I tend to think that Europe is the modern epicenter of jihad, but it's striking that Gates used the word "jihad," if this report is accurate. Is the SecDef deaf to his new boss's distaste for what he calls "stereotyping" of Islam? Doesn't he know that jihad is an interior spiritual struggle and that Al-Qaeda and the Taliban have nothing to do with Islam? Obama might want to call Gates in for a reeducation session.
"Af-Pak border is 'modern epicentre' of jihad: Gates," from ZeeNews, October 6 (thanks to James):
Washington: Strongly opposing any move to withdraw the US troops, Defence Secretary Robert Gates Tuesday said that such a decision would allow al-Qaeda to gain a foothold in Afghanistan and described the tribal region between Af-Pak border as the "modern epicentre" of jihad.
Any withdrawal of US forces from Afghanistan, before the mission to defeat al-Qaeda and the Taliban is achieved, would bolster the Islamic radical movement in other parts of the globe, Gates said in an interview with CNN before an audience at George Washington University.
"The Afghan-Pakistan border "is the modern epicentre of jihad," he said....
He warned that if Taliban regained control of significant portions of the country, "that would be added space for al-Qaeda to strengthen itself" and embark on expanded recruitment and fund raising activities there."The reality is, because of our inability -- and the inability, frankly, of our allies -- to put enough troops into Afghanistan, the Taliban do have the momentum right now, it seems," he said....
I saw him say the very same thing on CNN-
He was sitting right next to Hillary Clinton.......
When he said it-
I smiled to myself and thought exactly the same thoughts Robert mentioned in this post......
The truth sometimes gets out........
The full program airs today on CNN with Christian Arampour (Spelling?)
But my prediction is that, they will edit out the comment about "Jihad" by the time the full segment actually gets aired........
Oh those Arabs,,,,,, they seem to control all of the media these days, just like they accuse those evil Jews of doing so in the past.......
It was priceless.........
This is hardly news. I remember president Bush saying the same thing about porous borders and how the Taliban were being supplied and supported from Pakistan. Since then Pakistan has been swamped with aid money to help combat terrorism in this area but obviously it has come to nothing.
Fitzgerald: Where In The World Is the "Center" Of The War On Terrorism:
http://www.jihadwatch.org/2009/09/fitzgerald-where-in-the-world-is-the-center-of-the-war-on-terrorism.html
The epicenter of jihad is the ummah, but behind that is Allah...The ummah exists anywhere one or more Mahoundians congregate...The ummah takes all its directions from Allah's book the Quran, and the examples of the perfect man and role model Mahound...The laws derived from this marriage, Allah/Mahound are Sharia...Allah and Mahound are married and their child is Sharia...a tyrant...An unholy trinity...
Jihad is an emanation from this trinity, written in the book, and expressed through the ummah...a product of Islam...
maha in e.indian(hindi) meaning great; hence maha-atma gandhi
i.e. gandhi the great soul.
perhaps allah/mohammad combo is maha-hound in sheep's clothing
- to deceive?