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"See that, Barack? That's a Religion of Peace that has been hijacked by a Tiny Minority of Extremists"
Now that Obama has made his momentous choice, here is a blast from the past: "Biden wages war on 'war on terror,'" by Ben Smith for Politico, May 4, 2007 (thanks to JCB):
John Edwards won praise on the left and criticism from the right when, at the first Democratic presidential candidates debate last month, refused to raise his hand to say he believed in the existence of a "global war on terror."The man to Edwards' immediate left on the stage, Senator Joe Biden, didn't raise his hand either.
And while Edwards' opposition to the phrase crystallized recently -- references to the terror war were removed from his own website only after the debate -- Biden has been waging what has appeared, at times, to be a quixotic war on "the global war on terror" for years.
"The President continues to talk about 'the war on terror.' That is simply wrong," Biden, who now chairs the Senate Foreign Relations Committee said in a speech at the National Press Club last September.
"Terrorism is a means, not an end, and very different groups and countries are using it toward very different goals. If we can't even identify the enemy or describe the war we're fighting, it's difficult to see how we will win." [...]
"Terror is a tactic. Terror is not a philosophy," Biden said. "The war in Chechnya is a war of liberation -- it engaged in terrorist activities, but it it is fundamentally different."
In a certain sense, of course, Biden is right. I have been repeating ad infinitum for years that terrorism is a means, not an end, and a tactic, not a philosophy. I've also been saying that if we can't even identify the enemy or describe the war we're fighting, it's difficult to see how we will win. However, Biden himself has never shown any sign of being aware of the global jihad agenda, and has to my knowledge never said anything about the jihad or Islamic supremacism. When he says we have to identify the enemy, he apparently means that we have to define them as various insurgent and nationalist movements, and find the right mix of concessions and aid to offer them in order to pacify them. Given the Islamic jihad agenda, of course, this is short-sighted, and time and events will demonstrate just how short-sighted it is.
More on Biden comes from "Breaking News: Joe Biden, Friend of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps," by W. Thomas Smith, Jr. at Family Security Matters, August 23:
Sen. Joe Biden – Barack Obama’s eagerly anticipated running mate – should be named an honorary soldier in Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). We’re all familiar with the IRGC: Iran’s unique corps of Islamist fighters who have been directly involved in deadly attacks against U.S. soldiers in Iraq – even Afghanistan – threatening our ships in the Persian Gulf; and organizing, training, equipping, funding, and providing direct operational support to Lebanon-based Hezbollah (perhaps the most dangerous terrorist army on earth). And that’s just for starters.Also known as the Pasdaran, the IRGC is not Iran’s conventional territorial armed force, but the military force of the Khomeinist-inspired Islamic Revolution. The organization fields an army, a navy, and an air force, as well as an extranational special-operations force known as the Quds (Jerusalem) Force.
Iran, of course, is a “state sponsor of terrorism,” so-designated by the U.S. State Department back in 1984. And the IRGC and its Quds Force were both designated “supporters of terrorism” in October 2007. Though the latter two designations would not have been so had Biden had his way.
On September 26, 2007, Biden voted “Nay” to Senate Amendment 3017 (S. Amdt. 3017) – a piece of legislation amending S. Amdt. 2011 to H.R. 1585 – “to express the sense of the Senate regarding Iran.”
In a nutshell, S. Amdt. 3017 called on the Senate to: “Support the prudent and calibrated use of all instruments of United States national power in Iraq, including diplomatic, economic, intelligence, and military instruments, in support of the policy … with respect to the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran and its proxies.”
And most importantly – for the sake of sanctions and the unequivocal denial of any form of support to terrorists and terrorist supporters – the amendment said, “the United States should designate the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps as a foreign terrorist organization … and place the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps on the list of Specially Designated Global Terrorists.”
Posted by Robert at August 24, 2008 2:45 AM
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Biden is more intelligent and has a more sophisticated and nuanced view of the international scene than most other members of Congress, including Obama and possibly also McCain. The national vetting process has only now begun for Biden, and it won't be restricted to narrow considerations of whether his presence on the ticket will help cover for Obama's weakness on foreign policy. There will be plenty of opportunities for Biden to be grilled on the nitty-gritty of his beliefs about Islam and his understanding of the threat it poses, as opposed to weak inferences based on past votes or flippant remarks.
It will be up to us to make sure that both he and Obama are thoroughly grilled on these issues so by the time election day rolls around we have an explicitly articulated view of what an Obama/Biden administration would hold in store for us.
Posted by: Eastview![[TypeKey Profile Page]](http://www.jihadwatch.org/nav-commenters.gif)
at August 24, 2008 3:36 AM
It is sad to say with the way things are upside down, Biden should of been running for president, and Oabam vice president. you have affirmative action here on display. experience in the wrong colour is not required. Obama was nothing more than
an activist, ie trouble maker and secound rate lawyer, and should of never even been elected as a senator let alone President.
Even if elected Biden would not have the last say, it would BO.
at August 24, 2008 7:25 AM
There is definitely something wrong in America if these two are the best candidates that could be found...
Posted by: pulsar182 at August 24, 2008 7:43 AM
Biden is problematic, and not to be a tu quoque artist here, but McCain, with his obliviousness to the creeping Islamization of the West, his obsession with the surge and 100 year commitment, his unclear statements on Pakistan, isn't inspiring either.
And even if McCain were to pick Romney, that would be meaningless from our POV, because Romney would only be on the ticket to strengthen (actually pretend that) McCain has an economic message: the ticket platform on Islam and Jihad would be McCain's, not Romney's. In other words, while Romney at the top of the ticket would be a shot in the arm for the anti-Islamic voices, Romney at the bottom of the ticket doesn't mean squat.
Posted by: Infidel Pride at August 24, 2008 9:10 AM
As a person who only started taking the Islamic agenda seriously after 9/11, I have been stunned into disbelief at how few people do the same.
Biden's criticism of the 'war on terror' was more likely motivated by partisan politics. It IS a step in the right direction to acknowledge that without correctly naming the enemy we won't be able to defend ourselves. Unfortunately, it's very likely that we here at JihadWatch will be greatly disappointed with Biden's definition of 'the enemy.'
Will he take the politically-correct line that Islamic Jihad is caused by America's foreign policy and lack of economic equality and so forth? (Is the Pope Catholic?)
Being open-minded on this question is difficult, in light of the numerous examples of dimwittedness on the part of our public figures over the last seven years.
One other point: It seems also highly likely that the new Administration, whichever it turns out to be, will be tested soon by a fresh jihad strike in America, another wake-up call. Will we hit the snooze button again?
Posted by: Goob at August 24, 2008 9:52 AM
“all Serbs should be placed in Nazi-style concentration camps”
Joe Biden
http://byzantinesacredart.com/blog/2008/08/obama_picks_prime_serbhater.html
Let me shave my head to be prepared...
at August 24, 2008 10:54 AM
they're all dhimmies! from the top all the way down to the bottom, every political party.
it's gonna take a really huge terrorist attack to get their thinking straight.
Posted by: theygottago at August 24, 2008 11:25 AM
Biden sponsors HUGE jizyah to Najisttan bill:
http://feeds.bignewsnetwork.com/index.php?sid=382836
Funny how they like to build stuff abroad. Meanwhile here in the U.S. AMTRAK is a creaky overpriced joke. A trip for two to Atlantic City from new York last Sunday was $238 one-way. Including a long layover in Philly.
I guess Biden doesn't use the train. He rides in an Escalade I'm fairly sure. That is when he doesn't ride on his private plane.
But money to Najistan he can send!
Posted by: Ummah Gummah at August 24, 2008 12:25 PM
Put me down as one deeply skeptical of Joe Biden. He suffers from prolixity of the most egregious kind and anyone who thinks he's more realistic about the dangers confronting America than is the current President is living in a make-believe world. Yes, yes, I know Bush doesn't measure up in sundry ways for many, but I can only laugh if any of these same Bush detractors think Biden is the kind of guy who would make America more secure or safe were he in charge. Like the New Messiah, he has an exaggerated sense of his own self-importance and is too clever by half.
Posted by: Wellington at August 24, 2008 12:25 PM
Don't worry, President Bush and his advisers are finessing policy to thwart the election of His Mojoness and J. Albert Bideinstein:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suNebe9p-So
at August 24, 2008 1:43 PM
One only need read Clarence Thomas' 'My Grandfather's Son' to comprehend the character (or lack of) of Joe Biden.
Biden - acting as chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, made an unsolicited call to Thomas before the confirmation hearings...to reassure the Supreme Court nominee that the process would start gently, with soft-ball questions, so that he (Thomas) could get comfortable and warmed up.
When the proceedings actually began, the first question out of Joe Biden's mouth was to ask Thomas about an obscure - and controversial - quote the he had made almost two decades before. Thomas was caught completely off guard; he couldn't remember the quote and wasn't even sure if he'd ever even said it. He did the best he could to answer...
...but I thought this little anecdote was instructive in understanding the kind of man Joe Biden is.
Posted by: Cornelius at August 24, 2008 2:07 PM
[Biden]...is too clever by half."
Posted by: Wellington
Agreed, and most people hate smart asses, especially in their politicians. Although I do think both Obama and Biden are blessed with great natural intelligence, this isn't enough. The Unibomber was also a very intelligent guy. Equally, or perhaps even more, important are wisdom and judgment. These are the qualities that I, at least, will be looking for when these guys are put under the spotlight in the upcoming campaign. Let's see how they respond to the stress of the campaign. My guess is that they'll dig themselves into a hole that will doom them come November.
Lazar, Biden's statement about Serbs is one of many examples of flippant remarks he has made for which he needs to be held to account. Sick as it was, this particular remark merely parroted widely held views of the Clinton administration.
pulsar, I think most of us are equally disgusted that our highly vaunted electoral system has only been able to cough up these bozos as candidates. No wonder we're spit on by the rest of the world.
Posted by: Eastview at August 24, 2008 2:30 PM
Biden knows that the "War on Terror" is a misnomer, yet he obstinately refuses to see or name the clear ideology that animates and drives this distinctive terrorism--Islamist supremacism.
Posted by: John C at August 24, 2008 3:56 PM
My piece of doggerel for the day:
Posted by: John CWe're the Bastard Battlers Against Jihad!
Got no mama, no papa, no Uncle Sam; no 'Bama, no Biden, no Osama bin Laden.
Got no Bush, no Cheney, no Ayman al-Zawahiri; no McCain, no Clinton, no Adam Gadahn--
And nobody gives a _ _ _damn!
at August 24, 2008 4:16 PM
And we had Rudy Giuliani in the race ... .
Did not take the Republican primary voters any time to get rid of him, did it? The more time passes by, the more dismayed I get of the sheer swiftness of the calamity as I look back:
The primaries began in January, and before the month was over, Rudy was out. The American people tripped themselves bad at the very start of the year, by rejecting the only great man to run for presidency in memory and reducing themselves to their usual choice between bad and worse. I still cannot figure out which is the bad and which is the worse.
As our ruling Quislings are betraying us to a foreign totalitarian enemy, the government, the media and all elites united in treason, we better start learning the tactics of the Soviet and Czech dissidents during the Cold War. As freedom of speech is being progressively suppressed by the Islamo-Nazi stormtroopers and their cowardly local collaborators, we should make the best use of the Internet - a tool not available to the Samizdat in the '60s - while we still have it. Before they start hauling us to jail for speaking out, which is already happening in EUrabia, Australia and Canadistan.
We should also explore innovative, artistic ways to get a word of truth accross. Folks who have background in theatrical production, might consider emulating the underground, clandestaine dissident shows in Prague in the '60s & '70s and put a one-woman theater play on the road: Oriana Fallacci Speaks, based on Oriana's speeches, articles and books. In Oriana's unimitable English verbatim, and with her Italian accent, the actress would conduct inspiring performances speaking those passionate, courageous words. A sample:
"I wrote thisso article in a newspaper. I seddo: "I donnotto apreciate thisso anti-Semitissmo rising in Europe again, demonizing Israel, 60 years after I fought the German anti-Semitissmo on the battlefield, when I wozzo 14. I donnotto appreciate European women parading wearing suicide bomb belts as bikinis. I donnotto appreciate this lust for Jewish blood. Hasn't Europe done enough to those people?". The same day the article went to print, I receive a telephone call, from Ariel Sharon. I sezzo: "Sharon! Are you as fat?". (This is becozzo I know him). He sezzo: "I just call to tell you it was damn courageous of you to write this article, a damn decent thing to do, and that I am damn thankful". I sezzo: "You welcome. And I am sorry about the terrorist attack on a kibbutz. Please accept my apologies". Then somethin-g happened: he cried. I mean, I could not see him, but I could tell he wozzo cryin-g. He sezzo: "Do you know who were killed in the kibbutz? An 86-year-old woman, a Holocaust survivor, her daughter, her dranddaughter, and the granddaughter's 2 little kids. Four generations! An entire family wiped out! I have been getting calls from Americans all day: not one expressed any condolences! All of them just kept warning me to "exercise restraint" and not to overreact to the "incident". You are the only one outside Israel who offered any sympathy at all".
He wozzo cryin-g ... . I donno ... .".
What better tribute to Oriana? Years after she was gone, she will fight on, showing an example of courage and righteousness.
Ruslan Tokhchukov, EnragedSince1999.
Posted by: Enragedsince1999 at August 24, 2008 6:19 PM
Goob:
You seem torn between calling the glass half full or half empty. Here's a thought that favours the half full option.
You said: "Will he take the politically-correct line that Islamic Jihad is caused by America's foreign policy and lack of economic equality and so forth? (Is the Pope Catholic?)"
Interesting that you use that analogy. It's worth noting that many critics of the Papacy call the Pope "the only Protestant in the Catholic Church" owing to the fact that he is the only Catholic cleric who (according to canon law, Catholic doctrine - and putative Divine revelation) can do or say anything he wants, can never be removed from office, and whose acts or decisions can never be overturned (except, in various cases, by his successors).
I'm sure most of the readers in this forum are familiar with Obama's freudian slip in which he referred to Biden as "the next President". A Vice President - or better yet a President (ha ha) may not be as invulnerable as a Pope, but nevertheless, perhaps in such a powerful office he will feel freer to take a less "politically correct" stand than he has until now.
Either way, this is the first time I've felt the slightest glimmer of hope for America under the scenario of an Obama presidency. Then again, as a Canadian I don't feel that I know a lot about American politics. Perhaps other readers can enlighten me with their own thoughts.
Posted by: templar at August 24, 2008 7:27 PM
Enraged,
I'm a Guiliani fan...and he ran an inexplicably dismal campaign. He opted out of the early primaries and put all his chances on Florida.....by which time, events (and potential victories) had passed him by.
Posted by: Cornelius at August 24, 2008 8:55 PM
Ruslan
I remember that article, too, and the conversation between Oriana and Sharon. It was unbearably moving.
I *L.O.V.E* Oriana. Reading 'The Rage and the Pride' (which I have read in Italian as well as English - whew!) and 'The Force of Reason' is an amazing experience. I haven't yet read the last two - Oriana Interviews Oriana, and The Apocalypse - but I'm sure they'll be just as good when I get to them.
Her swan song. Or perhaps I should say that she died like the phoenix, going out in a blaze of fire.
As she did, she inspired at least one European politician.
In Geert Wilders' speech in the Danish Parliament on 1st June this year, he referred in one paragraph to Winston Churchill's account of Islam, and then, in the next, he said *this*:
"And my great hero, the Italian writer, Oriana Fallaci, said, 'A moderate Islam does not exist. It does not exist because there is no difference between Good Islam and Bad Islam. There is Islam, and that is the end of it. Islam is the Koran, and nothing other than the Koran. And the Koran is the Mein Kampf of a religion that desires to eliminate others - non-Muslims - who are called infidel dogs and inferior creatures. Read the Koran, that Mein Kampf, yet again, in whatever version, and you will see that the evil which the sons of Allah have perpetrated against us and against themselves comes from that book.' Wise and true words."
See that? - "my great hero, the Italian writer, Oriana Fallaci".
The fiery Italian woman has inspired a feisty Dutchman. As she died he has caught the torch she threw - or was it, perhaps, a flaming sword?
There is still hope.
Posted by: dumbledoresarmy at August 25, 2008 1:42 AM
Clear case where being a little bit right can lead to being so wrong.
Posted by: Kevin at August 25, 2008 10:36 AM
It is very ironic that Obama picked Biden as his running mate. Bidon credits himself with the Clinton-Kosovo war in 1998-99. During the Kosovo war the US troops were fighting side by side with Osama Bin Laden and his Al Qaeda troops who were brought in from all over Middle East and Africa to fight a Jihad war against the Christians of Kosovo - we were paying, feeding, supporting and supplying Al Qaeda with weapons and ammunitions. The Kosovo war pissed off the helpless Russians then and contributed to the return of the Evil Empire of Russia. Russia recently punished the Americans and the West by devastating the Republic of Georgia as a revenge for the Kosovo War - Thanks to Senator Biden's contribution to history - Russia will only get stronger, angrier and more evil instead of the friendly path Russia was heading towards.
at August 25, 2008 11:50 AM
American, there's an interesting article over at The Australian http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,24234276-2703,00.html that essentially likens Biden and McCain to two peas in a pod (my words).
Posted by: Eastview at August 26, 2008 5:02 AM
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