God bless 'the cousins', they always have a phrase for all occasions! And the horrible 'occasion' we have just been forced to witness made that particular saying rather apt when I read this passage detailing events of over a hundred years ago:
"What added to the fear was that terrorists were so sweeping in their condemnation of society that there seemed no way to reach them. Often, when they were caught, they refused to give reasons. McKinley's assassin would say only 'I done my duty'. Or their choice of target was frighteningly random. 'I am an anarchist by conviction,' said Luigi Lucheni, the unemployed Italian workman who killed Elizabeth of Austria. 'I came to Geneva to kill a sovereign, with the object of giving an example to those who suffer and those who do nothing to improve their social position; it did not matter to me who the sovereign was whom I should kill'. The anarchist who finished his meal in a Paris cafe and then calmly murdered a fellow diner said merely, 'I shall not be striking an innocent if I strike the first bourgeois that I meet'. Terrorism, again like Al Qaeda, lost much of its support before the [First] war even in sympathetic left-wing and revolutionary circles as a result of increasing disgust with its methods. The fear, though, that European society was under attack, did not go away easily." (*)
So, to quote yet another old Americanism, today we have more of 'the same old, same old'. It is important, I think, that our leaders think! Yes, let us deploy such weaponry as we have which allows us to zap them without providing them with opportunities to zap us back. However, we should not believe that somehow we face an enemy who can be defeated in the field. Young Muslim men, and some women, too, are angry and disgusted by western mores which they find repellent. Their fury is inflamed by the all too obvious fact that the west appears to be succeeding beyond anything they could dream of for their own societies. Some - most, actually - will simply accept the fact and attempt to jump on the western bandwagon whilst trying to maintain, as best they can, the tenets of their religion and their tradition. But some will not. They will fight to the end and will have to be destroyed. It will be a campaign that may last well into the next century.
However, in the meantime, and taking a more concentrated look at the 'here and now' factors, our leaders do need to assess their strategic relationships with the likes of Saudi Arabia, Qatar and some of the other Gulf and Mid East states whose coffers are 'the gifts that keep on giving' as far as the likes of ISIS and AQ are concerned! Potentially, our reliance on Gulf oil is reducing and could be reduced much further and much faster. For example, it came as a surprise to me that Venezuela has oil reserves far greater than those of Saudi Arabia! Perhaps 'the cousins' should take a long, hard look at their neighbor and figure out how to replace the current regime with one that is more, shall we say, amenable. The current administration, of course, wouldn't have a clue but perhaps they could dig out some of the old, retired CIA hands who, back in the day, could topple governments with one hand tied behind their backs!
Anyway, time for some longterm strategic thinking - me thinks!
(*) "The War That Ended Peace" by Margaret MacMillan
ADDITIONAL: He doesn't know it yet but my Special Correspondent for Arkansas Affairs, known to us all as 'JK', has been fired! He was supposed to keep me right up to date on the Pryor/Cotton fight for the Arkansas Senatorial seat but what do I get - nuttin'! Instead I have to get all my intelligence from PJ Media - of which, more tomorrow.
However, I have decided to give 'JK' one more chance to prove to me that he is not wasting his time up in 'them thar hills' with Barney Magroo and his illegal still! This time I have appointed him as my Middle East Correspondent on the basis of a superb essay on the subject of ISIS and the realities of how we face their challenge which he found and forwarded to me. This is the sort of clear thinking required in the perpetual fog of the White House. Read it - NOW! Thanks, JK.
