The New Crusade: Imperial U.S. vs
Political Islam
Comments (20)
Posted, Sunday, December 27, 2009
12:30 pm
The article you posted is so fine;
thank you.
There may be another reason that the U.S. seems to need
one war after another from it's beginning. I think de Toqueville touched
on it. Identity vacuum. The City on the Hill seemed to promise the possibility
of a country that would resemble no other country, a new race of citizens
unlike any others on earth, in short, exceptionalism.
One of the enculturating rules for new immigrants from as
far back as I remember, never taught in any U.S. school or citizenship class,
was to remove or change, deform out of recognition, the ''old'country, country of
origin, identity. You can see an example of that in the millions of family
names changed to fit the new homeland. I think that the baby of millions of
people was thrown out with the bathwater, leaving a nation bereft of many
things, not the least of which is integrety, cultural, moral, ethical, legal,
institutional.
One of the most memorable residues of WWI and WWII seems
to have been the solidarity the veterans had for the men they fought with, for
the rest of their lives. One might argue that war for the United States is a
vital bonding mechanism they otherwise do not have and so, desperately need?
Suzanne
_______________________
Answer by R.T.:
Indeed, exceptionalism and “Manifest Destiny” are not
that far from “the chosen people” complex that some Jews have. I
have written about that in my book “The New American Empire” and in
some of my blogs. For example, see “The myth of Manifest Destiny, Take
Two”, August 28, 2006 [http://www.thenewamericanempire.com/tremblay=1034.htm]
Of
course, there are many other reasons why the United States has become a
bellicose country since World War II. For example, I should have stressed the
central role presently played by the Israel Lobby,
[http://www.vdare.com/roberts/091228_israel.htm]
in promoting the most recent American-led wars in the Middle East. That
powerful lobby carries a tremendous influence not only in Congress, but also
within the Obama's White House.
Keep
in mind that before World War II, the United States was not a
militarist country. In fact, in 1940, the U.S. Army stood only eighteenth in the world
regarding the size of its army, trailing not only Germany, France, Britain,
Russia, Italy, Japan, and China, but also Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal,
Spain, Sweden and Switzerland.
[See “No Ordinary Time: Franklin and Eleanor
Roosevelt: The Home Front in World War II” by Doris Kearns
Goodwin, Oct 1, 1995].
Posted, Sunday, November 27, 2009
09:57 am
In your article, there is this quote:
"Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you find
them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using every
stratagem of war." The Qur'an (9:5), Islam's holy book
I was about to send your article to a long list of mine,
but I couldn't find the quote above. You mentioned 5:9. I found a similar quote
at Qur'an 9:5, instead of 5:9, but it continued immediately in the same 9:5 "But
if they repent, and establish regular prayers And practise regular charity,
Then open the way for them: For God is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful."
My point: this is such an important quote, and should be
accurate as to where to find it, and would be better to be more complete.
Sam
__________
Answer by R.T.:
Indeed, many readers have volonteered to
complete the above quote.
It seems that the correct quote is:
"Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you
find them, take them captive, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem
of war, but if they repent, establish regular prayers, and practice regular
charity, then open the way for them, for God is oft-forgiving, Most
Merciful." Qur'an (9:5)
In my original article, the reference is at 9:5, not 5:9.
This verse in the Qur'an is often called the “verse
of the sword”. Even in its entirety, however, the quote is a terrible
one, because it alludes to forced conversion under the threat of death.
In
other so-called religious books, such as the Jewish Torah or the Christian
Bible, there are passages similar to those found in the Qur'an. I do not
pretend to know all the subtleties of Islam, or of any religion for that
matter. But I think that it is the responsibility of those who promote such
religions to be clear in the messages they convey. Otherwise, some weak minds
could be forgiven for being confused as to their real meaning.
Expansionist
ideologies, such as communism, fascism, colonialism, Christianism, Islamism and
Zionism, are powerful seeds of war. The more so, it seems, when one relies on
the exhortations of a so-called “holy” book. The first three
ideologies nearly destroyed the Planet in the 20th century, while the last
three threaten to do the same in the 21st century.
I
talk more about that in my coming book:
The Code for Global Ethics, Ten Humanist Principles
To
preorder:
Posted,
Sunday, December 27, 2009 09:52 am
I read with interest your fine article America's New
Crusade: Imperial U.S. vs Political Islam. However, it appears to me
that you made a glaring omission. You show a lengthy list of US wars (feeding
USA's explanding military-industrial complex) but omitted mention of the
Balkans. That is where USA chose to appease Islam and, in tandem with that, USA
now has a huge miltary base in Kosovo, Camp Bondsteel.
Answer by R.T.:
Of course, mine was a short article. I did
not include references to the Balkans or to Latin America and U.S. Gun Boat diplomacy for that matter. I hope, however,
that the general message was clear.
Posted,
Sunday, December 27, 2009 06:52 am
Your message to America in your article “America's
New Crusade: Imperial U.S. vs Political Islam”, should go out
to every newspaper in the land. The implications are valid, the possibilities
for good are enormous yet the refusal by the American public to take
action is unfathomable.
I offer no insight as to the reasons; I can only track
the senseless progress to self-destruction. Indeed, the senseless destruction
of other peoples in other lands.
The only possibility for cessation or reversal of policy,
in my opinion, is when the notice comes: America, your account has been closed
because of "insufficient funds".
Sadly, the unbelievable advertising and
manipulative power of the military-industrial complex is so great that it
over-powers all that stand in its way.
I applaud your efforts to alert the country.
Charles
Answer by R. T.:
Indeed, since World War II, there seems to exist a
mentality in the U.S. that the rest of the world should adapt to U.S. interests
and that the U.S. has an unlimited right to intervene in the affairs of other
nations. This is a very dangerous mentality indeed, and it could lead to disaster. As you
stated, such a policy is geared to drive the U.S. toward over-extension and
bankruptcy.
Western countries, and the U.S in particular, would do
better to be more careful in their immigration policies and be less arrogant in
their attempt to rule the world by force. I think this would be beneficial to
all.
Posted,
Sunday, December 27, 2009 01:36 am
Having read your article, it appears that you, like most
of the U.S. populace, do not understand what goes on behind the scenes in the
U.S. and probably globally which has its effects on the whole world, especially
now that it is clear that the present "financial crisis" was cooked
up by the cabal of finance, the U.S. Federal Reserve and their OWNERS in
complete secrecy. Since the Fed is privately owned, and is only a quasi
government associated entity, which is the real power behind the scenes, and is
responsible for changing the nature of money into a completely fiat currency,
unbacked by anything but counterfeit dollars as part of the Ponzi scheme which
was intended to control the country, as the Rothchild banking cartel had
learned to do a century previously, and which was instituted in 1913 under
cover of night when all but the plotters of the Senate had gone home for
Christmas. My Dad was a "runner" riding his bike to deliver the
messages and packages of the big wigs on Wall Street at the time, so he was
witness to the thickery. ...
With the paid compliance of the major media, who are
given "talking points" the media does the bidding of the powers
behind the scenes, who supply the money to elect their chosen ones, having
arranged to back both a Republican and a Democrat through the primaries
that will be in place to do the bidding of the "wise ones". The end
result is that it really doesn't matter who we vote for by the time elections
roll around; both parties and their nominees are beholden to the powers behind
the scenes. (Those so-called "think tanks", such as the Council on
Foreign Relations, Trilateral Commission, and of course the Bilderbergers, who
represent the bankers, lawyers, and transnational corporations and industrial
cartels such as the Chamber of Commerce, through their lobbyists plus the
"elite" super rich of the world.).
It is well recognized that the history of central banks
boils down to the history of the world, from money changers of the Bible to
Rothchild and the Bank of England to the Federal Reserve: He who controls the
money and has the gold controls the world literally through the politics of
each country. The problem we now have is that the bankers' history shows that
they make money by financing wars. Thus we have a government that is controlled
by the theoretically elected, but whose allegiance is determined by the
"Modern Day Money changers" of the world, who are in cahoots
with the central bankers of the world.... The citizens of the United States
have been so brainwashed for so long by our media and our so-called educational
system, as instructed by their bosses, that the average citizen is too busy
trying to make a living and live a decent life but has no time to really know
what our politicians have done to us. There is nothing to this history of
the "US great super power" that is the beloved war cry of the
politicos, but not of the people. ...
There is effectively nothing left of our constitution, to
which every elected representative and our president swear allegiance, but by
which they stomp on the very document and its directives given us by our
founders, on a daily basis, as they thumb their noses at the citizens of this
country. Just watch them: they will at the behest of the bankers dredge up
WWIII, in order to save the owners of the world's central banks' assets, and to
take over the losers assets, yet again!
Patricia
_______________
Answer by R. T.:
I agree with a lot of what you write. The U.S. Fed is a
disgrace in the way it acts as a private government for big financial interests
and as a creator of financial bubbles. And, I congratulate Rep. Ron Paul for
asking for a public audit of the Fed's books.
Posted,
Saturday, December 26, 2009 11:46 pm
I read your piece "America's New Crusade: Imperial
U.S. vs Political Islam", and it has added to my own research on how the
distribution of wealth and the transfer of huge amounts of money to the banking
cartels affects us all.
Tom
Posted,
Saturday, December 26, 2009 05:15 pm
How do you see the women situation in all this Bazar? The
world's events are and will stay in a repetitive situation unless women get
really on the board. Women's studies at the universities are rediculous and
wasting time and money. I am not talking of women tokenism such as Madame Rice
or even Hillary.
Victoria
Answer by R. T.:
Of course, my short piece did not raise
this issue.
In my coming book “The Code for
Global Ethics”, however, the question of human rights and the equality of
sexes feature proeminently.
Posted,
Saturday, December 26, 2009 04:04 pm
Your latest article is terrific. Meets with my full
approval.
Congratulations and thanks for speaking out.
Charlie
Posted,
Saturday, December 26, 2009 03:54 pm
Your article is excellent. It is very timely and
describes the role of the U.S.A. as the world's aggressor.
I have been interested in the subject of WWII in Europe
from the time I was 11 years old and followed the progress of the war on a daily
basis with my father. I would appreciate your comments about an article I
prepared about WWII in Europe (enclosed).
Walter
Posted,
Saturday, December 26, 2009 02:40 pm
This
type of behavior is what brings about the down fall of many madmen and empires.
As I see it, America will never be the same. American foreign policy has made
the world a dangerous place to live in. As a muslim, I resent it when people
continue to label some groups as extremist. In that case what would you label
the C.I.A., the Mossad and other western intel agencies? What about the
atrocities committed by the U.S. and it's allies against these muslim
countries? They are causing the suffering and deaths of thousands of people.
Mostly innocent people.
I
have read the N.S.P.D.51.
The average American is clueless about these directives. One of the things that
concerns me is these illegal immigrants invading the U.S. I see the tension
between them and the American people. I think the U.S. is headed toward civil
unrest. According to the international bill of human rights, every government
is suppose to address the basic needs of their people; health, education and
welfare. Mexico is not doing that. When I ask a Mexican why don't they stand up
to that corrupt and racist government, they don't answer.
Rashaad
Posted,
Saturday, December 26, 2009 11:48 am
Thank you for this excellent and useful article. To my
mind, your most useful passages were those inquiring into the causes of war,
since I would like the U.S. to stop its continual pattern of attacking other
peoples' countries.
There are of course many books, countless books on the
causes of war.
Wikipedia had, in the past, an entire section on the
causes of war but it was moved into "War" and then renamed "motivations
for war". The material includes your theories,
and more.
We need first of all, a definition of exactly what sorts
of war we oppose.
And if we do not, at the same time, understand very deeply
in our own motivations, why we oppose such wars, we'll surely drop the inquiry
and resume other, more enjoyable activities as almost every peace activist
always has done in the past. It's as if they are somehow drawn to
the subject by some deep fear or cognitive dissonance, and without ever seizing
control of the operation of the mind, allow it to mend itself by finding
whatever rationalizations or theories put the mind to rest. Then, they
disappear from the movement and resume the feeding of their appetites.
Besides the problem that peace activists almost always
fail to define what kind of wars they object to, and why, there is another
problem: we don't understand the nature of causality. What is a
"cause", for such vast thing as war, reaching so far beyond our
immediate perception, so far into the past, and covering such large areas of
the planet?...
Todd
Answer by R. T.:
Judging from the large number of comments I
have received, it seems this article has touched a nerve.
Questions of war and peace are very
complex. A few years ago, I wrote an article for the magazine “The
Humanist” about the “Just War Theory”, and found that G.W.
Bush's war in Iraq did not meet any of the five principal criteria for a just
war.
I agree with you that we should spell out exactly what
sorts of war we oppose. In general, war is too serious an affair for having it
trivialized as this seems to be the case presently in the U.S.
Posted,
Saturday, December 26, 2009 01:39 pm
It is disappointing that the desired effect of such a
wonderful article should have been basically marginalized if not completely
nullified by an incomplete quote from the Qur'an out of context, the purpose of
which is to abrogate the merciful and loving verses of the Qur’an with an
incomplete specific verse concerning battle. ...
First, we shall provide the verse in its context: 9:5-6
“But when the forbidden months are past, then fight
and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, an seize them, beleaguer them, and
lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent, and
establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for
them: for Allah is Oft-forgiving, Most Merciful. If one amongst the Pagans ask
thee for asylum, grant it to him, so that he may hear the word of Allah. and
then escort him to where he can be secure. That is because they are men without
knowledge.”...
Jay
______________
Answer by R. T:
By essence, a quotation is always taken out
of context. But
even in its complete form, the quote from the Qur'an is a terrible one. And it
may explain why some terrorists could rely on the Qur'an to find inspiration
for their acts.
Posted,
Saturday, December 26, 2009 1:35 pm
Thank you for taking the time to write and share your
views with the world.
I have a data question, and a comment.
Concerning your passage "Just as for some
aggressive Islamic countries, the U.S. is also the most religious of all first
world countries. Researchers have found strong positive correlations between a
nation's religious belief and high levels of domestic stress and anxiety, and
other indicators of social dysfunction such as homicides, the proportion of
people incarcerated, infant mortality, drug abuse, sexually transmitted
diseases, teenage births and abortions, corruption, large income inequalities,
economic and social insecurity...etc "
-I would like to know if you have data that confirms
this? How "most religeous" is calculated, and how many countries were
considered? Also, does this pattern also apply to 3rd world countries? If you
have data table / graph of some kind, with source references, that would be
most useful.
My comment is regarding your referrence to the
"source" of US military-ism, stating that it comes from the military
industrial complex. However you correctly state that this started many decades
before the military was industrialized, with the native Americans and the
British, African people. Therefore the military industrial complex can not be
the source of the problem, but rather a symptom which aids the perpetuation of
past (initial) colonialism.
Rather it is the context of a people's national-formation
which sets the stage for further developments. If a nation is bred from war,
and rewarded for conquest, it will add this meme to it's psychy (culture). This
is how cultures evolve, for beter or for worse, and this is how the US one got
to where it is today.
Sebastian
Answer by R. T.:
Many
studies have documented that religion is an outlet for social stress and
poverty, and may be a factor in retarding social progess. Overall, the richer
and the more socially stable a society is, the less religious it is. On the
other hand, the poorer and the more socially dysfunctional a country is, the
more religious it is. For example, in the U.S., the poorest state (Mississippi)
is also the most religious. The poorest continent and the least well organized
(Africa) is also the most religious of all. [http://www.usatoday.com/news/religion/2009-12-21-south-bible-belt_N.htm]
By many measures, the U.S. can be
considered a socially dysfunctional country in which the level of social stress
is very high, even if the average GDP per capita is also high, according to primary
indicators such as homicide, incarceration, juvenile mortality, lifespan,
adolescent and all age gonorrhea and syphilis infections, adolescent abortion,
adolescent births, youth and all age suicide, fertility, marriage, marriage
duration, divorce, life satisfaction, alcohol consumption, corruption, income,
income disparity, poverty, employment, work hours and resource exploitation
base. (See
Gregory Paul's paper "The
Chronic Dependence of Popular Religiosity upon Dysfunctional Psychosociological
Conditions" available online.http://www.epjournal.net/filestore/EP073984414.pdf)
For example, there is no other country in the world, even compared to
much more populous countries like China, that has so many inmates as does the
U.S., (over 2 million).
Religiosity
is usually calculated as the proportion of people attending church regularly
and who say that religion is important in their lives. For example, in the
U.S., there are about some 52 percent of very religious people. A highly religious group (34% of adult Americans) is composed of those who
attend church at least once a week and for whom religion is important in their
daily lives. Another religious group (18%) is made of people attending church
almost every week or once a month and saying religion is important. [http://www.gallup.com/poll/124649/Religious-Intensity-Remains-Powerful-Predictor-Politics.aspx?]
This
level of American religiosity is much higher than in Europe, Canada or
Australia.
Posted,
Saturday, November 26, 2009 03:40 pm
I agree
with your analysis. The only thing I would add is that isn't it the case that
oil access for the US and especially the EU is the driving force behind the
maintainance of the MIC. Therefore in their minds it is a rational process to
have permanent preemptive war.
That's why one of the neo-cons made the comment 8 yrs.
ago that future generations would thank us for their war initiative assumedly
to procure M.E. oil access. Most Americans agree with this policy.
Once you create an oil dependent car
culture this is the outcome for foreign policy.
Answer
by R. T.:
Oil access is certainly an important driving force of U.S.
foreign policy. However, it is not certain that a comprehensive cost-benefit
analysis would not reveal that this approach is net negative. The costs of
permanent war are very high indeed, and long lasting, while the benefits are
short and medium term in nature. Such a policy is geared to drive the U.S.
toward bankruptcy.
Moreover, the heavy dependence on oil as the
main source of car energy should be over twenty years from now when hydrogen
will take the place of oil and electricity.
Posted,
Friday, December 25, 2009 06:26 pm
You quoted the quranic verse (9:5) out of context. Please
read through it.
"Does Islam promote violence?
A few selected verses from the Qur’an are often
misquoted to perpetuate the myth that Islam promotes violence, and exhorts its
followers to kill those outside the pale of Islam.
1. Verse from Surah Taubah
The following verse from Surah Taubah is very often
quoted by critics of Islam, to show that Islam promotes violence, bloodshed and
brutality:
"Kill the mushriqeen (pagans, polytheists, kuffar)
where ever you find them." [Al-Qur’an 9:5]
2. Context of verse is during battlefield
Critics of Islam actually quote this verse out of
context. In order to understand the context, we need to read from verse 1 of
this surah. It says that there was a peace treaty between the Muslims and the Mushriqs
(pagans) of Makkah. This treaty was violated by the Mushriqs of Makkah. A
period of four months was given to the Mushriqs of Makkah to make amends.
Otherwise war would be declared against them. Verse 5 of Surah Taubah says:
"But when the forbidden months are past, then
fight and slay the Pagans wherever ye find them, and seize them, beleaguer
them, and lie in wait for them in every stratagem (of war); but if they repent,
and establish regular prayers and practise regular charity, then open the way for
them: for Allah is oft-forgiving, Most merciful."
[Al-Qur’an 9:5]
This verse is quoted during a battle.
3. Example of war between America and Vietnam
We know that America was once at war with Vietnam.
Suppose the President of America or the General of the American Army told the
American soldiers during the war: "Wherever you find the Vietnamese, kill
them". Today if I say that the American President said, "Wherever you
find Vietnamese, kill them" without giving the context, I will make him
sound like a butcher.
But if I quote him in context, that he said it during a
war, it will sound very logical, as he was trying to boost the morale of the
American soldiers during the war...
Habib
Answer by R. T.:
Indeed, it has been pointed out to me that the complete
quote is:
"Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you
find them, take them captive, lie in wait and ambush them using every stratagem
of war, but if they repent, establish regular prayers, and practice regular
charity, then open the way for them, for God is oft-forgiving, Most
Merciful." The Qur'an
(9:5)
Even
in its complete form, the quote in the Qur'an is a terrible one. This reference
to forced conversion under the threat of death in the Qur'an is a negation of
basic human freedom of conscience and is therefore unacceptable.
By
definition, any quote is out of context. But, if a verse cannot stand on its
own, it should not be in the book.
Your
reference to the American war in Vietnam hardly applies, because no leader
could have issued a blanket order to kill Vietnamese because they were
Vietnamese, even in time of war. This would have been tantamount to genocide, a
crime severely punishable by international law.
If
a religious book contains passages that can only apply in times of war, it
should say so, in order for weak minds not to misinterpret them.
Mind
you, there are a lot of similar appeals to violence in other religious books
such as in the Jewish Torah and in the Christian Bible. As long as these
passages are not clearly explained or expurgated, they will continue to be
misinterpreted.
Posted,
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 02:40 pm
Could not agree with Dr. Tremblay more.
My country is well on its way to being the worst racist shit
disturber in history. It is forcing islam to be an enemy of it and it is
succeeding. it started with the
creation of israel in muslim lands and continues with the support of the kosher
nazis who rule israel and are now essentially controlling the US. This gringo nazism and kosher nazism is
going to kill several of our people, both in and out of uniform, in future
generations
Mazdi,
Posted,
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 01:58 pm
The
complete quote should be:
"Fight and kill the disbelievers wherever you
find them, take them captive, harass them, lie in wait and ambush them using
every stratagem of war, but if they repent,
establish regular prayers, and practice regular charity, then open the way for
them, for God is oft-forgiving, Most Merciful."
The Qur'an (9:5), Islam's holy
book
In this case, the reference to "if they repent" indicates clearly that
this was a strong warning to prevent an existing or potential threat at the
time, and certainly indicates that the purpose of the threat was to end the
conflict peacefully and justly, and not to just wanting to kill
indiscriminately.
There is no mention in the Qur'an that indicates any kind
of indiscriminate killing under any circumstances, or against any
particular race or group....
Hatem
Answer by R. T.:
I
do not pretend to know all the subtleties of Islam, or of any religion for that
matter. It is the responsibility of those who promote such religions to be
clear in the messages they convey.
As
to Islam, it is understandable that people can be confused as to its messages,
especially when they witness suicide bombers killing innocents in many
countries.
The
deeply religious terrorist Osama bin Laden may have also contributed to this confusion
when, after the terrorist acts of September 11, 2001, he explained the Islamic
rationale behind the killing of thousands of innocent people with these words:
“It is allowed for Muslims to kill protected ones among unbelievers in
the event of an attack against them in which it is not possible to
differentiate the protected ones from the combatants or from the strongholds.
It is permissible to kill them incidentally and unintentionally according to
the saying of the Prophet.”
That
may be a fundamental problem with so-called “holy” books, when they
can be interpreted according to one's immediate interests or intentions. What
counts is the practice, not the pious theory.
Posted,
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 12:25 pm
While fundamentalist Christian 'useful idiots' are
largely antiIslamic, the big impetus comes from the
industrial/financial/commercial oligarchs that reap the benefits of 'wars for
fun (public catharsis) and profit'.
John,
Answer
by R. T.:
Religion
has often been a tool for the rich and powerful to use the “useful
idiots” as you say to advance their interests.
This
was true in the past and this is true today. This new American-led crusade is
not different.
Posted,
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 10:27 am
Are you a Jesuit? Are you a Zionist? The obvious lack of
Old Testaments quotes to a war like the God of Abraham defines all three
religions in my mind. The Palestinian holocaust and genocide is proof that King
Harrod is alive and well. The Christian crusades, inquisitions and murder of
the Cathars address the politics of Empire. The Islamic crusades were fashioned
by the other to brothers in this trio.
So perhaps, we must be fair and balanced about the
causes of evil in this world and look to the profiteers among the ruling elite.
Lyn
Answer
By R. T.:
I
am neither. Usually, I only post three quotes at the beginning of my articles.
This time, I had five.
In
my coming book, “The Code for Global Ethics”, besides outlining the
basic humanist principles, I have numerous Jewish, Christian and Islamic quotes
you may appreciate.
Indeed,
when I refered to a new crusade, I had the Papal crusades in mind, including
the crusade against the Cathars in the south of France in the early 13th
century.
Posted,
Tuesday, December 22, 2009 08:04 am
Congratulation on excellent article !!!
Right on -on all counts. Presidents come & go but the
invisible /unelected government is the controller ( Israel security is also a priority).
Eva