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The Muslim village has been derelict in condemning the madness of jihadist attacks. When Salman Rushdie wrote a controversial novel involving the prophet Muhammad, he was sentenced to death by the leader of Iran. To this day - to this day - no major Muslim cleric or religious body has ever issued a fatwa condemning Osama bin Laden....
The double-decker buses of London and the subways of Paris, as well as the covered markets of Riyadh, Bali and Cairo, will never be secure as long as the Muslim village and elders do not take on, delegitimize, condemn and isolate the extremists in their midst.
"I can assure you that one day, should I be set free, I would do exactly the same, exactly the same," he said, speaking slowly in sometimes halted Dutch.This article briefly recounts his crime:
He said he felt an obligation to Van Gogh's mother Anneke, present in court, to speak, but offered no sympathy.
"I have to admit I do not feel for you, I do not feel your pain, I cannot -- I don't know what it is like to lose a child," he said as Van Gogh's family and friends looked on.
"I cannot feel for you ... because I believe you are an infidel," he added.
"I acted out of conviction -- not because I hated your son."
Several months before he was killed Van Gogh, a distant relative of 19th-century painter Vincent van Gogh, had directed a short film called "Submission", which linked abuse of women to Islam.
A letter was left on his body that included quotations from the Koran and threats to several Dutch politicians, including Somali-born lawmaker Ayaan Hirsi Ali, who wrote the script for "Submission".
Today we went snorkeling at Hanauma Bay (pictured above). This was probably the first real snorkeling experience for both of us. It was absolutely beautiful and rich in marine life. Over 420 species of fish can be seen in the area encompassed by this photo. Many of the fish are only found in Hawaii. While I hardly saw 420 different fish, I saw plenty. It was like I was in a National Geographic world--the colors on the fish were brilliant and varied--exactly what you'd expect from a tropical coral reef.
I think the omission of a threat and consequences by the President (regarding Saudi Arabia being "with us or with the terrorists") was intentional. It was enough to mention that countries with which we are striving to achieve common cause have some rogue elements, and that the U.S. is taking notice. It will send the right message to Saudi Arabia, and its leadership will hear loud and clear that we are aware of Saudi nationals collaborating with the Iraqi terrorist "insurgency."
I would bet that it has been previously noted in private, and now it is being recognized in public. Condoleezza Rice will have the next move, so I expect to see her boots a-walkin' right on over to the nations in question with evidence, and steadily increasing pressure to rein it in or else.
I think the operative statements are the ones along line of "we'll fight them over there so we don't have to fight them over here." Bush is in a tight spot and can't really say, "Listen, we're going to continue to allow the foreign fighters into Iraq. Yup, it makes bad headlines and nasty footage, but that's the way it's going to be for a while. We know how strong they are and they aren't strong enough to derail the effort. We're going to keep letting them come to Iraq to stir the pot so that our military can kill them. Don't worry, America, if they get too big or too strong, we'll snap the borders shut."
Isn't that a real possibility? We have to allow them to come to Iraq because we can't go into other countries to kill them. And until they arm up and come after us, it's tough to identify Joe Jihadi. I was all for closing the damned borders over there (and over here for that matter), but I think there's a method to the madness. The guys who make the trek to Iraq to fight us are dangerous (obviously), and in the absence of the US in Iraq, they would not be peacefully selling bric-a-brac in the local bazaar. We're saving them the cost of a very expensive one-way ticket to the U.S. or Europe by setting up shop in their neck of the woods.
And I think we get a double bonus out of this too. (When the time comes to make an issue of this, it's a good reason to drop the hammer on Mr. Assad or the fine mullahs in Iran.
Just a thought. But if it's true, it's just about impossible for the administration to admit it, isn't it? But if you take the theory as an assumption, then the "inability" to secure Iraq's borders and Bush's lack of threatening the regimes in question makes more sense.
This is Brittany standing in front of the pool area at the hotel we're staying at.