I don’t believe the “modern” world is their target. These men have never hesitated to use the most sophisticated technologies they could get hold of. We are not dealing with a band of crazed Amish here. Rather, their target is the non-Muslim world. Still, Gingrich’s words, despite these and other flaws, are among the most forthright about what we actually face than most statements I have heard from major politicians.
From AFP, “With Islamists in mind, Gingrich mulls 2008 presidential run,” with thanks to Ali Dashti:
WASHINGTON (AFP) – Trailblazing ideologue Newt Gingrich, who engineered the 1994 Republican takeover of the US House of Representatives, said he may run for president in 2008, promising to fight what he calls “an Islamist insurgency against the modern world.”
He also spoke about a need to center US society around religious values formulated by “our Creator.”…
In a portion of the book made available to AFP, Gingrich argues the United States faces two immediate opponents: “the irreconcilable wing of Islam” and dictatorships that, in his words, empower radical Islamists.
But in contrast with President George W. Bush, who insists that Muslim radicals are driven by their hatred of Western values, Gingrich believe the world is witnessing a global civil war between the modernizing and irreconcilable wings of Islam.
“This war is not primarily about terrorism,” he writes, “It is about an Islamist insurgency against the modern world.”
According to the former speaker, between 39 million and 52 million young men — out of a total of 1.3 billion Muslims around the world — could become available to Islamist recruiters as the war on terror grinds on.
Because of that, he predicts, the fight could continue for the next 20-25 years at best, or drag on for several centuries, as did the Catholic-Protestant wars during the Reformation and Counter Reformation.