This is God's War

I grew up as a huge Slayer fan and remain so to this day.  This is September 11 from the perspective of those who committed the act.  This is anger, aggression, hatred and evil in its purest form.  This is Slayer.  This is Jihad.

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Volatile World Update

Volatile World is on hold as I am currently blogging for GoToGuy.com. Come check us out. It's where all the cool kids hang out.

Obama's response to Rick Warren

This sums up the majority of Obama's responses in this past Saturday's debate:

"I appreciate you asking that question, Pastor Rick, and I think you'll recall I just gave a speech about this a few weeks ago. You see, this is one of those issues that I feel deeply about and I would like Americans to know where I stand on this, but first let me tell you a story about something my grandmother did for me when I was seven."

"I was struggling with a great despair I felt that America might not do so good. I talked to my grandmother about this and she assured me that America would do good and that if I believed in that then I myself would help it to do good. So you see, my grandmother was the one who inspired me to believe and it was she that led me to believe that America would do good if I do good. And that was a real epiphany in my life and profoundly affected my desire for a good America. I know deep down inside that if I do good then America will do good. And if America does good then all of you will do good too and that's why I love America."

"So to answer your question I think that its important for me to elaborate on this tale that is in no way related to anything you asked but still sounds somewhat intriguing enough so that after I gently hypnotize you with my voice, you will be convinced that I said something fascinating and hopefully no one in this audience will remember what the question was but will be so overwhelmed by my divine charisma that they will vote for me this fall because they too hope for a better future and a brighter tomorrow."

(Applause)

Victory in Iraq

I think if we transformed Iraq into a Mega-Disneyland where gold coins fell from the sky, there would still be a sizable portion of the anti-Bush crowd that would insist we never should have liberated the country and that the world would be better off if Iraq was still a hostile nation run by a mad dictator. I won't argue with those who refuse to accept success. This quote is for the rest of you:

"Over the course of more than five hard years, our troops have brought stability and freedom to 25 million Iraqis, while crushing al Qaeda in Iraq. Regardless of disagreement about initiating the war back in 2003, Americans should unite to applaud the success of our troops in 2008."

The War in Iraq Is Over.
What Next? WSJ - BING WEST

Cult

For entertainment purposes only. Safe with most medications. Enjoy.

Cartoon In Jordanian Paper: Bush Out, Obama In

The Memri Blog

America: The Dark Knight

If The Dark Knight is not an allegory for the current American zeitgeist, I would love for someone to correct me. This brilliant new record-breaking film is filled with moral gray areas and repeatedly demonstrates the potential consequences of making morally ambiguous decisions.

Batman is loved for protecting the people but hated for his tactics. He is the quintessential vigilante. He works outside of the law for the greater good of his community. He is not a hero, he is a protector. He sometimes has to bend the rules in order to guarantee security to his city. The Dark Knight sometimes physically harms his enemies while interrogating them and quickly gets the vital information he needs to save lives. He even reluctantly resorts to domestic spying as the only way to prevent an attack involving mass casualties. He has a job to do, civil rights be damned.

The movie’s hero, Harvey, the "white knight" of Gotham City, is a prosecutor who plays by the rules and does a fine job when those rules function. Harvey himself however ultimately realizes that his means are limited and that the city can only be helped by a force of good that works outside of the law, not a hero but a protector.

Gotham’s villain, the Joker, does not wish to reason with anyone. He is, as he says, “an agent of chaos,” a terrorist who cannot be negotiated with. The current law enforcement system lacks the necessary tools to deal with this new kind of threat and stopping the Joker requires extra-judicial means - a darker knight.

Batman is often forced into a position where people will die if he acts and people will die if he does not act. The lesser of two evils is his perpetual motive. Perhaps America will be remembered as Harvey “Two-Face” was remembered, as the White Knight whose ugly half has been veiled from the pages of history, or perhaps America will always be The Dark Knight, loved for what it does and hated for how it does it.

The Rise of Islam

Generic religion is often blamed for radical behavior, especially in the Middle East. It is worth noting however that not a single Christian became a suicide bomber during the second intifada despite the fact that Palestinian Christians suffer just as much a Palestinian Muslims as a result of Israel's occupation. Not all Muslims in the Middle East are violent radicals but unfortunately most violent radicals are Muslims. Islam for many in the Middle East is viewed as the best viable alternative to government repression in the so-called moderate states ranging from Egypt to Oman. In Egypt, there is now one mosque for every 745 people, up from one for every 6,031 in 1986, despite a doubling of the population (WSJ.) Perhaps there is a better alternative to government repression in these territories other than a retreat to the mosque.

I believe the success of democracy in Iraq is vital to providing this alternative to other states in the region. Paradoxically, Iran is actually helping the situation by instilling fear in the hearts of its neighbors who recognize the perils of a radical Muslim regime dictating its will upon the masses. There is a race between Islam and Democracy in this volatile part of the world and so far the two seem to be tied. The finish line is on the rapidly approaching horizon.

Change You Can Believe In

Obama has removed criticism of the troop surge from his website in his latest rush to the political center. Ending a war by winning a war is no longer anathema to Barack's foreign policy. Obama is now the most conservative far left wing guy I've ever seen and I find it ceaselessly entertaining. He is true to his word that this is a new kind of politics. Before you know it, he'll be seeking Mike Huckabee as a running mate.

It is a lie to say that Bush lied

We all know the Bush administration lied about WMD in Iraq and fabricated the whole story. One has to wonder then how the U.S. found about 550 metric tonnes of yellow cake uranium at the Tuwaitha Nuclear Research Facility south of Baghdad following the 2003 invasion and shipped it to Canada. Saddam Hussein was probably stockpiling it for peaceful energy purposes.

Yeah. Facts are inconvenient like that.

Full Story: Al Jazeera - US announces Iraq uranium transfer

The Burden of Jerusalem

"No issue has been settled, hence the necessity of greater efforts from the US administration and from the international community to avoid the region falling into uncontrollable chaos"
-Al Jazeera: Peace deal closer than ever

Israeli and Arab leaders are petitioning the EU to play a greater role in the Middle East peace process. Everyone wants to talk and everyone wants peace. No one however believes there can be peace without resolving the status of Jerusalem, claimed by both Jews and Muslims. Peace in Palestine, in the Middle East, and in the world in general hinges on the status of a tiny city that was barren and desolate for the past couple thousand years but hit center stage in 1967 when Israel recaptured their long lost capital for the first time since the Romans destroyed it in AD 70. Today, Jerusalem is a factor in nearly every nation's foreign policy. Global international relations seem to revolve around this former waste of a city. Who would have guessed?

"And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it." Zechariah 12:3

Iran Loves America

This is a great story. Ahmad Batebi, an Iranian 21-year-old student, was sentenced to death for “creating street unrest” during a protest in 1999. He appeared on the cover of The Economist and the regime in Tehran was less than pleased. After years of torture this man escaped Iran through Iraq and made his way to America. In Iran, he says, the government is religiously extreme, but the people are not. He praises the way “people [in America] have the opportunity to become who they want to be”. Shortly after he arrived, he posted a picture of himself in front of the Capitol on his Farsi-language blog, with the caption: “Your hands will never touch me again.”



It is unfortunate that most Americans fail to appreciate America as much as people like Ahmad Batebi. Mr Batebi thinks Iran could well turn solidly democratic some day. I think he and others like him deserve the full support of those of us who take our freedom for granted.

Full Story: The Economist - Silent no more

Iran's Rapidly Advancing Military Capability

This is the Shahab 3 missile that Iran has developed based on North Korea's No-Dong missile and is capable of reaching the heart of Israel. Among the unanswered questions concerning Iran's nuclear program, the West would like to know why Iran's "peaceful" nuclear program includes designs for a a cone-shaped nuclear warhead that could be loaded onto this missile.

The world cannot afford the luxury of allowing Iran the time needed to develop an intercontinental ballistic missile with a nuclear warhead. How to prevent the acquisition of such a weapon is a complicated matter and there are no appealing options. If however, a military conflict develops in the near future, let us hope it happens before Iran completes its quest for a nuclear ICBM.

Withdrawing Troops From Iraq

The US is struggling to finalize a security agreement with its allies in Baghdad. The Iraqis want the agreement to include a date for US troop withdrawal from the country. Both countries agree that the withdrawal should be contingent on the security conditions on the ground and the US is hesitant to set a date knowing that the date will be conditional. There is an easy way to solve this.

The security arrangement should include a tentative date for troop withdrawal based on our current best guess of when security conditions will allow for such a withdrawal. By stressing the word tentative, the security arrangement will be malleable enough to adjust the withdrawal date if the current security improvements take an unexpected turn for the worse. If security conditions deteriorate by the tentative withdrawal date, it would be in the interest of the US and Iraq to extend US troop presence in the region to accommodate conditions on the ground.

Both the US and Iraq agree that the goal is to end foreign troop presence as soon as security conditions allow it. The proper use of language in the security agreement would allow for any necessary adjustments in the near future while reassuring the people of Iraq that the US has no intention of occupying their country any longer than necessary.

Problem solved. Everyone wins.

Further reading: Al Jazeera - US rejects Iraq pullout timetable