Kids love him, too — a tiny minority of kids, of course
This story is an AP version (thanks to Jake) of the Reuters piece below. This one is far more concerned than the Reuters piece with portraying these findings as showing that the war on terror has failed.
However:
1. Doesn't the fact that half of Al-Qaeda's leadership has been killed or captured indicate that the war on terror thus far may not have been as dismal a failure as the lead paragraph suggests?
2. Estimates of the number of people who went through Al-Qaeda training camps in Afghanistan have ranged as high as 120,000. Low-end estimates are still in the 70,000-80,000 range. If only 18,000 of them are still active, doesn't that indicate some success? Of course, these 18,000 could inflict tremendous damage, but I'd still rather have 18,000 to deal with than 100,000.
3. The idea that the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq have boosted Al-Qaeda is dear to the hearts of people like Ted Kennedy, but where would we be now if there had been no response to 9/11, or if that response had amounted to just a few cruise missiles lobbed into Waziristan? Would the Al-Qaeda members who already existed before 9/11 have folded up shop and stopped attacking Westerners?
4. Also, if Muslims joined Al-Qaeda because of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, doesn't that indicate that they didn't have any serious objection to Al-Qaeda's activity even before joining? After all, if they considered Osama and Co. to be heretics who were defaming Islam by using it to justify terrorism, that wouldn't change because the Americans invaded, would it? Surely in that event it would have been possible to create a non-terrorist force that was not allied with Al-Qaeda, that would have really constituted the indigenous militiamen that Ted Rall and his ilk imagine the terrorists to be? But doesn't the fact that this didn't happen indicate that the ideological divide between Al-Qaeda and the rest of the Islamic world wasn't as large as most analysts continue to believe?
LONDON - Far from being crippled by the U.S.-led war on terror, al-Qaida has more than 18,000 potential terrorists scattered around the world and the war in Iraq is swelling its ranks, a report said Tuesday.
Robert..Is this picture for real????
Do these dolls REALLY exist???
KC,
I changed the picture a few times, only because the one there now is the one I was thinking of but I couldn't remember its file name, so I don't know exactly which one you're referring to, but yes: I have several photos in my files of Osama and Saddam toys that have been distributed in Gaza, Pakistan, and elsewhere. They are absolutely real.
Cordially,
Robert Spencer
Off-topic but certainly related...
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=13532
I just cannot understand why muslim kids grow up and become violent jihadists....oh yes my son gets toy cars and they get osama dolls and burning trade centers...sick sick people poisoning childrens minds...these poor kids dont even have a chance to be kids, I dont care if the kid is in the the desert or the middle of the US...a kid just wants to play and have fun, and thats all kids should know at a young age...the more I learn about muslim countries the more disgusted I am...especially when it comes to the children. Sadly if someone took one of those children away from the extremist parents and they were raised in a loving environment they would have a chance at life...makes me sad to see the small children and know they will have nothing to live for except hate.
USAgirl;
As bad as I feel for these "children" I do not give them much pity. They are being taught everyday to hate Americans, that Allah must control everyone and everything and that Islam must reign in all lands. They are taught nothing but hate, violence at any early age so even if they were to be taken away into a loving environment, I doubt it would do anything. This is all they hear from the moment they are born until they join the armies at a very young age. There is no teaching them love. You can't teach an old dog new tricks. I know it sounds grim but at this point, this is law in their eyes. There is no hope for these children. Their parents have killed their childhood.
Annie,
Exactly my point, its the muslim parents with their teaching of hate that disgusts me. I realize that the children for the most part are too far gone and that they have known nothing but hate..very sad. Children are born innocent, its the adults in their lives that turn them into raving mosters. How anyone could do that to a child is beyond me. I am extremly thankful that I was fortunate enough not to be born into a muslim family...something I had no control over but am grateful for nonetheless.
USAgirl,
I too am glad :) I was born into a Christian family, met and married a Christian man who reads his bible and teaches others and our daughter about God and she is only 16 mos old! Those parents are not being parents, being a parent doesn't mean to teach hate and violence, if that is all you know you have no business bringing children into this world and should be stopped from ever bearing children, men and women! Spreading hate is not going to help anyone and in the end, it will kill you.
Annie and USAgirl,
we are fortunate
to be born in the land of the Free.
Let us never forget this,
repeat it to our children
over and over again,
"Be thankful for your birth
and protect your freedom
for their is no greater worth,
in all humanity than to be free."
I think that as a show of bipartisanship and solidarity against terrorists by the American people, that we should drop Ted Kennedy on the next terrorist target.
Bob,
That's forbidden by the Geneva Convention as well as being a weapon of *MASS* destruction.
Bob Owens, that is a crude and repulsive comment that goes beyond the bounds of good taste and common decency. ... oh heck, let's drop Michael Moore instead.
Hey why don't we add Charles Mason and Jeffrey Dahmer to that category? They are nice guys, just doing their own thing I'm sure the terrorists wouldn't be afraid of them. Oh I know, add the unibomber too!!!!!!!!! Let's clean out our prisons and send them ALL overseas.
Uh, Jeffy boy won't be able to join the festivities. He was too creepy even for maximum security, and correspondingly, "got the shaft..."
Of a shank.
Aliyah,
For sometime now I've been reading posts and different threads on here and have kept quiet but after what I just went through, I cannot any longer. First, let me start by saying I watched the news broadcast of newest threats to attack the US this summer and fall and I literally ran into the other room to grab my sleeping infant and hold her the entire time. These people are intent on killing every single person on this earth whether they are Muslim or not. If they were truly Muslims, they would not wish to kill their own AND they would not wish to kill innocent people whether it's women and children or not, INNOCENT MEANS INNOCENT! Now after watching that wonderul news I'm just supposed to go back to my life and not think about burying my child, my husband because of some bastard that claims to be an American or an attack that happens while we're at a mall or some other place or home for that? I fully intend to call the police any anyone or anything I think is odd, I will keep the police on my speed dial and will surely now look to getting a gun. I've never wanted to own one before but since these bastards are running lose in the United States I won't stop to shoot. You want people to see peace in Islam? How can we? We are under attack for being a free country, we are not without mistakes and wrong doings whether they be public or private but now we deserve to die in the name of Allah? Who made them God? Now, onto my second problem:
For years I've been going to this one gas station that is owned by a Muslim. He is always very nice, polite, well groomed. Prior to Sept 11 many of us have always known he was a Muslim, on Sept 11 I was at his gas station when the radio announced the second tower being hit. He turned me, muttered something that sounded like a prayer in Arabic, and told me he was truly sorry if I had anyone killed. At first I was taken aback and wondered why the hell he would be saying this to me? A few days after 9/11 I went back and had my child with me and he looked at me with the most threatening look I've ever seen telling me that I need to make my child Muslim before she and I die. This same person who was always so nice and made extra effort to do some nice and kind things began changing right in front of me starting on 9/11. At first I thought maybe he was being nice and felt badly that he was associated with a religion that had just attacked us but when I saw him after 9/11, he was pure evil. He was still well groomed and kept but was saying all kinds of nasty, evil things. Well he was jumped by several men and beaten pretty badly. You can't expect us to just sit back and continue on our way when he is sitting there saying these hurtful, disgusting things. At this point, I'm even wondering if he is someone the FBI is looking for and believe me, I contacted the police ASAP and they took what I told them seriously as cops were down there quickly and his gas station as since then closed down. He had told me that every Muslim that is here believes that unless you convert you must die. There is no such thing as being here and not wanting to take over the entire world with Islam. He kept stating that Muslims will kill if you do not listen to what they are saying and that no matter what lies a Muslim might say, it is their duty to openly lie in order to get you to come to our side, that there is no such thing as peace, Islam will dominate all and women will lose all that they have ever known, our husbands must rule us so that we behave ourselves. And then I read all the posts here and I'm supposed to forget what this man said to me, the way he looked at me telling me there are many here than just him and that I should never let my guard down! I wish I had a gun that day so I could have shot him dead. Go ahead, tell me that I am wrong for saying that or thinking that but what would you do if someone came to attack your family, Muslim or not, you wouldn't fight for them, what about if you see someone in the street attacking an innocent, a woman or child, would you not step in to save them? If you can tell me no than you do not deserve to have the same liberty that we share as Americans and yet you say we are so hostile and against Islam, why can't you and everyone else understand that we are being attacked and we are just going to sit back and be quiet and nice? How can we? Why can't you understand what America is facing and rather than try so earnestly to educate us on Islam, stand up and tell us that you pray none of us or our family gets hurt or killed regardless of what is being said on these posts? You pray for protection against those who wish to do us nothing but harm and that you pray an angel will be with us, surrounding us to keep us safe whether we are Muslim or not. You keep wanting to educate us but can't you see why we don't want to be told any of this? We are war with an enemy that doesn't listen to reason, that uses something that is supposed to be considered holy as his religion or faith to back up as to why he is doing this, someone who is intent on killing everyone in the name of his religion. The Middle East is so violent and full of hate, how abot Iran/Iraq the years they were figthing one another. You say how we went into Iraq, would you rather we allow Saddam to continue his reign with his sons and those who did not deserve punishment or death, continue dying and bleeding? We took him out of power, yes we have our wrongs but what would you rather have, Saddam in power or out? Without us Saddam would still be in power and god only knows what would've happened to more people. Why can't you, all of you try for at least one minute to understand why we are so in your face about our views on Islam, that is all we see and hear and now with this latest news of more attacks that will be more severe and you expect the American people to just what, relax and learn about Islam? Why so that we may die while we understand this? NO! I for one do not want to learn about Islam, not until all Al-queda, Bin Laden are dead. Once the threat is gone and these people are all dead, I will then sit and learn about Islam. You cannot tell me ever that these people will give up or see the peace that is Islam, what peace? I don't think they know what the word means. My child will never grow up and live her life as she will die this summer along with millions of other innocent people and there's nothing the government or law officials can or will do. If they did, they would've taken the threats prior to Sept 11 more seriously, they laughed it off saying we get millions of threats every day how could they possibly know that those threats were going happen. For all those government/FBI officials: Well, assholes they did and now you're going to take the newest threats seriously becasue why, I'll tell you why, because you are assholes who stood by and allowed millions to die on 9/11 when you already had the information and could've tried to stop it or at least minimize the number of deaths. But no, you couldn't waste your damn time, who the hell cares how many threats we get each day, you should follow each one, you do not know which one is serious or not and if you really were/are concerned with Americans lives, you need to act more like it. No instead you allow foreigners in our world so they can learn about us and take that info back to Bin Laden in order to kill us, you son of a bitches, you should not be allowed to live, how about you and your family being blown to bits that's what you deserve you do our country no good ever. Now you want the American people to help you by notifing authorities and what do you plan on doing with that information? SIT ON IT AS USUAL? You won't do a damn thing because you have no clue!
Well, I will take the law into my own hands now since the law doesn't seem to do anything to help protect it's people. I will not be a victim but I will be the one jail right and those terrorists will be free?
As far any Muslim on this site that truly, TRULY wants to educate us and not kill us, stop telling us that our grandchildren will be Muslim, for once stop and understand what threat we are facing and help us to find a way to bring those down who want to kill us. I implore every REAL AMERICAN on this site to bring those down in anyway in order to safeguard our security and well being. Being an AMERICAN should mean more to those who left their own countries in search of a better life and they should be the first on line to proclaim AMERICA free from terrorism and all it stands for.
Bob Great Idea! Hey.. Could we include Gore along with Teddy, and Moore and the rest in that package?? I think all the Benedict Arnolds need to be "shipped" out.