Thursday, December 07, 2006

To Defeat Islamic Fascism

The first step is to recognize that Islamic fascism exists. Who are these people? What is their background? What do they want? Here's an excellent place to start:

http://www.atimes.com/atimes/others/islamism-fascism-terrorism.html

Next you can clear out the notion of these guys as 'enemy combatants'. They're nothing of the sort. They're criminals and we have to treat them as ideological thugs.

We have to understand how they gather their support in the Islamic world. Let's face it, most Muslims just want to get on with their lives, the same as us. There are, however, political and economic forces that can create frustration and desperation, the very conditions the ideological thugs exploit so well.

It would help immeasurably if we would stop driving wedges between ourselves and the Muslim peoples. The Islamic fascists don't have to struggle to alienate the Muslim world from us, we do that for them every time we invade or attack one of their countries or support a repressive Arab regime.

We need to frame this struggle as a political challenge, not a military or terrorist threat. The thugs are fighting for the 'hearts and minds' of the Arab street. We have to tackle them on their terms, fight their battle and turn the tables on them.

The main weapon to fight Islamic fascism has to be hope, not violence:

-Understand that hope offers the only effective wedge to divide the Muslim population and the Islamic fascists.

-Accept that this is going to be a long, difficult struggle but remember that the outcome makes it entirely worthwhile.

-Recognize that driving the Islamic fascists out of the Arab street may require we subordinate our direct interests to the primary interests of the Muslim people.

-Realize that democracy for the Muslim people is an essential goal but that it must be grown slowly and nurtured carefully if it is not to simply be transformed into an elected Islamic theocracy. It cannot be imposed on societies that are not culturally, socially, economically and religiously prepared for it. This takes a lot of time.

-Be willing to place the interests of the Muslim people ahead of any relationships of convenience with pro-Western but anti-democratic regimes.

-Become intolerant of any suppression of legitimate Muslim aspirations by these autocratic client states. Persuade their leaders that the time for wholesale change has arrived. Leave them in no doubt that the democratic freedom of their people is inevitable.

It is essential that we begin to understand that the use of military force must be a last resort and, even then, we must use the absolute minimum force necessary. The events of the past five years show how our reliance on military power has failed us. No more fanciful notions of "regime change" by conquest and occupation.

We need to work with other countries to greatly expand our intelligence and law enforcement networks and capabilities. It is far better to apprehend these people and process them through a criminal justice system than to defeat ourselves by inflicting collateral damage among innocents and giving these thugs the appearance of martyrdom.

If we're not willing to take on these commitments, surely it's only a matter of time until the Islamic fascists cement their relationship with the Muslim peoples. There's really no time to waste. Yet, if we're going to change their thinking we have to be willing and able to change our own first.

These are my thoughts on the dilemma, mine alone. I just can't see any other way to break out of these cycles of violence and repression.

3 comments:

The Mound of Sound said...

How predictable, DIP. You naturally want to keep repeating the same mistakes, hoping for a different result. That's called lunacy.

Did it ever dawn on you that what we've been doing while all these nasty things occured shows our approach hasn't been working? Maybe it's time to try something else or maybe we should just keep this nutbar game going.

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