War On Terror News - Perspectives is for our original content. While our positions are based in our experiences, the news at the main site, and independent study, this is where we post the analysis of that news.
Medal of Honor
Their Stories in Their Words. Video Testimony of the events that *earned* them the Medal of Honor (*****)
An American Carol - Comedy
The best comedy of 2008 and perhaps the new millenium, sure to be a hit with Our Warriors. I was one of the first to see it at the theater and this was my review then: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/10/movie-review--.html
It's available in Blu-Ray and it'll certainly be in my DVD collection. Finally, a great movie, patriotic, anti-Michael Moore, with actors of rational minds.
(*****)
LTG(ret) Michael DeLong: A General Speaks Out
Go Behind the Scenes at CentCom with the #2 General in charge of the Middle East Theater. He dispels myths and explains the decisions and personalities involved in the decisions made in the Who, What, Where, When and Why. When the SecDef needed an answer, this was the man he called.
Clearly, he was a Marine's Marine leading the US Military at times of Great Peril. He speaks frankly and writes in a manner without political aspiration. (*****)
Robin Moore, RIP: The Hunt for Bin Laden
There is perhaps no other civilian author that has searched so deeply and learned so much about the "Green Berets", which happens to be the title of his earlier book, on which John Wayne's movie was based.
Following the Invasion of Afghanistan, he went as quickly as he could get there and talked to the Men from the 5th Special Forces Group who were still there to hear the stories straight from the horses' mouths on how 200 Special Operations troops were able to rid the world of a tyranny and deal a deadly blow to the enemy Al-Qaeda Terrorists in the weeks following 9/11. (*****)
SSG David Bellavia: House To House
SSG Bellavia, Recipient of the Silver Star and recommended for the Medal of Honor takes us into the realities of Urban Combat. Another True Hero who will likely continue to lead this Nation forward as he continues to serve our Nation in new ways. (*****)
Marcus Luttrell: Lone Survivor
Marcus Luttrell, USN SeAL, and a true Hero takes the reader through his experiences including those that EARNED him the Navy Cross in Afghanistan. (*****)
Ace Of Spades: Why Language Matters In this article, Ace of Spades demonstrates how the writing style of "journalists" and other writers is purposely used to influence the electorate. He explains this far better than I have been able to do, but this is the foundation of why I could no longer be silent.
Go to War against the Nazis with SSG Smith of the 94th Infantry Division. Review: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2010/04/everymans-war-vet.html.html
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While you can find cheaper kits, or more comprehensive kits, an 100w panel with the addition of a battery is sufficient to get you started, and learn the basics.
Stepping up to the 200 watts of panels will cost a bit more on the front end, but avoid the costs of replacing as many components if you decide to expand it. It'll run you about 75% more than the first 100 watts
Let's talk for a minute about morality, and hypocrisy; about religion and politics. Morality is not relative, nor should it be legislated. Things are right or wrong. They aren't right or wrong based on whether you like the person or not, or whether the person has the same political party as you, or even if they have the same religion as you. Now, your beliefs will influence your morals, and if ...those morals are that homosexuality is fine or it is sinful, you are entitled to those beliefs, but it is hypocritical to say that it is fine for Democrats but wrong for Republicans.
And if you are a Christian, and you do believe that homosexuality is a sin, that is fine. No one should attempt to force you to believe otherwise, or force you to perform same sex marriages. But if you are Christian, you should recognize that all humans have sinned, and that sinners are loved by God. While there are *some* in organized religion that would turn away a "sinning homosexual" from the church, the true Christian does not.
If you are a homosexual, I don't care what you do with consenting adults behind closed doors. It doesn't involve me, but if a Christian tells you it is a sin, that might bring about eternity in hell, that is a result of their beliefs and morals, and hopes to give you the information to avoid such fate. It is not their authority to condemn you to such fate. And if you are an atheist and they warn you of the same, what do you care, you don't believe in Hell anyways. You should be glad, like Penn, of Penn & Teller, that they care enough to warn you.
Now, I haven't seen a "Christian" out screaming such things in a long time, but if someone's out there doing such things, stop. It isn't a Christian thing to do. As Jesus said: "Let he who hath no sin cast the first stone." He said you will known by your works, not by screaming at people or pretending that you're their judge.
But I promised you some politics. If your political beliefs are such that racism is wrong, then it is hypocritical to attack a politician because their skin color doesn't meet your political party standards. If your belief is that sexism is wrong, then it is hypocritical of you to attack a politician of the other party based on being successful as a mother and professional, in the other party. If your political position is that homosexuality is fine, then it is wrong of you to attack a politician of the other party for engaging in it. If your moral standard is that politicians shouldn't be sending nude pics to interns and (which is also illegal) minors, then when your politician does it, you must condemn it. If your position is that politicians are also subject to the Law of the Land, then when your politician gets caught with cocaine, then you should join in the calls for his resignation.
If your position is reversed because the political party is reversed, then YOU are a hypocrite. If your morals are relative to your agreement or admiration of the person in question, then you are a hypocrite. If you demand that others respect your religious convictions, even if your religious convictions are atheism, but refuse to respect theirs, then you are a hypocrite. If you call for the imprisonment or institutionalization of those who hold different political beliefs, because of those beliefs, while proclaiming that you have a Right to yours, then you are a hypocrite.
This Nation was founded on the God Given Rights of Individuals to form their own opinions and beliefs and to proclaim them in writing, in speech, and in the pulpit. It is steeped in the belief that you have the right to persuade others to agree with your beliefs, but that you have no right to force them to accept them. Even racist speech has value, because that speaker identifies his own personal stupidity. Political Correct BS does not change that idiotic bias. It only hides it from view, allowing it to fester until it explodes in violence, or surfaces in the subservience of pity and the chains of dependency. It is that political correctness over decades, which has brought a silent animosity of races, rather than an understanding of, and appreciation of, differences that would otherwise make us stronger as a Nation of Human Individuals, rather than weaker as groups of groups refusing to work with each other.
Christianity has at its core that only by Free Will can anyone be admitted, that only God can Judge the heart, and that no veneer of compassion, clothing, going to Church 10x a week, or false front of a righteous life will escape his judgment. Hence, it doesn't matter how much I like or despise you, only God can stand as your Judge, in your heart and your eternity. Hence, it does not matter how much you like or despise me, it is only my conscience which determines how well I sleep at night, and only he that judges my eternity. It is my belief, that he will judge most harshly those that stood in the pulpit while living against his principles, than those that walked past those doors.
But, just as I Defend Your Right to form your own opinions, and to state them publicly, I do NOT cede my Right to the same, and to use that Right, at my sole discretion, to demonstrate the hypocrisy of the statements you make.
I really don't care if you pray to the broomstick beside your door, or believe that time really runs in reverse of our perceptions. I Defend your Right to believe so, but I don't accept that you have any right to force me to agree, while I do accept that you have a Right to try to persuade me to do so, and that others have a Right to attempt to persuade you, but not to force you, to change your beliefs. I do not stand here as your judge, nor will I accept you as mine, though I may play tipster to your conscience, should you decide to demonstrate your colors.
Archeologists today are regularly finding evidence of technologies of the ancient world that match or exceed those of today. Wonders remain that have not yet been explained by today's crop of scientists, archeologists, and historians. Legends of old are being proven to be less myth and more history, that civilizations of 2,000 and 4,000 years ago weren't as primitive as modern man often thinks, that battles of old did occur, along with the fact that Heroes that fought them did exist.
Many of these new discoveries of old lack the details to understand the mechanics. And often, things that can't be explained are chalked up as extra-terrestrial interference. Yet, we know that even modern technological results can be achieved by various means. Flight today can be achieved by propeller, rotary, blimps, or glider aircraft. Physics may allow for other means of flight as yet undiscovered, or even lost in history.
The motivations and machinations of modern man are not much changed from those of ancient man. Why did Egyptians and Mayans strive to build bigger and better pyramids? Why do modern Asians and Americans strive to produce ever taller buildings and longer bridges? To put their mark on the world around them. To be the -est; the biggest, the brightest, the tallest, even if only for a moment in time.
We know that science and education has been learned and lost. We know for example that the current cycle of learning produced indoor plumbing in the 16th and 18th Centuries, but that the Romans also had it in 1st Century, and the Minoans had hot and cold running water, as well as sewage systems in 1700 BC. We know therefore that simple plumbing has been learned and lost at least twice in Western Civilization alone. Where would we be today if the technology of the Romans had not been lost to the invasions of the Muslim Caliphate in the 7th Century, had we not been plunged into the Dark Ages by "mini-Ice Age" and invading marauders?
Today's science and knowledge is expanding and advancing at paces unknown in human history, in large part due to concentrations and sharing of the same, in places like libraries and universities. In times past, there were parallels, and others there were perpendiculars, where inventors more closely horded their knowledge, but no man can maintain the whole world's body of knowledge in his own brain.
Today, archeologists are finding evidence that ancient man moved or formed buildings of stones greater than modern man can move or make, that ancient man may have understood aerodynamics and flight to some extent, that he knew astronomy as well as 21st Century scientists. The Mayan calendar, for example, takes into account astronomical events that occur only once in 5000 years.
We even know that we already losing the ability to read from technologies that were new in the 1980's, such as the 5 1/4" floppy disks and VHS tapes. We don't know how soon the internet or USB ports will be lost to history, or that the CD will go the way of the 8 track tape. How would future archeologists and scientists interpret the discovery of a collection of CD's, particularly if electricity and CD players were to be lost technologies, and unrediscovered?
Instead of admitting the most likely possibility, that invading Armies destroyed the records of how the feats of ancient man were accomplished, as were the technologies of the Romans and Greeks, many look to the stars, to say that aliens helped, or ordered the construction.
That is not to say that life does not exist in other places of the universe. It most likely does, and while some of the religious world might call that blasphemy, the Bible and other texts don't claim that life exists only on this world. In fact Genesis refers to many things it does not say were created or done. It does not tell us how Cain's wife came to be for example. It elaborates only of generations of a single son, for the most part, through Noah, yet tells of many wives and cities of people. A lack of detail in the Bible does not imply that anything did not exist or did not occur. A lack of understanding of how something occurs in the modern world does not mean that there isn't an underlying law of physics.
And in the possibility of extraterrestrial life, both scientists and clerics can be blinded by what they know. Scientists look for oxygen breathing, water drinking, carbon based life forms, instead of considering that life elsewhere might breath carbon dioxide (or some other gas) and drink oil (or not at all). Some clerics look to their texts and see that it only mentions life on Earth, and hence must exclude other worlds. What we do not know we don't know can be as limiting as the things we know we can't yet explain.
Ancient Incan miniature sculptures in gold present us with what could be a model of an airplane. Ancient Greek texts tell us of a chariot that flew inside a building for the entertainment of visitors. Biblical and other texts of the Middle East speak of other means of flight. And let us not forget the "Flight of Icarius" and the drawings of Michelangelo, which predate modern flight by hundreds or thousands of years. Not only is it possible that ancient man figured out the principles of lift, it is also possible that he knew other means of defying gravity. It is not impossible that Egyptians studied the flight of birds and built their own versions of planes, or it could be they simply carved out a miniature sculpture of what they saw in flight.
And while Science at one time insisted on the "fact" that the Earth was flat and the Universe revolved around it, modern Scientists may be insisting, and likely are, that "facts" and theories today are just as wrong. Since the first child ask his father, "Why is the sky blue?" man has attempted to speak in absolutes of knowledge he may or may not have. And just as many of those fathers gave an absolute reason of utter nonsense, so too do some today tell tales of absolutes they do not know, some of which may even make sense. Too often humans do not wish to admit to those that believe them smart, that they don't have an answer.
Science is not sacrireligious, nor does modernly known laws of science preclude intervention of a Supreme Being; the existence of God. While we have Theories of how the Universe and Life on Earth was formed, even if someday they are proven, it does not mean that it wasn't the machinations of a Supreme Being. Confined to Earth, man and Scientists cannot prove that anything does not exist. While we have only recently learned to send probes to other rocks in the Solar System, as far as we currently know, we've only sent life to the moon.
We haven't even planted a seed on Mars, or figured out how to get a camera to the next Solar System in our lifetimes. And we have only theories of what is actually in the center of the Earth or below the Marianna Trench. We know that magnetism works, and have harnessed its energies in many ways, but we do not know necessarily how or why, or all of its uses.
In every theory of the Universe, something was always there, timeless. While timeless is a concept we cannot fathom, Scientists and Clerics alike admit there must be something immune from time, from the cycle of life and death. Proponents of the Big Bang Theory believe the Universe was once compressed and exploded, while Christians believe it was God that caused the creation of Heaven (space) and Earth. While atheists point to the laws of physics as precluding the notion that God exists, there is nothing to say that God didn't author those laws as Congress authors the tax code.
Even today, technologies are being lost as other technologies are being invented. When I grew up, my father and I often worked on the cars we owned, adjusting the timing, changing spark plugs & alternators, occasionally even attempting to rebuild carburetors and transmissions. He wasn't a mechanic nor am I. Then, paying someone else to change an air filter or the oil was unheard of, except for "the rich" who also paid others to clean their house and pool. Today, many couldn't even find the oil plug bolt on their car, and don't consider that they could change the oil in less time than it takes to drive to the shop to have someone else do it.
Today, people will wait hours on the side of the road, waiting for someone else to come and to take off 5 lug nuts, and change their flat tire, while others can change 4 tires in 14 seconds. Ask a modern carpenter to build a shed without electricity, and you'll get an interesting look of puzzlement, but only a hundred years ago, there was no other way. He knows it can be done, but he likely has no idea of how to turn trees into a house. It doesn't necessarily take a laser to create precise structures and a modern crane is not the only way to lift a multi-ton stone. Even in the last few hundred years, a single man of small stature was able to build a multi-ton structure, without cranes, by himself. The means by which he built the structures, in Florida, remain unknown and bewildering to modern engineers.
What we think we know can be as limiting as what we don't know we don't know. We know that diamond can cut just about anything, but it is not the only thing that can cut rock, and just because we don't know how the Mayans built such precisely cut stone structures high in the mountains doesn't mean there's not a better way to cut and move rock than we know today. And just because we no longer have that technology doesn't mean that only aliens could have done so. In the 11th Century, hot water wasn't available to a king in his castle, though it was 28 centuries earlier.
Just because light travels faster than anything I know, does not mean there isn't something faster. Just because it is accepted that diamond is the hardest substance on Earth, doesn't mean there isn't something harder, or more brilliant. Just because we haven't found a reason to disprove the Theories of the Big Bang, or Evolution, does not mean they are fact. Just because modern flight was invented by the Wright Brothers does not mean the Mayans had not figured out the same or better ways thousands of years ago.
Just because we don't understand how the Egyptians or the Mayans came to the knowledge they had, or the technology to build the things they did, does not mean they had extraterrestrial help. They could have easily discovered the same laws of physics and aerodynamics, as have modern scientists, just as the English invented modern plumbing, despite the Roman systems of plumbing being lost to Invasion of the Caliphate. It's possible and even likely that they knew other sciences and had other technologies that we haven't re-discovered. It's possible that those technologies are even simpler than today's, like the abacus to the calculator, like magnetism to aerodynamic flight.
Just because we cannot explain something, does not mean it's unexplainable.
Still, in a world where Scientists note that the Earth has gone through numerous cycles of worldwide tropical environments and Ice Ages, that they can only theorize about causes, it is surprising that they alternately predict a man-made Ice Age (1970's) and Global Warming (1990's) based on so little empirical data (100 to 200 years), while simultaneously ignoring their own research of a 1000 year warming since the last "mini-Ice Age."
There is nothing wrong with developing theories in attempt to explain and discover the Truth, or in the belief in Aliens, God, or Atheism, but there is something profoundly wrong with teaching that theory as Fact, as we should have learned from the history of Science in proclaiming the Earth as Flat. There are things which can be believed only by Faith, including many tenets of Science.
As we approach the Christmas Holidays, the most dogmatic of Atheists seem ever more intent in preaching a religion of no God, though they cannot disprove God, and simultaneously must confess that something (matter) has eternally existed. The human need to convert others to one's own belief propel them to attempt to convert others to "non-belief," while some hubristically believe that only supreme beings of other planets could have helped ancient man in his feats, while others believe themselves the supreme beings of the Universe. While Science proves ever vastness of the Universe or Multiverse, and ever more microscopic elements, few seem to consider that the Universe itself may be a part of a being greater than our own comprehension, as incomprehensible to us, as we would be to a living being on a photon.
Just as man is the world upon which microorganisms live, and can transport knowing or unknowingly across vast distances in its lifetimes, which would take the equivalent of billions of lightyears to us, for the species to move, so too might we be the microorganisms as yet undiscovered by beings so vast that a solar system is an atom.
There are some things we each believe to be true, but we cannot prove as fact. Every belief you hold is probably contradicted by the belief of someone else, who holds its truth to be just as indisputable. Hence, it is important that we be honest with ourselves in what is fact, and what is belief, what is proven, and what must be accepted on Faith.
And what is "political islam?" Well, political islam is islamism, pure and simple, but in a benign way of saying so. Islamism is a political and economic ideology that wants governments ran by mullahs and ayatollahs, according to "Sharia Law." There are two branches of islamism: violent and political. Regardless, their goals are the same though their primary means are different. Hezbollah, Hamas, and Iran are both violent and political forms of islamism. Al-Qaeda and the Taliban are violent adherents of islamism.
And who is the Muslim Brotherhood? It is a secret society established in 1928 and has formed political parties at times to advance its goals. Members of the Brotherhood are required to keep their membership private and to donate a portion of their incomes to the Brotherhood. If you know a Muslim, you may know a member of the Brotherhood, but don't expect him to say so. Several terrorists of different organizations have ties to the Brotherhood. Its size is unknown. Its reach extends into London and into the United States.
It wasn't so long ago that we reported about Al-Qaeda taking hostage a church in Baghdad. Then that they made good on their promise to continue targeting Christians in Iraq and around the world. Over the Christmas holidays, we reported on churches and Christians were attacked and murdered by Islamists in Egypt, Iraq, Nigeria, and the Philippines.
In Islamic countries, this violence has less backlash than when Al-Qaeda was more actively murdering Muslim Children at playgrounds. That led to Islamists in Saudi Arabia to denounce Al-Qaeda as a Mossad operation. Funny how that works.
But how has the world reacted to the attacks on Christians? Some have bemoaned the exodous of Christians seeking asylum from Iraq, but mostly the world has sat silent. Obama attempted to highlight not the Christians murdered but the Muslims injured in the blast in Egypt. He didn't mention the larger portion of the Egyptian Police force that slinked away ahead of the bombing, but the few that didn't get far enough away.
And those elements that attempted to deny Islamist murder of Muslim kids as Al-Qaeda and OBL being Mossad? Oh, the anti-Semites find Mossad behind the Al-Qaeda murders of Christians as well, again pointing to those few Muslims injured in the sinful (as per the Koran) attack on a Church. Then again, the anti-Semites also find a Mossad plot behind shark attacks and the Stuxnet virus, and any other evil they perceive. There's an off shot the Mossad may have been behind the Stuxnet worm, but other than motive, little evidence. If they were, they should be cheered and not everyone that thinks they were is anti-Semitic. But behind shark attacks in the Red Sea? It demonstrates how desperate the anti-Semetic crowd is.
Michael Haltman has been a great job of following up on the Coptic Church murders. Drop in to see his coverage.
A person's religion is a matter of faith. Christianity is not an inheritable belief. It is fundamentally a religion of free will. As a basic tenet, it says Christians will perform good deeds as a result of their relationship with God, rather than as a means of attaining a better place in the afterlife. Few things can be more Christian than the 1st Amendment to the Constitution, which states:
"Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances." Amendment I, US Constitution, Bill of Rights
It is surprising then that a quote from the Communist Manifesto ("separation of church and state") is quoted as the First Amendment and that together they are often used to assault Christianity in courts and legislatures. But the War On Christianity is not limited to law suits, blackmail threats of lawsuits, and the new prophets of atheism. It is also physical attacks on churches and Christians. On Christmas 2010 alone, Christians have been murdered in Nigeria, the Philipines, and elsewhere, by Islamists.
Suicide is haram, a cardinal sin. The protection of civilians is required under not only International Law, but also Sharia Law. Killing women and children is considered particularly heinous according to Islam. Mohammed himself forbid these atrocities, so how is it that the Taliban and Al-Qaeda engage in these activities?
The answer is simple: The Taliban and al-Qaeda subvert and destroy Islam in their desire for absolute power and greed for wealth. The illiteracy of those they subject to their tyranny is an important tool in their means to control and terrorize entire populations.
During our own dark ages, those that subverted Christianity used illiteracy of Latin to maintain the Priests as the sole conduit of God's Word and today Islam is going through the same crisis. When only the Mullah can read the holy texts, he is empowered to preach only hate. When he preaches that sins should be committed, when he endorses the cardinal sin of suicide to terrorize by the murder of children, he is no holy man. He is a purveyor of Satan's ilk.
Sometimes, we have a tendency to oversimplify the enemies and threats we face.“Terrorists” are the enemy but is it Sunni terrorists or Shi’a terrorists?Which are the good guys and which are the bad guys?And are the Ba’athists Sunni or Shi’a?Aren’t we against monarchies?Aren’t our anti-Iranian policies really an anti-islamic policy?
Well, most of my articles have focused on only a few of our enemies: The Taliban, Al-Qaeda and Iran.I’ve made a few mentions of Ba’athists and I’ve defended the monarchy of Saudi Arabia.But what is it that ties these enemies together and what is it that allies us with a monarch?I’ve struggled to identify why we should support who in the world myself.The sad fact is that many times, we must simply support the lesser of many evils.
As much as it would be preferable to lump all of our enemies together and call them all terrorists, islamists, facists, or communists, such an oversimplification would lead to failure to overcome the threat.
As many of us have realized, historical glories and misdeeds are often used by politicians and radicals to rally the people to commit to new wars and atrocities. The wars in the former Yugoslavia truly highlighted how deep people will dig to find a reason to hate and kill. It was quite common for the warring sides to quote acts from the 11th century as grounds for their 20th century atrocities.
In the 21st century, the regional powers of the Middle East have a profound interest in keeping their huge neighbor of Iraq in a weakened state, not only to prevent it from becoming a new empire of the Middle East, but also to prevent a democracy from taking hold and succeeding. The latter would then erode the level of satisfaction that their own people have under their current forms of government. This includes our allies but moreso our enemies.
One of my readers accused me of ‘leaving him hanging’ on the historical aspects of the Middle East.I am an avid history buff but I do try to keep my articles relevant to the discussion on the War on Terror.I believe in the saying: “Those who fail to remember history are doomed to repeat it.”
For years, I wondered how Jerusalem became a ‘holy city’ of Islam.Since this is one of the central issues of contention between 3 major religions and used as an excuse for islamic aggression, it bears the merit of discussion.Two of the religions have made peace over the city and two of them are still actively fighting over the issue.All three religions tie their origins to a single family, millennia before Christ.
The break between the Torah and the Koran over this lineage occurs in Genesis chapter 21.The ancestor of both Arabs and Jews, of islam and Judaism, as well as patriarch of Christianity, is Abraham.He had two sons Ishmael, born of an Egyptian slave, who became patriarch of Arabs and Isaac, born of his wife and half sister, who became patriarch of the Jews.In a test of his loyalty, he later prepared to sacrifice Isaac.
The location of the altar Abraham built to make that sacrifice is believed to be the later location of the Temple Mount, which replaced the Temple of Solomon and the place where the Judaic priests placed the Ark of the Covenant, which is in Jerusalem. Hence, it has profound and sacred meaning to those of the religion of Judaism.
While Judaism and Christianity proclaim Isaac the chosen son, islam proclaims Ishmael the chosen son.Both became the ancestors of vast nations and though he wasn’t a religious founder, the latter’s descendents became the founders of a powerful religion.It is through that lineage that Arabs consider themselves better muslims, though descended from an Egyptian (African).
Of note is a religious tradition of building religious sites over the destroyed sites of other religions.This is not a tradition limited to any single religion.Many churches in Europe are built over druidic and other religious sites of the people they converted.Islam did the same as many of the religions it replaced.It helps in the conversions as the converts are accustomed to those sites and their previous religious sites are no longer present.
Fast forward to the dawn of islam. The Arab commanders, from Mecca and Medina, of the islamic Army were the Vikings of their day.Instead of using boats and waterways, they used the desert as a refuge from superior militaries that feared the desert.They set up their capitals in the conquered lands on the edges of the desert, which gave them an excellent retreat if attacked.They conquered and colonized very quickly.
Interestingly, only the first (Abu-Bakr) of the four Caliphs of islam was not murdered (634 AD).The second (Umar) was murdered (644 AD) by a Christian slave.He had appointed his cousin, Muawiya as commander and governor of Syria.The third (Uthman) was killed (16 June 656 AD) by members of the Arab muslim army in Eqypt at his quarters in Medina and they installed Ali, the cousin of Mohhamed and husband to Mohhamed’s daughter.Ali was assassinated (661 AD) by radical muslims.(No wonder the Middle East enjoys watching Jerry Springer.)
Ali’s son Hasan renounced his ascension to the Caliphate.Later, Husayn (or Hussein), another son of Ali and grandson of Mohhammed started a civil war against the Ummayad Caliphate that had succeeded Ali, by means of the sword.Husayn and his militant followers were later ‘massacred’ in Karbala, Iraq on 10 Muharram (islamic calendar) in the year 680 AD (of our calendar) giving birth to a Shi’a holiday and sacred mosque to the Shi’a.This mosque has been attacked many times in modern days by Al-Qaeda (which are Sunni Extremists).Only his son, Ali, great grandson to Mohhammed survived the battle.And with that, we see the early origins of the Shi’a-Sunni rift.
But let’s return to the Caliphate and the 5th Caliph, Muawiya.He was, similar to the previous Caliphs and a member of the aristocratic families of Mecca. His Army in Syria was battle tested on the main front of islamic expansion and quickly won in the civil war over ascension to the Caliphate.He was the first to appoint his son as the heir to the Caliphate and he set up his capital in Damascus.This began the first ‘dynasty’ of the caliphate, named the Ummayyads, for the House of Ummayya of Mecca from which its family originated.
Not all of the Caliphs used that title.Some preferred the title Amir or “commander.”Some used other names but all were theocratic rulers over an empire.
By 692 AD, Abd al-Malik (7th Caliph?) had overcome the revolts of his brothers Abdallah and Musab and secured the Caliphate he had claimed in 685.It took the death of his brother to do so.Like those before him, he was a theocratic politician and ruler.He did a lot to create a working government, including minting gold coins, which included religious inscriptions.He built infrastructure.He left the message throughout the realm that only islam was the rightful heir to mono-theism by decrying the Trinity.
And where this all comes together, al-Malik commissioned the Dome of the Rock in their year 72 (and the Christian years 691-692 AD), in what was then Aelia(no longer called Jerusalem), on top of the ruins of Solomon’s Temple.It should be realized that during this time, Syria, Jordan, and Israel, although under islamic rule, were primarily Christian and Jews.As such there were many beautiful churches which helped to keep Christianity as a majority in this part of the islamic empire.
A tenth century muslim geographer explains the importance of a similar measure taken by Malik’s son and successor, al-Walid in building the mosque of Damascus rather than roads:
"He saw that Syria, the land of the Christians, was full of beautiful churches of seductive appearance and vast renown…. He gave the muslims a mosque to divert their attention from these churches and made it one of the wonders of the world.In the same way Abd-al-Malik, when he saw the immense and dominating dome of the Church of the Resurrection, feared that it would dominate the hearts of muslims, and he therefore erected the Dome which we see on the Rock.”
I imagine that this geographer would receive the same attention as Salman Rushdie if he were alive in modern times, but at that time there was still debate over its sanctity and most argued against it.The debate stems from verse 17:1 of the Koran in which allah takes mohhammed on a magic carpet ride one night from the mosque in Mecca to the ‘farthest mosque.’
In those days, it was believed that that meant he took him to heaven but eventually (modern day) muslims have ascribed that mosque to Jerusalem and the Dome of the Rock which was built 72 years after his death and is certainly not the farthest mosque from Mecca today nor was it a mosque at the time of his magic carpet ride.It does however make for powerful arguments in their attacks on Israel and their claim to Jerusalem.This may seem like a long way around to explain the methods that Jerusalem became a ‘holy city’ to islam, but the bits and pieces we normally get always confused me.I’ve also given you the basics of how the Shi’a and Sunni began their murderous feud.And in reviewing the historical information of the early days of the islam, I am reminded that very little about it was ‘peaceful.’In fact, it shows that not even muslims are at peace with each other.
In fairness, I should point out that if Syria were in play, Al-Qaeda might consider it for its historical significance but that claim would be considered less valid as the Ummayyads are not considered to be very good Caliphs, just as certain Popes in early Christianity are not considered all that holy.But Syria is a part of their mid-range plan.
I should also point out that in those days; both Christians and Jews were treated better under islam than they were under other rulers of the day.At that time, they were considered more as errant followers of the wrong denomination, worshiping the same God and were simply taxed at a higher rate so long as they accepted the government of their islamic rulers.For conversion, that tax was lifted and they were granted greater rights.Conversion by the sword was used primarily against those of polytheistic religions, which are defined as infidels.
But I will also point out that conversion by the sword, imperialism (empire building), murder, assassination and desecration of holy sites of other religions has a long tradition in islam.A modern day example of assassination is the accusation that Muqtada al-Sadr had his uncle (father?) killed in the early days of the current Iraq War in order to ascend him as the highest mullah in Iraq. I do not know if this accusation has been proven, but there is at least some evidence to support it.Assassination is a normal method used in the Middle East: Saddam used it, Sadat felt it, and in fact in Baghdad assassinations are down from 100 a month to 35 a month from January to May of this 2007.
Polygamy and incest continue to be practiced today and is easily seen in their early history.Slavery and the taking of a dead enemy’s wife is still seen as the right of the conqueror.Protests in London over the Danish Cartoon included the calls for the raping of Danish wives as “war booty.”The Koranic right to all of a vanquished enemy’s property is still practiced.(Yes, women are considered property.)Hence the islamic demands on Spain to return those properties in Spain that were taken by the sword so many centuries ago though later returned to the families of those that paid for them.
One of the fallouts of OBL with some of his muslim peers is that he did not first offer the US and Bush the opportunity to convert, before 9/11.(He did later.)His goal is in fact imperial.He has long stated his goal of creating a Caliphate.
From 2007: I often express my frustration with ungrateful American (as well as British and Canadian) civilians who are anti-War and think we can placate the enemy. I often ask them to at least educate themselves on who the enemy is before they undermine support for our mission. That enemy is Al-Qaeda, primarily, and multiple smaller terrorist groups and cells, most of which have an association with Al-Qaeda but many of which instead have an association with Iran (Hezbollah) or are more independent.
Someone made an interesting point the other day. She said most people simply 'want to go about their daily lives in peace.' She was absolutely right. Most Iraqis and most Afghanis do just want to go about their daily lives and struggles to survive. 90% of the world simply wishes to go about their daily lives of struggling to make ends meet. However, she was 100% wrong in her implication that we were targeting this majority.
SSgt Workman is featured in the Hall of Heroes and a book review on this from Marine Till Death that read it as it was written: http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/shadow-of-the-sword-by-jeremiah-workman-w-john-bruning.html
http://waronterrornews.typepad.com/home/2008/12/ssgt-jeremiah-workman-navy-cross-usmc-iraq-marion-oh.html and links to prior articles.
Reads like an action novel, but gives insight into the way a Special Forces team operates. Go Along as an SF Medic turned Team Sergeant Trains and Fights in Afghanistan and the Invasion of Iraq.
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