To let Mexicans who are here stay here and become citizens.”}

And if you wave Mexican flags and chant “Mexico!”, what does it sound like you are more interested in being?

{“Mexican. What’s wrong with being proud of being Mexican?”}

Nothing — but I think you are missing the point. If you want to be proud Mexicans and wave the Mexican flag, that’s great. But a lot of Americans are going to look at that and think there is a great place for you if you want to do that — Mexico. If you want to show us that you want to be American citizens and work and live here and follow our laws, what might be a better thing for you to do?

{various kids respond — “Carry American flags.” “Shout ‘USA’.” “Don’t disrupt school.”}

Yeah, those are all good. Besides, who are the folks you most need to influence?

{Again, various kids — “The president” “Congress” “The governor” “Mayor Bill White”}

Well, maybe not the governor or the mayor, but the first two are exactly right. What can you do to influence them? And I’m not just talking about on this issue, but I mean on anything.

{one jaded kid — “What? You want us to write them letters? Ain’t no one gonna read letters from us.”}

Yeah, they will. Maybe not the President, and maybe not Congressman Gene Green or either Senator from Texas, but someone who works for them will. They record what folks are wrting about, and pass the information on to their bosses.

{time for the challenge — “Yeah, right. They don’t care. They won’t even write back.”

You would be surprised. Whenever I write, I get a letter back. It may be a few weeks, but they at least acknowledge the letter. And it can change people’s minds. Heck, you can even call their offices and talk to a real live person.

{“I don’t know who or where to call or write.”}

Do you really want the addresses and phone numbers? I’ll get them for you before you leave this room — they aren’t hard to find. You can call or write them instead, and make a responsible protest — show that you know how to be a good American, whether you are here legally, illegally, or are an American citizen. Show that you know how to work within the system.. I’ll even make you a deal — if you feel like writing a letter to the President or the Senators, or the Congressman, I’ll even proofread and edit it for you before it goes in the mail. I don’t care if I agree with you or not — I’ll be proud of you doing things the right way. I’ll even mail it if you bring it in an addressed envelope with a stamp on it.”

They got into a discussion that compared what illegal aliens were doing with the behavior of students who cut ahead in the cafeteria line…toward the end, even those students who were from families of illegal aliens agreed that the behavior wasn’t fair.

When the kids wanted to know what they could do, Greg responded with the time-honored “write your representative.” When that was met with skepticism he offered to write the names of their reps on the board, or told the kids they could bring in letters and he would mail them.

Eventually class ended and Greg left to see his wife at the hospital. On leaving, he noticed about ten percent of the schools’ students headed toward the high school where they would pick up bus transportation to the demonstration.

Only they didn’t: the police were waiting for them and herded them all into the stadium. Parents were called to come get their little rebels.

Good for Greg, good for the police, and congratulations to the county for not permitting this “civil disobedience” in the name of breaking the law.

*   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *

The Non-Council winner this week is one of my favorite bloggers. He writes like water runs downhill; as simple as a law of nature the words flow from him and into your spirit.

Gerard Vanderleun at American Digest has a special style. It is self-revealing without degrading into self-exposure. You get the sense of the man in the words and realize you are seeing someone, not just reading his ideas.

His winning post is about betrayal, probably the most common failing of all. Betrayal is about pride, about needing to maintain one’s place. Do we notice our foot in the face we happen to be standing on? Perhaps. But we can always justify it by our inherent moral superiority.

Mr. Vanderleun chose the “gospel” of Judas as his example of cultural betrayal and lack of respect. Amazing, that two millennia later poor Judas can still serve:

When it comes to discovering new ways to cheapen the human soul, the “professional intellectuals” of our society have cornered the market. So it was last week when, timed carefully to cash in on the Easter holiday, the “serious” editors of National Geographic chose to release their gleanings from a sheaf of rags and call them “The Gospel of Judas.”

Having risen through the echo chamber of “higher” education and survived the ruthless but quiet vetting process of their “profession,” these editors knew full well that what they were putting out into the world was not a “gospel.” They also knew that calling it a “gospel” would ensure greater attention and greater sales. Beyond that, the editors, secular cultists all, also got a quiet little tingle by having, in their minds, “stuck it” to the Christian church once again. As usual, such secularists love to stick it to Christianity.

And in his next sentence, you understand why you go back to read him. Who else could make this connection?

Addicts of auto-erotic spiritual asphyxiation, their onanistic pleasure in these deeds is only enhanced if they can be performed during the most holy days of the Christian calendar. Only then can maximum profit and pleasure be assured.

Motivation for the act? Simple:

This dark thrill of denigration has the immediate benefit of pleasingly confirming them in their own Church of Zero, and the secondary benefit of being much, much safer than, say, sticking it to Islam, a faith that enforces its demands for respect with bombs and beheadings, and whose central message to all cowards is “Don’t mess with Muhammad.” The sad fact of our modern era is that if you denigrate Islam, you often have to bag up body parts and hose down the sidewalk, but when you denigrate Christianity the most you need to clean up after yourself is a warm washcloth.

Read it all, for Heaven’s sake.

And read the rest of us at the Watcher’s Place.

 
Consider this story from yesterday’s News 24 (Hat tip: reader MR):

An Italian magazine close to the influential Catholic conservative Opus Dei group has published a cartoon showing the Prophet Muhammad in hell, sparking outrage among Muslim associations in Italy.

The drawing is published in the March issue of Studi Cattolici.

According to the Italian news agency Ansa, the cartoon shows the Italian poets Dante Alighieri and Virgil on the edge of a circle of flames looking down on Muhammad, whose body is cut in half.

“Isn’t that Muhammad?” Virgil is shown asking Dante.

“Yes, and he’s cut in two because he has brought division to society,” replies Dante.

Well, Studi Cattolici is showing more of the requisite manly equipment than Comedy Central, isn’t it? Maybe this is Italian journalism’s equivalent of Fabrizzio Quattrochi.

The story continues:

Studi Cattolici editor Cesare Cavalleri said: “I hope the publication of this drawing won’t lead to attacks, because if that happened it would only prove the idiotic positions of Islamic extremists.

“Sometimes a politically incorrect satirical cartoon can do some good. It’s only a reference to a passage in (Dante’s) Divine Comedy.

“In any case, Muhammad was sent to hell by Dante.”

Just for the record, some of us think there may have been an additional influence at work in the consignment of the Prophet (pbuh) to the Inferno. But let that ride.

Now the usual suspects have to be trotted out to condemn insensitivity, inflammatory actions, racism, etc.

The cartoon drew immediate fire from Italy’s Muslim community.

Roberto Piccardo, an official of the union of Italian Muslim communities, said: “With all the efforts made in the Christian and Muslim world for inter-faith dialogue, there are nevertheless always minorities that inflame things and cause provocations.”

Have you noticed that the spokesmen for western Islamic organizations generally have less ethnically-sensitive surnames — Hooper, for example, and now Piccardo — than the people they represent? Do the organizations pick them for their bland monikers, or does Walid Abu Husseini al-Masri get a name change to go with his appointment?

And now the Bureau of Unlikely Juxtapositions brings you a second Easter egg, summarized in this AP story:

Teheran has trained suicide bombers to attack British and American targets if Iran’s nuclear sites are attacked, a newspaper reported Sunday.

The main force — the Special Unit of Martyr Seekers in the Revolutionary Guards — was first seen in Iran last month when members marched in a military parade, dressed in uniforms with explosive packs around their waists and detonators held high, The Sunday Times said.

Dr Hassan Abbasi, head of Iran’s Center for Doctrinal Strategic Studies in the Revolutionary Guards, said 29 Western targets had been identified.

“We are ready to attack American and British sensitive points, if they attack Iran’s nuclear facilities,” The Sunday Times quoted Abbasi as saying in a tape recording of a speech the paper said it had obtained. He said some sites were “quite close” to Iran’s border with Iraq.

Abbasi warned the would-be martyrs to “pay close attention to wily England” and vowed that “Britain’s demise is on our agenda,” The Sunday Times reported.

The paper quoted unidentified Iranian officials as saying 40,000 Iranian suicide bombers have been trained and are ready for action.

Why do I get the feeling that “interfaith dialogue” is not going to be of much help to defuse the crisis in Iran?

But, of course:

Iran insists it is interested only in the peaceful use of nuclear power, but the United States and other nations suspect it wants to develop arms and are demanding a halt to enrichment activities.

Now, the New York Times and NPR may believe the above. NPR never mentions the Iranian uranium program without saying, in that sneering skeptical tone it always uses when it quotes the Bush administration, “The United States charges that Iran is enriching uranium in order to build nuclear weapons.” As if NPR had nothing to do with the United States. As if they found all those checks from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in a dumpster, and hated to see them go to waste. As if they broadcast from a tiny planet up in the clouds, looking down impartially on “both sides”.

But the public record is as full of evidence of Iran’s intentions as the Völkischer Beobachter was of Hitler’s.

After all, nutter-in-chief Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently called Israel a “rotten, dried tree” that will be destroyed by “one storm.”

And, as the dhimmi news networks have hastened to point out, this was his moderate stance: last year he said Israel should be “wiped off the map.” Do you think the Israelis are reassured?

These two Easter Eggs — the blasphemous Italian cartoon and the 40,000 willing Iranian shahids — fit together as pieces in the strategic jigsaw puzzle of the Great Islamic Jihad. Anticipate a round of carefully-choreographed mob responses to the Italian cartoon. Embassies, consulates, cultural centers, and so on — the usual targets — torched and roughed-up in order to send messages to certain European members of the Security Council, or to put a little extra sparkle into British or Dutch elections.

Then the 40,000 shahids get dispatched to do their work all over the place, at oil terminals and pipelines, stock exchanges, tourist hotels, etc. All designed to inflict severe economic suffering, and, above all, drive up the price of oil.

In fact, the repeated threat to use them should be enough to make the requisite knees quake.

So on the one hand we have the Europeans, cowering in their lace-trimmed camisoles while Abdul and Mahmud torch their cars and buildings.

On the other hand we have a boatload of American politicians facing re-election in 2006 or 2008, absolutely terrified of the idea that voters might be paying $4 or $6 or $8 a gallon for gas when then time comes for them to start punching chads.

These joint Iranian operations are part of a strategic whole, designed to drive the nuke issue to the UN Security Council, where it will languish in discussions and negotiations while envoys shuttle back and forth and ambassadors consult with their governments and everybody does the jaw-jaw through as many election cycles as possible. “Grave concern” alternating with “constructive dialogue” will become the order of the day, indefinitely.

My dyspeptic and pessimistic opinion is that even John Bolton can’t do a thing about it. His government has decided that the UN is the way to go, and we all know that the Russians and the Chinese, at the very least, will never allow anything to happen that comes within radar range of resolute action.

Which means that the Iranian issue will not be seriously addressed until the Iranians actually nuke someone. Until then, in order to cover its assertion that “Iran must not be allowed to develop nuclear weapons,” the administration can pretend that it doesn’t really know that Iran has nuclear weapons.

But the fact we aren’t willing to face is that Iran is a collective suicide bomber, an entire regime with a nuke strapped to its chest, ready to ride it down to doom. Wake, up, Imam #12! It’s time!

We’ve set it up so that the only way that we can know for sure that Iran has the bomb is when we see the mushroom cloud.

And where do you think that mushroom cloud might appear?

At that point, the glow-in-the-dark Palestinian survivors can emerge from the rubble of the West Bank and dance in what used to be the streets.

UPDATE (from Dymphna): Our commenter, xavier, sends the news. As he says, “too late.”

Opus Dei caved. That is a serious implosion, since this organization is extremely conservative and famously militant in their loyalty to an old-line Catholic world view. The only parallel I can think to offer you is this: to consider what it would mean if the U.S. Marines started apologizing to their adversaries.

Here is Opus Dei’s capitulation:

In response to the publication in the Italian magazine Studi Cattolici of a cartoon offensive to Muslims, we wish to express our solidarity with the Muslim communities of Italy and the world.

In recent months, many Catholics, including this office, have said that there is no need for more caricatures of any religion. As always, but especially at the present time, we all need to work for harmony, tolerance, and understanding.

We consider it deplorable that this cartoon should appear in a magazine that has the name Catholic in its title. Its publication shows a lack of sensitivity and Christian charity. Although Opus Dei has no responsibility for this magazine and each person is responsible for his or her own actions, we wish to ask forgiveness for the offense given.

Religions and their symbols should be respected and religious sensibilities should not be subjected to ridicule. The only road to peace and brotherhood is respect for others’ convictions and practices. Such respect cannot remain at the level of theory, but should be expressed in concrete gestures and actions

This is tripe. Everyone who has elected to publish any sort of cartoon about Mohammed has done so in the name of freedom of speech and in solidarity with those poor souls in Denmark whose necks are being threatened by the scimitar of Islamic intolerance, fear and bullying coercion. Once that freedom to speak, or draw, or symbolize, is abrogated or relinquished we are that much further along the road to dhimmitude.

That Opus Dei just gave us a big shove down the path, during Easter Week of all times, is an indication of our peril.

Look around the mine shaft, fellows: the canaries are dying all over the place.

And who would have thought it would be Comedy Central that would have the principled honesty and integrity to admit what all of the Brainstem Media has resolutely lied about: their motivation for blocking the cartoon of Mohammed was pure and simple: fear —

Comedy Central’s belief in the First Amendment has not wavered, despite our decision not to air an image of Muhammad. Our decision was made not to mute the voices of Trey and Matt or because we value one religion over any other. This decision was based solely on concern for public safety in light of recent world events.

With the power of freedom of speech and expression also comes the obligation to use that power in a responsible way. Much as we wish it weren’t the case, times have changed and, as witnessed by the intense and deadly reaction to the publication of the Danish cartoons…

“Deadly reaction” is the operant phrase there. Soon it may be impossible even to be that honest. Soon we may all be forced to dissemble or die. It is one thing to “believe” in the First Amendment; it is quite another to practice it. An unused limb atrophies.

The fate of the civilized world has not seemed this dark since the nadir of World War II when the advances of the Axis Powers were beginning to look inevitable.

 
Diversionary tactics, folks. That’s what this Waltz of the Generals is, as they dance to the MSM tune. And as they swing around the dance floor, Spook 86, the blogger at In From the Cold has stolen their twisted knickers and hung them up to dry:

Retired Army Major General John Batiste says there is “no coordinated effort” to get Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld fired. Batiste is one of at least six retired flag officers who have spoken out against Rumsfeld in recent days, but he calls those statements “absolutely coincidental.” Yeah, right. In military terms, we’d refer to that statement as “disinformation,” or an effort at denial and deception.

Let’s see…half-a-dozen retired generals are all over the media for the past month or so, stating that Rummy must go, and it’s a mere coincidence? Sorry, General Batiste, I’m not buying it, and you can skip the sales pitch for that bridge in Brooklyn and those ocean-front lots in Arizona. The MSM may be willing to buy your story (since it advances their anti-war message), but many of us can see through your little charade.

Want a lesson in military anthropology? Simply read what Spook 86 has to say about the track record of these worthies:

I’m sure that these officers are justifiably concerned about the situation in Iraq. But that does not mean that the retired generals were motivated only by “professional” concerns. Do a little digging, and you’ll find most have some sort of personal beef with both Secretary Rumsfeld and/or the Bush Administration. In that regard, criticism of the war effort (and its leadership) provides an opportunity to settle old scores, with the assistance of a willing press.

Make that “with the assistance of a panting press.” They want Rumsfeld’s head so badly you can almost hear the “Allah Ahkbar” murmurings in the press room:

I am not doubting the loyalty (or professional competency) of any of the officers who have criticized Rumsfeld. But describing their sudden flurry of criticism as “coincidental” is pure bunk. Retired flag officers are a prototypical “good old boy” (and girl) network; they communicate frequently, share ideas, and they certainly know how the game in Washington is played, right down to a well-timed media offensive.

Nudge, nudge, wink, wink.

Go over and read the dossiers of several of these officers and gentlemen. You will understand better the intricate moves of the Generals’ waltz, better known as “Cover Your Ass,” played in ragtime because they’re jiving us regular folks.

Hell hath no fury like a scorned flag officer.

They know Rumsfeld’s not going anywhere, and they know that Rumsfeld knows they know. It’s just time for a little bloodletting as they waltz by.

These generals are playing a loser’s game and dancing with two left feet. Let’s hope their dime-a-dance act doesn’t go on too long.

Whatever you do, be sure to click on the link and read the whole tacky mess. And hold your nose.

Hat tip: Mrs.Davis.

 
Bad Example has a post today about the efficacy of emailing high-traffic blogs with links. He conducted an experiment, emailing a number of the Big Dudes, and tracked the results. His conclusions are interesting; go over and check it out.

Our blog is not high-traffic (we may count as medium-traffic), but we certainly get our share of email. I can’t imagine how the Top Dogs manage to keep up with theirs.

So, if you email us, here’s the scoop:

• We read virtually every email that comes in.
• Of those that are not mass mailings, or from trolls or lunatics, we respond to as many as possible, probably less than 50%. And, as our traffic increases, that percentage is getting lower.
• Whether or not we go to (or use) the link you send depends on (a) how much spare time (ha!) we have, (b) whether it seems on-topic for us, and (c) sheer chance.
• We appreciate all the non-troll mail we get, so don’t give up on us!

Increasing traffic has its advantages and disadvantages. One of the disadvantages is not being able to deal promptly and properly with all our correspondence.

FURTHER UPDATE: a4g seems to be right. Dymphna was on the phone at 1:40PM EST, but I’m listening to today’s programme right now, so there must have been an hour delay.

Go to the World: Have Your Say site and click the “Listen to the programme” link; that’s what I did.

Dymphna reports:

My brief appearance on the Beeb was in a kind of round-robin format. From what I could tell, I was the only one not demanding Rumsfeld’s head, though there was one fellow who claimed that the situation was so bad it didn’t matter if Rumsfeld stayed in place or not.

When I noted that these safely-retired flag-rank officers were undercutting the civilian commander (under the President) of the armed forces, I also noted that these men were largely Clinton appointments. In other words, they are remnants from a different era and are even more marginal than the man they criticize.

Rather than respond to my observation, one of the other participants could only offer ridicule, saying something to the effect that he had heard many things blamed on Clinton, but “this was a new one.” I wonder if he will have the intellectual integrity to investigate the background and the agenda(s) of these supposedly “closed-mouthed” armchair generals.

As an Army Major put it — so much more succinctly than ever I could have:

Everyone in this great, free country of ours is entitled to their own opinion, and the aforementioned generals have a worldview as senior officers that is of no doubt interesting to the public at large. Wilsonizer certainly pays attention when a flag officer takes time to write a piece for the Times.

But deep in the bottom of the cold Army heart of mine that pumps the green Army blood throughout my body, I cannot help but wonder if there is a ring of hell reserved for comfortably retired generals, who utter opinions maligning the efforts of soldiers and commanders in the midst of carrying out wartime missions.

If you haven’t already, check out:

• Wretchard’s “Troubles of Donald Rumsfeld”
• Big Lizards’ “Grumbles From the Griped”
• VD Hanson’s “Dead End Debates”
• Riehl World View’s “Night of the Generals”
• Gateway Pundit’s “Donald Rumsfeld and the Media, A Bitter Love”

They pretty well cover the situation.

Meanwhile, don’t hold your breath waiting for the Brainstem Media to unearth any flag-rank contrarians. That’s why blogging evovled: because the BSM won’t tell both sides. They are constitutionally incapabable of it and their delusions continue on toward a critical mass.

Dymphna will appear shortly on the World Service of the BBC on a programme (well, I have to spell it that way, because it’s British) called
World Have Your Say, discussing Should Rumsfeld Resign?

I’m not sure how you get the audio for it, but if you click one of the links above you’ll probably find a way to get to it.

From the BBC site, here is the info:

Listen live on the BBC World Service and online at 1800 GMT Monday to Friday
Call: +44 20 70 83 72 72
SMS: +44 77 86 20 60 80
worldhaveyoursay@bbc.co.uk

Dymphna’s segment is scheduled to begin at 1840 GMT, which is (I think) 1:40 PM EDT.

The moderator, Kevin Anderson-Washington, plans to have a wide range of blogger opinion. Dymphna says, “I don’t know whether the format will be roundtable or free-for-all. Spittle-on-the-chin is still drooly, even over the airwaves. Engaging in a rant with someone who is hell-bent on bringing Bush down isn’t interesting or intellectually challenging.”

Stay tuned.

 
Another story of violence against non-Muslims within the Muslim world.

The bare facts are that three men wielding knives simultaneously attacked Good Friday worshippers in three Coptic churches in Alexandria, Egypt.

Now we’ll look at three different MSM takes on the story.

First we have the “straight version”, from News 24 (South Africa):

Three knife-wielding men attacked worshippers in simultaneous attacks during Friday Mass at three Coptic churches in the northern Mediterranean city of Alexandria, killing one person and wounding more than a dozen others, police officials said.

The attackers fled, and police cordoned off the churches and set up checkpoints in an effort to find them.

Next there is the “Christian version”, from UPI:

Muslim extremists posing as beggars attacked three churches in north Egypt on Good Friday, killing one worshipper and injuring 16 others.

A security source told United Press International that the incident occurred in the morning as worshippers attended mass in the churches of Saint Georges, the Two Saints and Abu Keer in the city of Alexandria on the Mediterranean Sea.

The source said the three attackers wearing rugged clothes used swords and knives in their attacks, before managing to flee. [emphasis added]

And finally we have the “Muslim version”, from CNN, of all places:

Knife-wielding assailants attacked worshippers at three Coptic churches in the northern Mediterranean city of Alexandria during Mass, killing one person and wounding more than a dozen, police officials said.

Police said they had arrested three men in Friday’s attacks. One was said to have attacked two churches; one assaulted a third church; and the other was arrested during a foiled attack on a fourth church.

A police official, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the press, characterized the men as “insane” and said they were carrying tranquilizing medication. [emphasis added]

I’ll buy the “insanity” angle. Insanity isn’t all that inconsistent with Islam, is it?

CNN is the only place I could find this insanity meme. Even Aljazeera didn’t have it — their version was one of the “straight” ones. And CNN’s story wasn’t the most recent one on Google News.

Perhaps we should start referring to it as “al-CNN”.

 
A recent CBS News poll showed that Americans have an increasingly unfavorable opinion about Islam. Ever since then policymakers, religious leaders, and bored journalists have been eagerly awaiting the results of a corresponding poll of Muslim opinion.

The Gates of Vienna News Service has just announced the release of its latest UmmaPoll_TM. Between April 1st and April 11th, 1,228 Muslim men and 3 Muslim women [don’t know how those got in there. — ed.] were polled by telephone in Karachi, Jeddah, Qom, and Jakarta. The results are listed below.

1. What is your impression of infidels?
		39%		They are the sons of apes and pigs.
		44%		The trees say: oh Muslim, oh servant of Allah, there is an infidel behind me, come and kill him!
		17%		Shut up. Can’t you see I’m busy amputating this guy’s hand?
2. What is the best way to treat an infidel?
		22%		Stomp him.
		29%		Hang him.
		49%		I say we stomp him! Then we tattoo him! Then we hang him! And then we kill him!
3. What would you do if your sister married an infidel?
		14%		Stone her.
		18%		Hang her.
		68%		Wait! How much did you say the dowry was?
4. How many teeth do you have?
		9%		Four.
		12%		Seven.
		79%		Hang on; let me consult the Koran.

Note: This scientifically-conducted poll has a ±2.5% margin of error. ©2006 GOVNS. All rights reserved

Yes, it’s satire. I can’t believe you had to ask that question.