Chompsky Chewed, Jihadis Booed

Here is an interesting piece at the Huffington Post by my friend Ali Eteraz explaining that Chompsky is not expressing sufficient dissent and then going through a catalog of Muslim ills.

I just read that in Kurdistan a Yezidi girl was stoned to death with bricks to her head because she loved a Sunni boy; meanwhile security forces watched and people made videos on cell phones. I just read that Egyptian hardliners hold parties where the works of jurists like Abu el Fadl - who writes about the Search for Beauty in Islam - are burnt. I just read that the Taliban "Book of Rules" contains exhortations to kill school-teachers, which is usually accomplished by disemboweling. I just talked to a police officer from a Muslim country who recalled to me instances of boys raped upon stacks of Qurans by heads of religious institutions. I spoke with small business owners in a Muslim country who are regularly extorted by their religious leaders. I just read that Hezbollah is now operating in South America (quite distant from Lebanon, no?), recruiting and drug-running like common thugs, and we have known this since 2002. I just read of "ninjabis" in Pakistan - veiled women who with sticks and rage beat brothel owners, music store owners and video store clerks. I just read of Iranian police officers who kick and beat women for daring to wear earrings. I just read that in some places (Saudi Arabia) women are being beaten so they will wear the veil; in other places women are being beaten (Mogadishu) so they will not wear the veil. I just read that in the world there are over 5,000 (reported) honor killings every year including in places as forward and progressive as Turkey, Italy and England, and in most places courts routinely fail to prosecute offenders. I just read of a German judge affirming that Muslim men are supposed to beat their wives (alternate view here). I just read of a British school where the Jewish Holocaust is no longer discussed because it hurts the feelings of the Muslim students.

Usually Ali is very sensitive to criticism of Islam see his comment on Giving Up Religious Supremacism which would lead you to a post at his blog. And yet he has a parade of Islam's dirty laundry (there is more I left out) worthy of Little Green Footballs. You know it is possible he finally gets it. Praise the Maker.

H/T Pastorious at Astute Bloggers.

Cross Posted at Classical Values

Grand Strategy

The folks over at Volokh Conspiracy were discussing missile defence. A very long discussion which prompted this discourse on WW2 from me:

Exagerated fear of loss is common to humans. We know what we have to lose and underestimate what the opposition has to lose.

You fight a war based on two things: what losses will most quickly cripple an enemy and what does the enemy fear to lose most? The two are often not the same. Take WW2 Japan. They were crippled by loss of oil and transport for raw materials. What they feared to lose most was the Emperor.

Which got me to thinking about our jihadi enemies. What is their operational weakness? What do they fear to lose the most?

So I'm thinking:

What can we do that will impact the enemies war fighting capabilites? Cut off their money supply and degrade their command and control. Militarily we are mainly going after leaders as our offensive phase while defending against ambushes. The Israelis have shown this to be an effective tactic if you can develop the intel.

What do the jihadis fear most to lose? Their honor. Most of all they want their religion respected.

I think the best answer to the honor question is: Mohammed? You are a follower of that old pervert? This could lead to the destruction of Islam or its reformation. The destruction is easy to see. The reformation could come about by acknowledgement that marrying six year olds is not very civilized behavior. Which then opens the gates to questioning lots of other stuff. Separate the good from the bad in light of current standards.

Technorati:
Grand Strategy, Military, Islam, Mohammed, Religion, Honor, Respect, Win, Lose, Enemy, Jihad, Islamic Imperialism, Islamic Fascism, Pervert