Sir,
In the dozen-plus years I have been active in matters relating to Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda, I have watched them go from a small Islamist organization to a worldwide insurgent movement, while bin Laden has established himself as the primary source of inspiration and leadership for tens of millions of Muslim Islamists. This process has been made possible by two things: (a) the skill, courage, patience, and ruthlessness of bin Laden and his ilk, and (b) the refusal of the U.S. government to understand the motivation of bin Laden and his allies.
Last week, Representative Paul did all Americans an immense service by simply pointing out the obvious: Our Islamist enemies do not give a damn about the way we vote, think, or live. Though any country they ruled would surely not look like ours, they are motivated by the belief that U.S. foreign policy is an attack on Islam, its lands, and its believers. This, of course, is not to say that America is to blame for the war it is now engaged in, but it is to say that it is foolish – and perhaps fatal – for Americans to believe that are we are being attacked for such ephemera as primary elections, R-rated movies, and gender equality. If our Islamist enemies were motivated by such things their numbers would be minuscule and they would be a sporadic lethal nuisance, not, as they are, the most serious national security threat we face today.
Of the eighteen presidential candidates now in the field from both parties, only Mr. Paul has had the courage to square with the average American voter. We are indeed hated and being warred against because we are “over there,” and not for what we are and how we live. Our failure to recognize the truth spoken by Mr. Paul – and spelled out for us in hundreds of pages of statements by Osama bin Laden since 1996 – is leading America toward military and economic disaster.
At day’s end, Mr. Paul has at least temporarily shaken the pillars of the bipartisan consensus on U.S. foreign policy. Neither party, and none of the candidates, want to discuss the Islamists’ motivation because they would have to deal with energy policy, support for Israel, and the 50-year record of U.S. support and protection for Arab tyrannies. These holy cows of U.S. politics have long been off limits to debate, but Mr. Paul has now accurately identified them as the source of motivation for our Islamist enemies, and implicitly has said that the obsessive interventionism of both parties has inspired al-Qaeda and its allies to kill 7,000-plus U.S. civilians and military personnel since 11 September 2001. The war we are engaged in with the Islamists is a long way from over, but it need end in America’s defeat only if Mr. Paul’s frank statements are ignored.
And no matter how you view Mr. Paul’s words, you can safely take one thing to the bank. The person most shaken by Mr. Paul’s frankness was Osama bin Laden, who knows that the current status quo in U.S. foreign policy toward the Islamic world is al-Qaeda’s one indispensable ally, and the only glue that provides cohesion between and among the diverse and often fractious Islamist groups that follow its banner.
Respectfully,
Michael F. Scheuer
Falls Church, VA
Hi again Vees.
Yet another example of splits inside the ruling class, which I’m sure will deepen as the US economy declines even further and the Iraqi Resistance steps up its attacks on US and coalition (sic) troops. Over the last month there have been more US soldiers killed than at any stage in the war/occupation.
What about this Ron Paul guy? An anti-war Republican sounds like an oxymoron. What about his domestic policies, where does he stand on immigration? On Israel? Venezuela?
I ask in total ignorance.
Regards
anticapitalista
BTW Your sig link on Lenin”s Tomb is wrong. It links to the BBC and not your blog.
Hi friend,
I do not know much about Ron Paul either, but the little I know is that he is only a Republican in name, he is a Libertarian for all practical purposes. So he is totally anti-war and anti-empire and he has enough courage to tell the American people that the foreign policy of their government was the real reason behing 911. I also heard excerpts of the Republican debate and the way ALL the other candidates jumped on him – lead by Benito Giuliani – clearly show the panic his words trigger in the US Establishment.
From a European perspective, US Libertarians are rather bizzare as they simply hate government altogether. I personally explain this by their really disgusting experience with the US government. I mean – if you got a regime which is not democratic, which is controlled by a coterie of millionaires, supported by a US Nomenklatura, which has the highest rate of incarceration on the planet, and which does exactly NOTHING in terms of social work for the population, if that regime taxes you and uses your tax dollars to wage imperial wars and enrich themselves, is it not logical to be anti government? Add to this that Libertarians perfectly see that the US Constitution and the Bill of Rights are totally ignored by the regime (not to mention the UN Charter or the Declaration of Human Rights) and you will see where they come from.
From my point of view they have the right to do whatever they please inside what is now THEIR country, so if they want to live with as little as possible of government this is fine by me. I would not want that in my country, but in theirs that is their choice. And since Lbertarians do not export their ideology but only want to do their thing in their own country, they have my full support on that agenda.
Did you listen to the audio file of me and Scott Horton chatting on his show?
I encourage you to listen to his show, the guy has my utmost respect for his guts, integrity and brains and while I might not agree with everything he says, he is a refreshing voice of truth and freedom in a collectively fightened and lobotomized country.
Thanks for pointing out the issue on the Lenin’s tomb blog. I will try to correct that.
Come back – so far its only you and me here :-))
Kind regards,
Vees
Hi again, friend,
You might be interested in this:
http://thestressblog.com/2007/05/21/who-is-ron-paul/
Kind regards,
VS