Andrew Hagen

Is Al Qaeda just a terrorist organization or has it become an ideological movement? What do we know about Al Qaeda? A symposium addresses the questions. (*)

Al Qaeda detainee Abu Zubaydah is said to have told US investigators of extensive connections between the terrorist group and both Saudi Arabia and Pakistan in a new book reviewed in Time. (*) Gerald Posner’s Why America Slept will contain the troubling allegations that those two US allies had paid Al Qaeda extortion money to protect themselves and knew the date of the 9/11 attacks, but not many more details.

The book is likely to be used by those who would like to disrupt the War on Terrorism. Since 9/11, both the Pakistani and Saudi governments have taken important steps against terrorists. The clearest evidence of such steps are the terrorist attacks that Al Qaeda has carried out on Pakistani and Saudi soil since 9/11. They are not our enemies. They may need to take yet more steps, however.

Defense Minister of Norway Kristin Krohn Devold is profiled in an interesting story. (*) She may be tapped as the next Secretary-General of NATO. Under her direction, Norway has moved away from a general-purpose military to one more suited to modern need and with more to contribute to global security efforts. Mine clearing and mountain reconaissance are the specializations Norway is adopting.

Michael Totten (*) (†) is saying important things to the Left and the Democratic Party. You’ve got to see his “Suicide Watch” post, for example. (‡) The divide between the hateful, angry Left and the responsible, independent Left is stark. (§) It’s becoming outrageous. (**)

The Weekly Standard is finding extensive links between the harbingers of evil of the radical Muslim extremist kind (Osama) and the deposed secular Muslim fascist kind (Saddam). (*) Such links would significantly bolster the justification for the war.

Such links would not, however, lend any direct support to the notion that Saddam’s regime was involved in 9/11.

The President of the United States has just ended his one month of vacation, two weeks more than the average American is allowed. Taking his Labor Day holiday somewhere, Mr. Bush will be distressed to learn that North Korea has broken off from the 6–nation nuclear disarmament talks. (*) The Times thinks Kim Jong Il thinks Bush is distracted by Iraq. I think Bush is not really paying attention to anything beyond his jogging routine and his 2004 campaign coffers.

If North Korea tests a nuclear device, the seismic shock wave will be picked up around the world. The President says such a test will result in an economic quarantine. North Korea has long said that economic sanctions would be perceived as an act of war.

If it comes to war, James Woolsey and Thomas McInerney have recently opined that the US and South Korea can crush North Korea. (†) No matter how it would go, it wouldn’t be a pretty picture.

Let’s hope a grown up somewhere comes to his senses. Between Kim Jong Il and George W. Bush, I’m not so sure war can be avoided. Will they rise above expectations?

Colin Powell, where are you? Maybe you can force Bush to swallow his pride and accept bilateral talks.

One last thought: maybe Bush thinks Kim is bluffing.

William Kristol takes note of the gaping chasm between George W. Bush and whoever the Democratic nominee will be on foreign policy and cultural issues. (*) The tax cut will also be in play. Lying on the operating table will be the health insurance system. The candidates’ platforms necessarily will be highly polarized. Expect more nonsense and theatrics than usual. Let’s just hope things don’t get too out of control.

One issue that everyone keeps forgetting is the environment. It’s too important to casually dismiss, but that’s what’s happening.

You enter the dimly lit living room, with old panel walls and tasteful, subdued furniture, taking your seat. Inquisitively, you look around and soak up the conversation.

Christopher Hitchens has returned from his journey to Iraq. He says he discovered that the people there are thankful for the help, despite the reports of our “free” media that they aren’t getting any. (*)

James E. Seaton III, a Marine, leans forward and relates a tragic human story of the ongoing conflict. (†)

After a period of reflection, Austin Bay lowly, yet confidently says we are winning the war on terrorism in Iraq, thanks to our troops’ ability to attract and kill the Enemy. (‡)

Thomas Friedman, however, says he senses danger and strife on the horizon. He says he’s particularly worried about the possibility of escalating internal Iraqi conflict and strife, as exemplified by the devastating Najaf bombing. Could an ethnic imbroglio be about to begin? (§) The UN should be given a central role, he says, and bring back the Iraqi army. Just put it under UN control.

No, no, replies a chapped Mark Steyn, arguing that the UN could only make matters worse. (**) Fashionably-coiffed bureaucrats are not his favorite people.

John McCain has been waiting his turn. He agrees that the UN would not help the situation. (††) After all, the UN generally sided with Saddam against the Iraqi people. What is needed is more Iraqi forces, police and military. We need that or something fast, or the negatives could become “irreversible.”

Ahmad Chalabi agrees with the general tenor. (‡‡) A restoration of Iraqi sovereignty is in order.

Then somebody you don’t recognize raises a factual point. For all this talk of a security force composed of Iraqis, how come the Iraqi Governing Council hasn’t even agreed on a cabinet? This cabinet is a requirement for the formation of an Iraqi police force, he says, waving a copy of the New York Times. (§§)

With Steyn muttering something about pettifogging bureaucrats, a woman across the room starts waving a copy of the Washington Post, saying the Iraqi Governing Council is calling loud and clear for a police force right now. (***)

Welll, it’s a mess right now, another guest says. But it’s also 110° Fahrenheit in Baghdad every day. (†††) Give it a month or two, the weather will cool down, tensions should cool, and things will look better.

The New York Times finds that, after legal recognition of it, some gay couples in Canada are having second thoughts about marriage. (*) This is revealing of perhaps the biggest issue in the same-sex marriage debate: whether gay people want to join conventional society or be separate from it.

In English-speaking countries, one can find copies of the Koran, the holy book of Islam, in bookstores. The trouble is to find an English translation of the Koran that is accurate. According to Islamic teachings, the Koran was transmitted to Mohammed in Arabic, and no translation of the Koran can be true to that original Arabic. In any case, most English translations of the Koran leave out parts that English speakers would find controversial. (*) Passages that call for physical violence are changed to more peaceful words, for example.

This is regrettable. Those studying Christianity or Judaism are free to debate those passages of the Bible that call for violence and what might even be called brutality. Those studying Islam should be apprised of whatever it is that the Koran says or hints at. The study of any religion should be energized by the spirit of free inquiry.

There is a great lack of understanding of the basics of Islam the religion here in the United States. Here is an excellent summary from another site.

Islam was started by the prophet Muhammed in the 7th century. Muslims believe that all previous prophets in other world religions were actually Muslims but that their message has been corrupted. These other prophets are considered to have been sent to a single. . . group, such as Jesus being a prophet to the Jews and his message applying only to the Jews. Muhammed[,] on the other hand, is the “seal of the prophets”, that is, the final prophet who was sent for all people.

Beliefs about God:

• God is transcendent and unknowable by man.
• Tawhid- God is one (not a trinity).
• God does what he wills but is not thought of as holy.
• God can change his mind and give commands that abrogate previous commands.

Man:

• Man is inherently good and is born a Muslim. The people around him teach him to be a Christian, Hindu etc.
• Man needs to recognize God and submit to him by obeying his laws, including the five pillars of Islam: belief, prayer, zakat (tithe), fasting, pilgrimage to Mecca.

Heaven/Paradise:

• God will judge each persons actions and if their good deeds outweigh their bad deeds, God may have mercy on them and let them enter Paradise, but a Muslim can never be sure.
• Those who go to Paradise still have a physical body and enjoy sensual activities. . . .

Revelation:

• God revealed truth to the prophets who were sinless. People refused to follow the prophets and corrupted their words (thus even though the Qur’an refers to the Bible, they consider the current state of the Bible to be corrupted).
• Final revelation came through Muhammed who received the words of the Qur’an from God and recited them for others to write down. The actual words are written in heaven, in Arabic[,] which is the language of God. Translation of the Qur’an (called Interpretations) are not considered to be real scripture, thus many Muslims memorize parts of the Qur’an in Arabic to recite as prayers regardless of whether or not they know Arabic.

(*) That’s a good list. Two more important concepts to know about Islam are jihad (”holy war”) (†) and taqiyah. (‡)

English does not have separate words for Islamic culture and Islamic religion. Thus, Islam stands for both. This ambiguity is a frequent source of confusion. The confusion is aggravated by Islam’s typical unity of religion and government.

Victor Davis Hanson lists the reasons why the nation-building effort in Iraq is widely opposed from Arabs to Europeans to establishment leftists. (*) It is striking that so many who cry so loudly for liberty could have so little concern for the people of Iraq.

It’s funny that the madman Howard Dean, Democratic contender for the presidential nomination, is thought by elite opinion to be more of a humanitarian than George W. Bush. To the consternation of proudly self-important, freedom-loving American dissidents, their man from Vermont would have the Iraqi people in chains and torture machines even today, if only to help ensure a Democratic victory in 2004. As an independent leftist, I am disgusted.

In debates and discussions here in America, it is frequently said that the word Islam means “peace.” It does not. Islam is the Arabic word for “submission.” The Arabic word for “peace” is usually transliterated as salam or salaam. In Arabic, as in English, these are two distinct words. (*)

Sometimes Muslims and others call Islam a “religion of peace.” To the extent this may be a viable argument, it is so only in the sense that Islam is a peaceful religion, not that Islam “means peace.”

Obviously, if one completely submits to another, one will have peace, either through death or slavery. Neither is the usual meaning of “peace,” however.

Update: 3 December 2003. Allah Pundit links. (†)

The banana we know and love may cease to exist in as little as ten years. It has too little genetic diversity to survive pests, scientists say. (*) (†) Whatever genetic wizardry science may try, it seems impossible that the look and the taste of the banana will remain as they are for long. (‡)

It should be noted that many other varieties of bananas will continue to exist, and will continue to be diet staples for millions. (§) Only the yellow-skinned fruit known as the Cavendish banana is under threat.

Thus, I might as well relate now the best method of eating a banana: point the stem down and use it as a handle, peeling from the other end. It is remarkable that eating a banana in such a manner appears humorous to some.

I have linked to Little Green Footballs (*) again. Earlier, I deleted a link from andrewhagen.com to that excellent product of Charles Johnson on the grounds that the petite emerald pigskin encouraged an irrational antipathy for a religion and culture that is anything but a monolith. (†)

I now withdraw that criticism. After reading more of LGF over the past few months, it is abundantly clear that a distinction is drawn there between the dangerous and non-dangerous branches of the faith founded by Mohammed. LGF should be read and grappled with by everyone, especially because of its ability to play corrective antidote to the deep tolerance, compassionate understanding, and warm sympathy that underlie much of the world’s media coverage of that most dangerous branch of Islam, even of the very offshoots who may properly be called terrorists. To the extent that hate is an issue in the debate today, it is worrying only that those with so few compunctions and so little concern over human life harbor hate for all who stand against radical Islam.

Apologies to all concerned.

Against the odds, amidst the wailing and gnashing of teeth of criminals, traitors, liars, and evildoers everywhere, I’m back. From now on the gloves are off.

Update: Thanks to Terry Pinder for welcoming me back. (*)