Here's one for the neocons who support the Chechen jihad because they prefer to see it as a plucky group of independence fighters poking the big bad Russian bear in the eye: welcome to your alliance with Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
Of course, the Russians themselves need to wake up, too. Across the board, the governing elites and media elites in non-Muslim countries need to realize that while they are playing at pseudo-sophisticated analyses of global conflicts, mostly involving economic and sociological perspectives and solutions, the jihadists see the world only as divided between Muslims and non-Muslims (including, possibly, those they regard as heretical pseudo-Muslims).
The sooner the non-Muslim nations reconfigure their defense postures accordingly, ruling out alliances with states like Iran (alliances which have many precedents and have usually been disastrous, as I establish in my book The Politically Incorrect Guide to Islam (and the Crusades)), the more effective those defense postures will be.
From the Telegraph, with thanks to the Constantinopolitan Irredentist:
Iran is secretly training Chechen rebels in sophisticated terror techniques to enable them to carry out more effective attacks against Russian forces, the Sunday Telegraph can reveal.Teams of Chechen fighters are being trained at the Revolutionary Guards' Imam Ali training camp, located close to Tajrish Square in Teheran, according to Western intelligence reports.
In addition to receiving training in the latest terror techniques, the Chechen volunteers undergo ideological and political instruction by hardline Iranian mullahs at Qom.
The disclosure that Iran is training Chechen rebels will not go down well in Moscow, which regards itself as a close ally of the Iranian regime.
Russia has sided with Iran in the diplomatic stand-off over Teheran's controversial nuclear programme.
Tehran needs one of its main shipping ports taken out.....Just a love note from the West and a reminder of how suddenly they can be dispatched.
The Russian press and radio and television, and ruling circles, are full of indignation at the most pressing threat to Russia's well-being. What is that threat? It is not the Chinese flowing across the border into Siberia as traders, marrying where possible local girls, and managing to remain. No, even though there are 1.2 billion Chinese, and even though the new Chinese economy is likely to allow many Chinese families to ignore the "one-child" only rule, and even though the Russian population is steeply declining, there is no reason for Russia to worry about China.
Nor do the Russians have to worry about Islam. There is no new awareness of Islam, no Saudi or other Arab money helping to construct mosques, no Iranian plans to re-islamize, and seize from Russia, the entire Caucasus. The Iranians have absolutely no interest in what goes on in Azerbaijan, or in Chechnya, or in Ingushetia, or for that matter in the Christian islands of Georgia and Armenia. Why would the Islamic Republic of Iran take an interest in helping to fanatacize other Muslims just across the border, some of them -- the Azeris -- sharing a language and ethnic identification wtih large numbers of people in Iran? What conceivably would make them do it?
No, as with China, so with Islam -- no problem.
The real problem for Russia comes from that diabolically cunning (would that it were so) country, the United States of America. For not content to having helped to weaken the Soviet Union by tricking Boris Yeltsin into giving indepedence to all of the constituent republics of the former SSSR -- who realized that Yeltsin, in his stupor, was merely following the orders telecommanded to him by the CIA and the ghost of James Angleton -- those clever Americans (just look how brilliant they are -- look at how cleverly they have done things in Iraq, so as to permanently damage both Iran and Saudi Arabia by creating in their leaders a dangerous sense of complacency -- fooling them into thinking that the Americans are fools when we know, of course, that we aren't because in Iraq we know exactly what we are doing, and are never surprised by anything).
And since the Americans will stop at nothing to further weaken Russia, in every way, no doubt that is why they are pressing us, the Russians, to stop collaborating with Iran. You see, they know that if they press us, we will quite understandably react with suspicion -- because we have every right to be suspicious of the Americans -- for obviously the Americans don't want us to receive Iranian money, or collaborate. They keep telling us that we can't trust Iran, that we are making the same mistake with Iran that they, the Americans, made during the Cold War with such Muslim countries as Pakistan, and Turkey, convinced that Islam was a "bulwark against Communism" and forgetting that Islam inculcated hostility to everything outside of Islam. And now we, the Americans tell us, are making the same mistake, in the Cold War we continue to fight -- trying to do with the Islamic Republic of Iran whatever most annoys the Americans, and forgetting how the Iranians see the world.
Those Americans are trying to trick us. We know that Iran is not a threat to Russia. We know that Islam is not the problem. It never has been. It has always been America. They're the ones who have secret plans to colonize us and take over our lands for their oil companies, and their lumber companies, and their mining companies. And they want us to worry about Iran! What can Iran possibly do to us?
What fools those Americans must take us for. We'll show them.
Is anyone really surprised by this?
Robert:
One can easily make the argument that Winston Churchill was a "neo con".
He was.
And a great tactician who knew his enemies, could correctly characterize them, and thereby be vital in helping to defeat them.
We are at war, and the enemy is Islam.
Churchill wrote about this about a hundred years ago while still a young reporter.
Russian land is currently transforming into Chinese land...mile by mile, day by day.
Well- Thats the Islamic way of saying 'Thankyou' for Russians helping out in their 'Uranium enrichment Neuclier progrmmes.
you know you cannot trust the what the Russian press has to say about most things...most regular people know of the dangers of islam! they are not stupid, they have been victims of muslim terrorist over the years to know what their press says and what is true! ask about the parents who have lost their children over a year ago, ask the people who lost family and friends in explosions in their huge apartments, etc . they know who the real enemy is.. their elites cannot fool them!! Russian people do not trust Iranians, you can talk to most average Russians, they have a high regard for Americans! so dont fall into the trap with their government controlled media..
"so dont fall into the trap with their government controlled media.." says Lulu
Over and over again the same message is posted by bloggers from all around the globe, their media is controlled by the government or special interest groups like the saudis or groups filled with idiot compassion like the liberal leftists. Thank goodness for the www!
To the poetess,
"Thank goodness for the www!"
Amen. But this is probably why certain people are desperate to get their hands on it so they can tax us into silence.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4346945.stm
The foolish man builds his house upon the sand.
so russia builds the iranian nuclear power facilities, iran trains chechens to attack russia??? sounds like a deal!
It isn't the neo-cons but rather the embedded liberals at State that continue their equivocation on whether or not the Chechens are part of the global jihadist movement.
One would have thought Beslan would have removed all doubt.
Sorry Cornelius, it is the neo cons who are running the government, and it is the neo cons that chastised Putin for Chechnya, and since when did the "embedded liberals at state"pull the strings of Condi, Rumsfeld, Cheney and Bush.
You are no different than the Muslim, who has a mouth full of excuses and apologia.
And the longer you live in denial, the worse life is going to get for you.
Hugh: The nature of the problem is that of microcosm vs macrocosm.
The Big Guy looks at the world through glasses that see only the Great Game, balance of power politics, they are impervious to, but effectively use for their own purposes, ideologies (and religion is merely an ideology with extemporal, not economic origins).
Then there is the little guy, whose energies and blood is utilized by the Big Guy, who sees the world, or is taught or told to see the world, through different lenses.
The Russian Iranian History is an old one, in fact Russia once possesssed parts of what is now Iran, as well as Azerbaijan and Armenia (Turkey). Russia is and has been in and out of the Caspian sea, it needs ports, it needs access and it needs Iran. We care about the politics of Islam, but the elite (east and west do not, except that they can, so think manipulate them)
Take a glimpse at the CIA's Analysis of the Caspian Region and the Table of Oil export routes (pipelines) in the Caspian Region
Geopolitics, and screaming at Russia to wake up, isn't going to move the bear a bit.
I've had this thought (that things are not what they appear to be) for a long time, just a suspicion, based upon the irrational (from our perspective) behavior of the elite (our corporate and elected leaders) they swoon their base by appealing to baser motives, but their actions belie their words.
Could it be, that in a shrinking world, a world with a geometrically expanding population, and consequently decreasing resources, with a burgeoning population that is befouling the water and air, while simultaneously depleting it's mineral and petroleum reserves, and denuding the planet, fouling the seas.. that a tipping point will come.
There are many FREEPERS, induced by the siren song of their beloved leaders, that refuse to believe in Global Warming (which BTW, would cause an ice age, not a contradiction), but global warming is only part of the problem. The problem is population growth, decreasing resources and pollution of air and water (as well as documented warming of the seas). The coral reefs, the basis of life in the oceans, are dying out, and with them are dying out the fish stocks, even the Atlantic Cod was declared an endangered species, where once a basque or Bristol fisherman could haul up a hundred or so pounds with baskets.
Too many mouths to feed, too many minds and hands that want toys, comforts, computers, goodies and planet earth is not a cornucopia... something must give, and something will give.. eventually, and at the rate we are going (population, mouths, demands) it will be sooner.
Infinite growth is not possible, a tree that outgrows its roots will die, the tree must be managed, it's soil replenished, refertilized, and feeder roots and branches trimmed, and then it must be husbanded and managed once brought under control.
Muhammad,knew, the Caliphs knew and the Mongols learned of the social utility of religion, as a unifying force that diminished the need for divisions of soldiers, and police. Constantine intuited the same, and Charlemagne, Olaf Trygvasson and even Ferdinand and Isabella and the Kings of France, Germany and England relied upon the social utility of religion as a tool by which to control the masses.
In such an inevitably overpopulated world, with shrinking resources, and demanding mouths, a cohesive all encompassing ideology is needed by which to keep the masses in line, without recourse to impossible and expensive to maintain international police forces. A one world religion.. and there are two contenders Christianity and Islam.
But of the two Islam wins the draw, as Islam has provided proof that it is not only all encompassing (social, cultural, political, economic and religious) but is highly effective at keeping in check, the aspirations of the masses.
Christians and Hindus, want and expect a better life for themselves and their children, Muslims do not, all they really care about is the afterlife, and this life will be provided for or not by Allah, the Insh'allah fatalism of which Hugh speaks so eloquently. "My wife and kids are starving, ah well it is the will of Allah".
That Muslims migrate to the west for economic betterment, does not negate the thesis. They sit in their native lands, wounded and humiliated, by the evidence that their culture their beliefs are inferior and have failed them, and how does the politics of envy and embarassment deal with this discomfort, this invalidation of their righteous and perfect ideology? By levelling.Eliminating the embarassment, cutting off the offending limb of the tree. They come not to contribute or build, but to live off the fruits of a tree, which they believe Allah provided for them, without thought that there attitude and actions will kill the tree. The fruits of the west are the everlasting gift of allah (as they see it), and those pesky kaffirs will continue to produce fruits, even after they are submitted.
This belief that one can do as one wishes, and tomorrow will be as good as today,if not better, is not limited to Islam. The concept of husbandry is lost so it seems.
Basing my opinion, not on religious belief, not on ideology, not on wishful thinking, I can only account for the discrepancies in behavior by our "august" leadership (left or right, socialist or capitalist) by coming to the conclusion that we are witnessing the purposeful birth of a one world religion, which is Islamic at it's core, and what the ruling class wish and seek to do, is to discredit and make impossible the more fanatic, the Salafayi elements of Islam.
And if that means that the Christians can hang on as "protected" classes, then so be it.. but the problem is this.. the world and it's resources are not a cornucopia, humans are expanding geometrically in populations, our activities are indeed befouling the air and water, and life in the future on this planet will be (if changes aren't made) unbearable and intolerable, with massive starvation (forget about cars and computers, people will want food, water and breathable air).
The Caliphs, the Sultans, the Deys and Beys of Morocco, paid lip service to Islam, while living their life in luxury, enjoying wine, women, song and little boys to their hearts content, whilst the Imams urged their people onto sacrifice in the way of Allah, which is actually no different than what our own leaders do and have done to us.
They demand honesty and integrity of us, but in turn lie and deceive us, they exhort us to personal sacrifice, but excuse themselves from sacrifice.
To be blindly loyal to them is patriotism, to question them is treason. In the same light to question the qadi or Imam, is to question Shari'a, which is to question the foundations of the faith - treason is apostasy, but it is defined as disobedience and questioning of the ruling class, though religion and patriotism may be it's deflected excuse.
I fear that we are on the cusp of a one world religion, with or without the U.N., and it is not going to be Christianity, though Christianity will continue for awhile to play it's part, with Christians as dhimmi's keeping the machinery and it's cogs greased and functioning.
That such is the future, and part of the plan, gives understanding to the otherwise incomprehensible behaviors of Putin, Bush, Blair, DeVillipins,the Anan's, the E.U. and all other politicians who have been culled from the lines of the ruling elite, or indoctrinated into the ruling elite at Yale, Cambridge, Harvard, M.I.T., Oxford.
Does anyone really think that these men and women are not ignorant of Islam, that they are that ill advised and stupid, unread (well GWB yes).?
I don't. There is a three dimensional chess game in progress, but you and I and the little guy, can only see one dimension of the game, that level of the three tiered board that we are allowed to see.
Viewed at from a different level of perspective, the Putins, Blairs, Bush's, De Villipin's behavior is not ill informed, but better informed than ours, the problem then is ours. We are the problem, because it is we who believe and support, those who are leading us (but not themselves)into perdition and penury.
Imagine tribes of Chimps fighting over banana's that appear to fall from the sky onto the jungle floor,and a chimp looks up into the canopy of trees and espies someone throwing the banana's, at first this tribe, then that with deliberate purpose, to excite them into irrational and emotional behavior. So long as the tribes are snarling and snapping at each other, they who manipulate them and their behaviors are ignored, unseen and given a free pass, and where noticed are provided apologetics and excuses...after all they are the ones throwing the banana's.
Cornelius I truly understand the mentality of a True Believer, was once one myself. Eric Hoffer wrote an excellent essay by that name, out of publication but you can still find it.
When Reagan ran for President I was,most likely, more conservative than anyone on this forum. I really was one of those Proud Right Wing Extremists, of which Goldwater was accused. Had a bumper sticker proclaiming as much, on my car when other right wingers were in hiding, (they went underground when Kennedy was assassinated).
I didn't have much money, but I donated all of my spare change to the RNC to elect Reagan, I even fell on my knees in ferverent prayer for his election victory.. I was assured, because he said so, that he would get rid of those leftists from the Trilateral Commission and CFR that dominated the government, and what a hangover I had when in less than a month he staffed all of his departments with Trilaterilists and CFR types, and kept as a holdover from Carter, Carlucci of Transportation.
I realized that I had been betrayed, that I was suckered, and then (too late for my wallet) I read a couple of books on Reagan, "Here's the REst of Me" and "The Counterfeit Candidate" and discovered that the man was actually more big government than Carter. As governor of California he inherited a balanced budget and small government, and left it a burgeoning bureaucracy in the red. He then went on to sanction selling arms to Iran (Iran Contra), and while his minions went to jail (to be reprieved by GHWB, and to show up in the administration of GWB), he picked up the name of The Teflon President. But Reagan was not his image, anymore than the present administration is it's image, it is all crafted image, and that's what Americans buy, the packaging, the image, the appearance not the contents.
And Voila, every president since (and before) has said one thing to his constituency and acted contrary in office.
Clinton was Democrat, left, liberal? I think not, more like moderate Republican (NAFTA and GAAT are proof) but he abandonened and betrayed his base, (because they had no where else to turn), and he did with all of the teflon ease that Reagan employed when he betrayed his base (that still to this day idolizes him).
Liberals conservatives, left right, Democrats Republicans.. two wings of the same bird, and a bird can't fly without wings, or with one wing.
The problem isn't the wings (the wings are idiots, raving idiots) but the bird, and the bird that is flying is not an eagle, but a vulture.
Hugh, one of the things that antagonizes the Russians, and keeps them at arms' length from the US, is that NATO is being used to encroach right upto their borders.
NATO is an obsolete institution from an older war. The new war is the one against fanatical Islamo-fascists, and there's no need for the US to continually be resurrecting the old war with Moscow, by tweaking their nose with NATO all the time.
What purpose does that obsolete alliance serve now? If the US is trying to half-heartedly fight today's war while only focusing on past antagonisms and clinging to yesterday's tools, then it's simply not going to win.
One of those wings is broken, nariz.
It keeps dragging us back towards the jihadists. the 'other' keeps pulling us back to what's Right.
If Russia's alliance with Iran is bad, then America's alliance with Pakistan is good.
Does that sound logical or convincing ? Or is it
American world view to put pressure on Russia ?
After all how difficult would it be to get a story about few in Pakistan's ISI aiming to cause harm to American interests ? Would such a story neutralize this one ? Hello ?
"The problem isn't the wings (the wings are idiots, raving idiots) but the bird, and the bird that is flying is not an eagle, but a vulture." - Nariz
How do I put this gently? I don't want to be misinterpreted here. I admire those who take the time to express opinions in a free exchange of ideas. Especially opinions on issues which most humans never seem contemplate until it is much too late. Nevertheless, here goes:
Incredible, wind-bag sophistry. Demented, cliched, Robert Ludlam, knock-off, international spy novel crap. Entertaining, on some level, but a total distraction from geopolitical reality. Everything based upon the evil, clever, manipulations of the machiavellian "puppet masters" of the western world ('except for GWB', because the elected leader of the U.S. is too dumb, right, Nariz??). Brilliant.
Moonbats who wallow in oh, so sophisticated theories of global conspiracy are part of the problem. The naval-gazing, politically correct hell-bent-on-cultural suicide west produces wheel-spinning hecklers from the peanut gallery like Nariz and Oliver Stone by the millions. Psuedo-intellectuals running on superstition and feelings, swathed in cacoons of inflated self esteem. They have all the answers. In their closed little minds, anyway.
They adhere to the tenets of their secular, conspiracy-theory based religion as fanatically as the most primitive of fundamentalist muslims embraces his Quran.
At the risk of indulging in a little exercise in delusional self-esteem: ITS JUST NOT THAT COMPLICATED.
The satanic cult of islam wants to rule the world. If its fanatic adherants are not utterly defeated, killed or humbled into submission now, while they are still militarily impotent, they will prevail. There can be no compromise and surrender is not an option. I know, sounds like a science-fiction plot. (Nariz - take note- you may have some great material here!) Like bad fiction. Wish it was.
Right now only one nation on this planet (fortunately, the only nation realistically capable of doing so) is putting up any kind of serious fight against islam at all. Good, old-fashioned political correctness and, as of yet, an insufficient number of western victims of Islamic mass murder, prevent its overt description as islam, but it is, nonetheless, the islamic global jihad which is opposed. It is the only fight against islam that stands a snowball's chance in hell of succeeding. Whether one agrees with the methodology employed at present or not, that is a fact.
Unfortunately, most of the western world seems to be populated by pusillanimous, ankle biting chihuahuas unable to recognize a threat to its survival. A threat which has gone to incredible extremes to announce itself. It seems that the ankle biting engaged in is restriced to the ankles of the United States of America.
I guess that is the safest course of action, given that yapping and nipping describes the highest military capability of your average european nation. On the positive side, the recognition of the imprudence of provoking islam without an ability to defend one's self against being slaughtered reveals that europeans may, indeed be capable of rationality. Not enough to save themselves from cultural and demographic extinction, but its a start.
The future's expatriot europeans, part of an enfeebled diaspora of european civilization's remnants, upon contemplating their former homelands' fates at the hands of Muslim masters, may wonder why the hell they wasted so much time and energy despising their genetic and cultural cousins in the U.S. But I won't get my hopes up.