zenpundit.com

IN THE VIEW OF THE HARD LEFT IT’S NEVER TOO LATE TO SURRENDER NOW

From Ted Rall:

“It’s time to stop throwing good lives after bad. We came for Iraq’s oil, but we’ll never extract crude without seducing Iraqi hearts and minds. That war was lost before we fired the first cruise missiles in March, for a few simple reasons. First, Iraqis spent the ’90s dodging American bombs and trade sanctions. We never knew their pain; they’ll never forget it. Second, our invasion allowed looters and rapists to take over the cities. Anyone who is short a car or a daughter rightly blames us for their loss. Third, we’ve transformed one of the Arab world’s few semi-modern secular states into an anarchic Third World dump. Iraqis hate us. They trust us to do the wrong thing each and every time.”

Ah Ted, thy name is self-referential. Please try to sell that message in Basra and see how the average Iraqi reacts. Quite a few residents of Iraq seem to blame Uday for loss of their daughters, wives, sisters…

There is no evil in the world so terrible in which America’s activist Left cannot find a silver lining if it is also the enemy of the United States

A PRO-WAR PROGRESSIVE TAKES THE REACTIONARY LEFT TO TASK

From Frontpagemag.com. It’s good.

A NOTE TO READERS

Caerdroia has had some fine posts up lately, I particularly enjoyed the one on ” rented mules “. Check it out.

IF YOU WISH TO UNDERSTAND THE SAUDI RELATIONSHIP WITH AL QAIDA, REMEMBER THE IKHWAN

There has been much written about the 28 redacted pages detailing the often intimate relationship between highly placed persons in the House of Saud and the Saudi government and al Qaida, including several 9/11 highjackers. It is important to recall that this is a phenomena not exactly new in Saudi history and that the administration ( and it’s critics) need to continue to hold Crown Prince Abdullah’s feet to the fire.

The founder of Saudi Arabia, King Abdul Aziz had an analogous relationship with the grandfather of today’s Islamist terrorist networks, the Ikhwan. These militant warriors of Wahhabist Islam operated with the support of Abdul Aziz in attacking the King’s enemies. When their fanaticism and aggressive raiding provoked the superpower of that era, Great Britain, into a military response Abdul Aziz would disavow any official responsibility and order some punishments be applied for excesses. Like al Qaida, when the Ikhwan eventually turned against Abdul Aziz the King broke them as a military and ideological threat to his rule. But until that point, the Ikhwan were useful agents of Saudi Arabia’s foreign policy and continually harrassed Abdul Aziz’s many enemies. When they became a liability to the regime the Ikhwan were destroyed.

Something to consider when evaluating the nature of Saudi friendship and their ties to al Qaida because it illustrates how that regime really views the rest of the world. Saudi Arabia is an important but dependent link in America’s international security system but let us have no illusions on how they would behave if they were strong rather than weak.

IS AL QAIDA MUTATING ?

An excerpt from Foreign Affairs. The full article requires purchase but you will get the gist.