Of course, the whole world now knows that foreign jihadists have been streaming into Iraq. I gave details of some of this movement even before the war in Onward Muslim Soldiers. But most analysts present these men as largely newly-minted, radicalized by the Iraq war itself, when in fact there is a population of intinerent warriors that has gone from Afghanistan to Bosnia to Chechnya and elsewhere in search of the latest jihad. Iraq is just a stop along the way.
From Bill Gertz in the Washington Times, :
U.S. military forces captured more than 30 foreign fighters during recent combat in Fallujah and found equipment used by terrorists to make fake passports and documents, a senior military official in Iraq said."We found a lot of evidence in the city of foreign fighter involvement, to include equipment for making and forging passports and official documents, rolls, books or ledgers with names and countries of origin of foreign fighters that were located within the city," the senior officer said.
However, al Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab Zarqawi and other insurgent leaders fled the city and are believed to be moving constantly. Some are operating in the Mosul area in northern Iraq, the senior officer in Iraq told The Washington Times.One finding of the battle of Fallujah was that no single nation was the main home of the foreigners who were killed or captured. The list of foreign fighters who were identified included nationals from Saudi Arabia, Syria, Sudan, Morocco and Algeria, said the officer, speaking on condition that he not be named.
In addition to the 30 captured foreign fighters, the remains of more than 40 others have been identified as non-Iraqis. Many of those killed in the recent fighting also may have been foreign terrorists, but did not carry any identification.
"The number of foreign fighters that were found in the city was lower than we expected," the official said, adding that many fled the city and others were killed but not identified.
So what do you do with 30 captured foreign fighters?
Put them on a pension?
I suggest this: If they have any useful information, give them a month to talk and enjoy themselves, then put them up against the wall and shoot them.
If they have no useful information, shoot them on the spot in front of their Jihad friends, just to get the point across.
Do not take any prisoners!!!
Terminator,
What you suggest is probably an unwritten code amongst armies in a war zone. Maybe some ex-military folks here can confirm this.
I know some people from Kashmir in India who say that after a disasterously weak-kneed New Delhi released captured terrorists in exchange for a plane-load of civilian hostages in 1999, the Indian military now follows a tacit, unwritten 'take-no-prisoners' strategy against the foreign jihadis (mainly Afghans and pakis).
Indian jails are rotting full with captured jihadi terrorists anyways, why feed them at honest taxpayer expense?
OT
My apologies for not commenting on this subject a few days ago, when it was ON topic--incredibly busy--but it's of grave concern to me, and I do hope that I can get some reassurance.
The issue is that there have been some comments about what amounts to "quality control," so that the site can become more appealing to the major media. For example, Shiva was criticized for saying that if some Muslims objected to the Dutch red light district, they would be disappointed because there were no goat there.
First, the "goat" comment isn't all that inaccurate; in the military, our docs instruct the members not to touch animals, including goats, in places like the Near East and North Africa precisely BECAUSE they are often victims of contagious human disease. This is because of the primitive belief that a man can "give away" his disease by having intercourse with a goat or other animal.
Second, and my greater concern and the focus of my question is this:
Is it possible that Jihad Watch is slowly descending into Political Correctness in order to become acceptable to the mainstream media?
Obviously, fully spelled out vulgar words, without critically placed asterisks, must be avoided. However, honest responses, even if rather harsh, are a very useful guage of our growing assessment of the danger of Islam, and I believe them not to be a threat to Jihad Watch, but very useful.
In essence, posters with very strongly held negative perceptions of Islam are doing the rest of us a service; they slowly erode the fears instilled in so many of us by the Politically Correct Kantian Left of "offending" people, policies, and philosophies that are flat WRONG about Islam, and who would have us be doormats to those who would destroy us.
It is my sincere hope that I have overinterpreted the criticism of some of the more enthusiastically resolute critics of Islam.
Firsthand reports of the combat in Iraq are starting to trickle back in the form of books like Generation Kill. They are confirming that many of the dead jihadis being scraped off the battlefield have Syrian passports. Syria has become a staging area for the Iraqi jihad just as Pakistan is the staging area for the Afghanistan jihad. These reports of the attraction of jihadis to Iraq from all over the Muslim world are demonstrating that the “honeypot” doctrine is working. The jihadis are compelled by their own ideology to respond to the American military presence in the one-time capital of the defunct Islamic empire. The Americans didn’t invent the rule, Muhammad did in the 7th century.
Bin Laden’s vision of luring the Americans into the mountains of Afghanistan where he hoped to relive the glory days of the mujahadeen defeat of the Russians has been utterly dashed by President Bush. Of course the Americans could have set up their jihadi honeypot in Afghanistan but they took notes during the 1980s while the Russians got pranged in the mountains and Pentagon planners knew that repeating the experience would not be very clever.
Oh, the Americans came to Afghanistan alright, but then they did something that bin Laden and all his 7th century “masterminds” couldn’t imagine: after swabbing the deck with the Taliban, the Yanks marched into the heart of the dar al-Islam, planted the Stars & Stripes, poked the jihadis in the eye with a sharp stick, and announced that they are here to stay awhile. This doctrine is straight out of Clausewitz and Sun Tzu.
So now when bin Laden calls out to his ummah to take up arms and join the jihad to meet the Infidel army head-on, instead of traveling to the Afghani mountains, they are obligated to seek their destiny in Iraq. The terrain in Iraq, whether it be the hard-pan desert or the primative mud and cinderblock urban settings, is an American general’s dreamscape.
Thus President Bush issued an invitation to jihadis around the world to come to Baghdad to fulfill their destiny. Like the president keeps saying, “fight them over there so we don’t have to fight them here". Once they arrive, instead of confronting Sheriff Andy Taylor on the streets of Mayberry RFD, the jihadis are welcomed by US Army tank crews, Marine snipers, and Air Force AC130 Spectres. They are also met by the direct regimental descendants of the the famed Polish Winged Hussars who crushed the jihadi invaders who had foolishly assailed the gates of Vienna in 1683.
So while the “true” jihad must be waged in Iraq, just a handful of Army Rangers and Air Force AC130s are all that is needed to keep bin Laden and his band of miscreants huddled deep in their vermin infested caves where they can busy themselves with picking the lice out of each other’s beards. It’s going to be a good winter for the Americans.
Another analogy is that of a horse twitch. It is a stick with a loop of string on the end that is used to secure the lip of a horse. You put the horse’s lip through the loop and then twist it until you have the horse’s full and undivided attention. It is used to subdue the animal during painful or difficult vet procedures or for shoeing. So think of Iraq as the jihad twitch for Muslims around the globe. As long as their ummah lip is in the twisted loop, Bush has them right where he wants them, and the Americans can do this for a very, very, long time. The Japanese occupation officially lasted some 30 years, but to this day the Americans have Army, Navy, Marine and Air Force bases that they “lease” from Japan just like the lease from Cuba for Gitmo.
cubed,
I agree to a certain extent, but not fully. I have on occasion put things in less than a civil manner when expressing my views about Islam in this forum in the past myself. I think as rewarding as this felt personally I might not have expressed myself in a manner worthy of serious consideration, i.e. the use of profanity and crude imagery. I also believe the use of racial slurs (note: “Muslim” is not a race.) and generalizations about Arabs are counterproductive. Other than providing the satisfaction of “venting” they serve little other than perpetuating these counterproductive practices and alienating potential allies. All in all they are unnecessary.
I also believe the arguments put forth by rival religionists and theists, beating their chests and holy books proclaiming the superiority of their faith, belief, writings, deity or deities in some vainglorious attempt to convert or cow the opposition are just as damaging however comedic. Those arguments are best suited for forums of a more religious nature.
Only science and reason can effectively counter the zealot fervor that seizes the soul with intense, unreasoning passion and causes human beings to oppress, torture, and kill in the name of a god they profess. People who oppress, torture, and kill to appease an unseen and unknowable entity are clinically insane and should be constrained from harming others (incarcerated) and then treated medically (psychiatry, drugs or surgery) to alleviate their anti-social behavior.
I think Spencer has the right idea. By reporting on what Islam really is and what it is really doing, reasonable people will be persuaded as to the truth about Islam. Venting, racial slurs, and more religious dogma could hardly be expected to achieve the same goals.
f.g.
Islam is a lie because, amongst other things:
1. While claming to be the epitome of monotheism, it in fact demands the worship Mohammad as though he were a god. Mohammad can do no wrong. He is the only “One Prophet” placing him above all other human beings. He can never be spoken out against. His name must be ritualistically followed by a phrase of worship and adoration. It goes on and on.
2. Proclaiming to be the big “Truth” it sanctions the use of lies and deceit. How can anything it says be trusted?
...constrained from harming others (incarcerated) and then treated medically (psychiatry, drugs or surgery) to alleviate their anti-social behavior.
That should have said "incarcerated or killed." I don't want to give the impression that I think we should trank the bastards and slap them in an institution some place.
f.g.
F.G.,
'People who oppress, torture, and kill to appease an unseen and unknowable entity are clinically insane and should be constrained from harming others (incarcerated) and then treated medically (psychiatry, drugs or surgery) to alleviate their anti-social behavior.'
Well said. I would add: ...and the religion they base their behavior on should also be subjected to intense scrutiny and eventually outlawed..."
To borrow a phrase seen here frequently
NO ISLAM KNOW PEACE
Islam is a terrorist organization. Think about it, it makes more sense the more you think about it.
There was an article in Sunday Telegraph about how Syria is promoting and funding Jihadis in Iraq. Of course there is loud protests from Syrian
authorities telling usual Islamic lies permitted by their 'perfect' Prophet.