The Front Page Cover
"I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened"
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Featuring:
What the West's long struggle
with communism tells us about the
battle with Islamic terrorism
There is a real danger that the situation might evolve into a great civil war been Shiite and Sunni Muslims
Michael Bliss
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"Rise up together as one voice"
"Be careful where you stand"
~~~lll~~~
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Hilly bulks up on damage control team - WSJ: “A pro-Hilly Clinton group formerly under the umbrella of Democratic opposition research group American Bridge is set to become its own super PAC in an effort to more forcefully push back on criticism of Mrs. Clinton….The group will employ an unusual strategy in doing so….[I]t doesn’t plan to make independent expenditures, which are ads explicitly advocating for or against a candidate.”
[“A federal judge is giving the State Department until September to comply with a conservative group's request for records relating to correspondence between top aides to former Secretary of State Hilly Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, as well as a consulting business involving former Clinton staffers,” Politico reports.] -Fox News
[“A federal judge is giving the State Department until September to comply with a conservative group's request for records relating to correspondence between top aides to former Secretary of State Hilly Clinton and the Clinton Foundation, as well as a consulting business involving former Clinton staffers,” Politico reports.] -Fox News
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DIXVILLE NOTCHED The New Hampshire town famed for casting the first ballots in every election cycle could pass the baton on to its neighbor. Dixville Notch, a town with eight registered voters and no permanent residents, has struggled in recent years to maintain the tradition. Gov. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., signed into legislation last year that neighboring Millsfield may also open voting at midnight. Read the WSJ’s take. -Fox News
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IT’S ENOUGH TO GIVE YOU A CASE OF THE DISMALS
NPR looked at the state of regional slang terms in this era of homogenized American English, and the findings were as jarring the sight of a whopperjawed necessary or a taste of rampy milk. You can see if your state’s colloquialisms are on the list of endangered words. [And not to be biggity, but West Virginia is stronger than a skint mule when it comes to the best in American regional slang.] So get off your ridey-bob and check it out. -Fox News
NPR looked at the state of regional slang terms in this era of homogenized American English, and the findings were as jarring the sight of a whopperjawed necessary or a taste of rampy milk. You can see if your state’s colloquialisms are on the list of endangered words. [And not to be biggity, but West Virginia is stronger than a skint mule when it comes to the best in American regional slang.] So get off your ridey-bob and check it out. -Fox News
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HOUSE MEMBERS PUSH FOR IRS CLINTON PROBE
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is circulating a letter among her colleagues asking IRS Commissioner John Koskinen to review the tax-exempt status of the Clinton Foundation. In the letter, a draft of which was obtained by Chief Congressional Correspondent Mike Emanuel, Blackburn says, “recent media reports have revealed that the Foundation failed to report millions of dollars in grants from foreign governments that it accepted while Hilly Clinton was Secretary of State and that it facilitated private business transactions between foreign entities” and as such, “given the substantial public interest involved, we feel a prompt review of the Foundation’s tax-exempt status is appropriate to determine whether it is acting within the scope of its charitable mission.” -Fox News
Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., is circulating a letter among her colleagues asking IRS Commissioner John Koskinen to review the tax-exempt status of the Clinton Foundation. In the letter, a draft of which was obtained by Chief Congressional Correspondent Mike Emanuel, Blackburn says, “recent media reports have revealed that the Foundation failed to report millions of dollars in grants from foreign governments that it accepted while Hilly Clinton was Secretary of State and that it facilitated private business transactions between foreign entities” and as such, “given the substantial public interest involved, we feel a prompt review of the Foundation’s tax-exempt status is appropriate to determine whether it is acting within the scope of its charitable mission.” -Fox News
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Stephanopoulos gave $50K to Clinton Foundation - Fox News: “ABC News chief anchor George Stephanopoulos never disclosed to his network -- or viewers -- $50,000 in contributions he made to the Clinton Foundation in recent years, even as he waded into covering Hilly Clinton's 2016 presidential campaign and foundation controversies. Stephanopoulos apologized Thursday, Fox News has learned, and said he should have revealed the contributions. The anchor is a former Bill Clinton spokesman and aide, and his ties to the former first family are well-known. However, as first reported by Politico, he made a $25,000 donation to the foundation in 2013 and 2014 -- and while the donations can be found in the organization's records, Stephanopoulos did not disclose them…” -Fox News
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Enough! Republicans Move To Stifle EPA Tyranny Once And For All
(rickwells.us) - On Wednesday, Senate Republicans introduced a bill designed to protect the states and American citizens from the climate-based power zealots at the EPA by overturning their most draconian regulations and making them nearly impossible to impose... The author of the bill, freshman Senator Shelley Moor Capito (R-WV) said, “Our bipartisan legislation would empower the states to protect families and businesses from electricity rate increases, reduced electrical reliability and other harmful effects of the president’s Clean Power Plan. Our bill would also require that any greenhouse gas standard set by the EPA for new coal-fired power plants are able to be achieved by commercial power plants operating in the real world.” Twenty-five Republican senators, including Senate Majority Leader Mitch McCon-nell (R-Ky.), who somehow mustered some rare courage to challenge nObama on this bill, vital to his own state, signed into the bill as co-sponsors. West Virginia Democrat Senator Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.) is also a cosponsor. http://rickwells.us/enough-republicans-move-to-stifle-epa-tyranny-once-and-for-all-hope-for-people-who-like-electricity/
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Comrades dinky Reid, nObama And McCon-nell Kiss, Make-Up
(rickwells.us) - The puppet masters have spoken and TPP is back on track, with Democrats now taking a page out of the Republican book, agreeing to separate pieces of legislation in order to provide themselves political cover to pass an anti-American stinker... Sen dinky Harry Reid (D-NV), who pretended to be pro-American for about as long as his battered body could take it, is now moving back towards his familiar position at the foot of Master Hussein. Ever the obstructionist, dinkyReid will now turn his skills back to their “rightful targets,” the American people. dinky Reid is joining with nObama and his pseudo-Republican allies, led my Mitch McCon-nell (R-KY), John Cornyn (R-TX) and Orrin Hatch (R-UT) in incrementally moving a devastatingly bad deal for the American people forward, one which they will ultimately pass under the excuse that “there was more good in it than bad,” or other such nonsensical blather under the protection of fast-track’s up or down vote only. http://rickwells.us/secret-tpp-stinks-comrades-reid-obama-and-mcconnell-kiss-make-up-get-back-to-shovelling/
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Tucker Carlson Suggests Ending Muslim Immigration
(Brenda Walker) - It’s pretty amazing that with all the news about the threat of hostile Islam to our freedom, very few people mention that it got here through immigration... Is it too rude to suggest that the historical enemies of the West not be welcomed inside the gates by the hundreds of thousands? We know that Muslims complain constantly about their tender feelings being hurt by cartoons and such, but they have plenty of acreage in dar al-Islam, with at least 49 Muslim-majority countries as counted by Pew. They can sharia to their heart’s content. Geography is wonderful that way. How hard is it to see that Muslim social norms of polygamy, child marriage, misogyny and religious supremacism are not a good fit with western freedom? And that’s even without the mass-murdering genocide stuff we now see in the Middle East. http://www.vdare.com/posts/tucker-carlson-suggests-ending-muslim-immigration-to-protect-america
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Vatican recognizes state of Palestine in new treaty
(nypost.com) - The Vatican officially recognized the state of Palestine in a new treaty finalized Wednesday, immediately sparking Israeli ire and accusations that the move hurt peace prospects... The treaty, which concerns the activities of the Catholic Church in Palestinian territory, makes clear that the Holy See has switched its diplomatic recognition from the Palestine Liberation Organization to the state of Palestine. The Vatican had welcomed the decision by the U.N. General Assembly in 2012 to recognize a Palestinian state. But the treaty is the first legal document negotiated between the Holy See and the Palestinian state and constitutes official diplomatic recognition. “Yes, it’s a recognition that the state exists,” said the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi. So when did the Vatican got involve with politics? They should be doing the well of God in saving souls. How about going after ISIS. http://nypost.com/2015/05/13/vatican-recognizes-state-of-palestine-in-new-treaty/
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It Is Expected That ISIS Attacks On America Will Be Small Scale
(shoebat.com) - Small scale as in a single beheading of a Christian or Jew? Just a handful of people being slaughtered in the street?... Or small scale as in ‘small’ coordinated attacks on several cities/schools/buses/trains businesses at the same time? So why does Muslim commentator, Fareed Zakaria of CNN, seem to have the inside track on predicting the size of the expected ISIS terror attacks in this country? http://shoebat.com/2015/05/13/good-news-it-is-expected-that-islamic-state-isis-attacks-on-america-will-be-small-scale/
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CEI Report: 3,554 New Regulations in 2014
(Raven Clabough) - Further evidence of the federal government’s vast overreach can be found in a report out of the Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI) that reveals that over 3,500 new regulations were issued in 2014, while 224 new laws had been passed... According to the report entitled Ten Thousand Commandments, the cost of government regulations is $1.88 trillion per year, or $14,976 per every household. According to the CEI website, Ten Thousand Commandments is “the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s annual survey of the size, scope and cost of federal regulations, and how they affect American consumers, businesses, and the U.S. economy." Ten Thousand Commandments was authored by CEI Vice President for Policy Clyde Wayne Crews, Jr. in order to expose the growing “hidden tax” resulting from the increasing regulatory state. http://www.thenewamerican.com/economy/commentary/item/20872-cei-report-3-554-new-regulations-in-2014?utm_source=Newsletter&utm_campaign=f356de6907-The_Editors_Top_Picks_3_12_143_12_2014&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_8ca494f2d2-f356de6907-289778381
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Rand and Ted on the 4th Amendment
(Judge Andrew Napolitano) - A decision last week about NSA spying by a panel of judges on the United States Court of Appeals in New York City sent shock waves through the government... The court ruled that a section of the Patriot Act that is due to expire at the end of this month and on which the government has relied as a basis for its bulk acquisition of telephone data in the past 14 years does not authorize that acquisition. This may sound like legal mumbo jumbo, but it goes to the heart of the relationship between the people and their government in a free society. Here is the back-story and the latest. http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/rand-and-ted-on-the-4th-amendment/
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White mercenaries have Boko Haram on run
(wnd.com) - They’re Nigeria’s unlikely saviors – most being white, in their 50s and 60s and combat veterans of the former South African apartheid regime... But, tainted resumes notwithstanding, they’ve been getting the job done in northern Nigeria, hitting the Islamist terror group Boko Haram hard enough to send the jihadists into retreat, liberating dozens of villages and freeing hundreds of women and girls held as slaves and “bush wives” during a six-year-long reign of terror, reported the London Telegraph. http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/white-mercenaries-have-boko-haram-on-run/
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FEDS 'CLUELESS' PC TERROR WARNING
(Leo Hohmann) - In a brief, cryptic article, CNN quoted NSA Director Mike Rogers saying the Islamic State’s online recruitment efforts are “increasingly resonating” with Americans... The article did not say what type of Americans were responding to the ISIS recruitment pitches. Nor did the article’s author ask Rogers to explain how or why ISIS is able to attract so many followers among American Muslims. Rogers’ admission that ISIS is offering a popular theology that “resonates” doesn’t square with repeated comments by President nObama that ISIS offers a warped version of Islam that the overwhelming majority of Muslims find repugnant. In fact, nObama said, ISIS’s brand of religious fanaticism isn’t Islamic at all. I am surprise he said that. http://www.wnd.com/2015/05/nsa-chief-isis-increasingly-resonates-with-u-s-muslims/
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Arab Allies Warn nObama About Dangerous Iran Nuclear Deal
(Julie Pace & Adam Schreck in Dubai) - Gulf nation leaders joined President Barack nObama at the White House Wednesday to warn of the risks of completing a nuclear deal with Iran. nObama was seeking to convince his counterparts of the potential benefits for the region... But when two days of talks wrap up on Thursday, it’s unlikely much will have changed. The Gulf’s skepticism of Iran is deep-seated and extends far beyond its nuclear pursuits. nObama, meanwhile, has invested too much in the Iran negotiations to let Gulf concerns upend his legacy-building bid for a deal. “My guess is that the summit is going to leave everybody feeling a little bit unsatisfied,” said Jon Alterman, the Middle East director at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. http://www.newsmax.com/Newsfront/US-Obama-Arab-Summit/2015/05/13/id/644448/
What the West's long struggle
with communism tells us about the
battle with Islamic terrorism
There is a real danger that the situation might evolve into a great civil war been Shiite and Sunni Muslims
Michael Bliss
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(jewishworldreview.com) - It won't surprise you that a historian believes the best way to begin to think about the unknowable future is to consider some of the things we have seen in the past. So to help understand the problem of Islamic fundamentalist or jihadist terrorism I suggest that we think a bit about our history with an earlier form of revolutionary ideology..
"A spectre is haunting Europe.... All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre." These are the opening lines of The Communist Manifesto, by Marx and Engels, published in 1848. In their view the spectre haunting Europe in the mid 19th century was that the wretched masses might rise up in violent revolution, replace monarchist or bourgeois governance with the dictatorship of the proletariat, and go on to create a beautiful, communist society.
"A spectre is haunting Europe.... All the powers of old Europe have entered into a holy alliance to exorcise this spectre." These are the opening lines of The Communist Manifesto, by Marx and Engels, published in 1848. In their view the spectre haunting Europe in the mid 19th century was that the wretched masses might rise up in violent revolution, replace monarchist or bourgeois governance with the dictatorship of the proletariat, and go on to create a beautiful, communist society.
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The spectre of communism was haunting Europe. The bearded, bomb-throwing or president-assassinating anarchist became one of the stock boogeymen of the late 19th century. But the communist/terrorist spectre was not really a mainstream menace until the events of 1917 - when the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917 suddenly gave communism a territorial base, a base from which it hoped to instigate violent revolutions around the world.
The spectre of communism was haunting Europe. The bearded, bomb-throwing or president-assassinating anarchist became one of the stock boogeymen of the late 19th century. But the communist/terrorist spectre was not really a mainstream menace until the events of 1917 - when the Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917 suddenly gave communism a territorial base, a base from which it hoped to instigate violent revolutions around the world.
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The Bolsheviks did not gain power at all easily. Every kind of murder and every form of suffering seemed acceptable as the birth pangs of a new order. And not surprisingly, the revolutionary cause attracted acolytes ranging from vile murderers to starry-eyed idealists, including many drawn from other countries, some of them oppressed workers, others privileged intellectuals, infatuated with the dream of revolution.
The Bolsheviks did not gain power at all easily. Every kind of murder and every form of suffering seemed acceptable as the birth pangs of a new order. And not surprisingly, the revolutionary cause attracted acolytes ranging from vile murderers to starry-eyed idealists, including many drawn from other countries, some of them oppressed workers, others privileged intellectuals, infatuated with the dream of revolution.
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Revolution in Russia also created a fear of Bolshevik subversion in countries around the world. Revolutionary movements briefly seized power in some jurisdictions, were suppressed in most others, and generated a climate of fear, confusion and authoritarianism characterized here in North America as the great Red Scare of 1919. No one quite knew how to combat communism as a domestic movement. No one knew how seriously to take it. No one knew exactly who the communists were and how they got to be that way.
Revolution in Russia also created a fear of Bolshevik subversion in countries around the world. Revolutionary movements briefly seized power in some jurisdictions, were suppressed in most others, and generated a climate of fear, confusion and authoritarianism characterized here in North America as the great Red Scare of 1919. No one quite knew how to combat communism as a domestic movement. No one knew how seriously to take it. No one knew exactly who the communists were and how they got to be that way.
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In particular no one knew what to do about the relationship between communism and the much broader movement aimed at improving society that called itself socialism. Was Marxist revolutionary communism a terrible perversion of the noble ideals of socialism or was it a logical consequence of the worst weaknesses of socialist ideology? Depending on how that question was answered, socialists might be valuable, indeed leading allies in the resistance to Communism, or they might be seen as embryonic subversives to be watched and suppressed. What was the balance between security and civil liberties in the days of the Communist menace?
In particular no one knew what to do about the relationship between communism and the much broader movement aimed at improving society that called itself socialism. Was Marxist revolutionary communism a terrible perversion of the noble ideals of socialism or was it a logical consequence of the worst weaknesses of socialist ideology? Depending on how that question was answered, socialists might be valuable, indeed leading allies in the resistance to Communism, or they might be seen as embryonic subversives to be watched and suppressed. What was the balance between security and civil liberties in the days of the Communist menace?
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That debate was with us for many years. And then suddenly, and surprisingly, during the late 1980s the Communists and the threat they posed to other peoples went away. The generation now coming to maturity has virtually no experience of the years when the world wrestled with the spectre of Communism.
That debate was with us for many years. And then suddenly, and surprisingly, during the late 1980s the Communists and the threat they posed to other peoples went away. The generation now coming to maturity has virtually no experience of the years when the world wrestled with the spectre of Communism.
. But now this generation in Europe, North America, and around the world is being haunted by the spectre of Islamic fundamentalism, or jihadist terrorism, or ISIS or ISIL, or whatever it becomes politically correct to call it. And that challenge has to be faced as surely as the Bolshevik/Communist challenge had to be faced.
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Surely the history of the struggle against Communism in the 20th century supplies us with some markers for dealing with the spectre of Islamic terrorism in the 21st century
Surely the history of the struggle against Communism in the 20th century supplies us with some markers for dealing with the spectre of Islamic terrorism in the 21st century
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As a historian I have all sorts of skepticism about simplistic notions that history repeats itself or that the lessons of history are easy to discern and apply, but I do believe that the experiences we have had in the past have to be drawn upon as we consider options for dealing with recognizably similar problems in the present and future. Surely the success of ISIL in Iraq and Syria in 2014 has real parallels with the coming to power of Bolshevism in Russia in 1917. Surely the history of the struggle against Communism in the 20th century supplies us with some markers for dealing with the spectre of Islamic terrorism in the 21st century.
As a historian I have all sorts of skepticism about simplistic notions that history repeats itself or that the lessons of history are easy to discern and apply, but I do believe that the experiences we have had in the past have to be drawn upon as we consider options for dealing with recognizably similar problems in the present and future. Surely the success of ISIL in Iraq and Syria in 2014 has real parallels with the coming to power of Bolshevism in Russia in 1917. Surely the history of the struggle against Communism in the 20th century supplies us with some markers for dealing with the spectre of Islamic terrorism in the 21st century.
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One "lesson" from this past is to be careful not to underestimate the strength and appeal of a radical, messianic movement with deep cultural roots. Like Bolshevism, ISIL has immediately become engaged in a hugely complicated, multi-faceted set of local wars as it tries to consolidate its power. Like Bolshevism it is utterly and appallingly ruthless in its cold-blooded determination to create what it calls the new caliphate. And, also like Bolshevism, the ideology of apocalyptic revolution is proving to be a kind of magnet for true believers everywhere, who make pilgrimages to ISIL territory to fight for their great cause. This should not surprise us. Nor should we be surprised that ISIL-spawned or affiliated Islamic fundamentalist movements are active in many other countries, and might well succeed in taking power in other failed states, ranging from Libya and Yemen through, most worrisomely, Nigeria, and perhaps Afghanistan and even Pakistan. We are dealing at one and the same time with a territorially-based mini-state leading a boundariless international movement.
One "lesson" from this past is to be careful not to underestimate the strength and appeal of a radical, messianic movement with deep cultural roots. Like Bolshevism, ISIL has immediately become engaged in a hugely complicated, multi-faceted set of local wars as it tries to consolidate its power. Like Bolshevism it is utterly and appallingly ruthless in its cold-blooded determination to create what it calls the new caliphate. And, also like Bolshevism, the ideology of apocalyptic revolution is proving to be a kind of magnet for true believers everywhere, who make pilgrimages to ISIL territory to fight for their great cause. This should not surprise us. Nor should we be surprised that ISIL-spawned or affiliated Islamic fundamentalist movements are active in many other countries, and might well succeed in taking power in other failed states, ranging from Libya and Yemen through, most worrisomely, Nigeria, and perhaps Afghanistan and even Pakistan. We are dealing at one and the same time with a territorially-based mini-state leading a boundariless international movement.
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Given this situation, it's perhaps no wonder that a coalition of the enemies of ISIL quickly formed and became active in trying to degrade and destroy it. Here the haunting danger is of a repetition of the failed Allied intervention in the Russian Revolution, a destructive fiasco characterized by our almost complete ignorance of a far-off area of the world, strategic incoherence in the face of social collapse and revolution, and the West's naive habit of claiming moral high ground.
Given this situation, it's perhaps no wonder that a coalition of the enemies of ISIL quickly formed and became active in trying to degrade and destroy it. Here the haunting danger is of a repetition of the failed Allied intervention in the Russian Revolution, a destructive fiasco characterized by our almost complete ignorance of a far-off area of the world, strategic incoherence in the face of social collapse and revolution, and the West's naive habit of claiming moral high ground.
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So far, the signs seem to be that we in the West are again stumbling blindfolded into a vastly complex and chaotic situation with only simplistic, confused and uninformed ideas of our objectives and interests. As with the Allied interventions in Siberia, in which Canada played a significant role in the hope of showing off its potential as a young nation, and actually only showed an almost pathetic naivité, there is a distinct possibility that in the short, medium, and long terms we will succeed only in making things worse.
So far, the signs seem to be that we in the West are again stumbling blindfolded into a vastly complex and chaotic situation with only simplistic, confused and uninformed ideas of our objectives and interests. As with the Allied interventions in Siberia, in which Canada played a significant role in the hope of showing off its potential as a young nation, and actually only showed an almost pathetic naivité, there is a distinct possibility that in the short, medium, and long terms we will succeed only in making things worse.
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Admittedly, the situation is changing so quickly that it's quickly becoming almost impossible to keep track of it - particularly as the chaos in Yemen seems to be forcing moderate Islam to become militarily engaged for the sake of its own survival. There is a real danger that the situation might evolve into a great civil war been Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
Admittedly, the situation is changing so quickly that it's quickly becoming almost impossible to keep track of it - particularly as the chaos in Yemen seems to be forcing moderate Islam to become militarily engaged for the sake of its own survival. There is a real danger that the situation might evolve into a great civil war been Shiite and Sunni Muslims.
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Generally, it's probably wise to be cautious in situations in which it might seem like a good idea for the West to wage war against Islamic fundamentalism. We should remember how enthusiastic anti-Communists tended to overreach themselves, from the Korean peninsula through the Bay of Pigs and into the swamps of Vietnam. Already the West has stumbled dreadfully in Afghanistan and in the unbelievably disastrous American invasion of Iraq. With our NATO partners we Canadians were enthusiastically complicit in what we now realize was also a disastrous demolition of order, perhaps even of civilization, in Libya. And yet we still listen to voices urging us to do it all over again, and have just begun airstrikes in Syria without legal justification.
Generally, it's probably wise to be cautious in situations in which it might seem like a good idea for the West to wage war against Islamic fundamentalism. We should remember how enthusiastic anti-Communists tended to overreach themselves, from the Korean peninsula through the Bay of Pigs and into the swamps of Vietnam. Already the West has stumbled dreadfully in Afghanistan and in the unbelievably disastrous American invasion of Iraq. With our NATO partners we Canadians were enthusiastically complicit in what we now realize was also a disastrous demolition of order, perhaps even of civilization, in Libya. And yet we still listen to voices urging us to do it all over again, and have just begun airstrikes in Syria without legal justification.
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Here at home, jihadist terrorism poses about the same minimal threat to Canada as the international Communist movement did after 1917. We have to think seriously about issues of internal security, but we have to see them in perspective.
Here at home, jihadist terrorism poses about the same minimal threat to Canada as the international Communist movement did after 1917. We have to think seriously about issues of internal security, but we have to see them in perspective.
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Globally, however, the problem is real. Given the appeal of Islamic fundamentalism to even a minuscule fraction of more than a billion Muslims, it is hard to believe that jihadism will be a passing movement, even if it does happen that ISIL is crushed. It's at least as likely that it will continue to strengthen and spread, take hold of other countries and possibly become caught up in horrendously catastrophic wars and revolution. The prospect is very scary, and almost anything could happen. In fact in some ways Islamic fundamentalism is more alarming than Communist fundamentalism or the other totalitarian movement we had to defeat, Nazi fascism, because its religiously-rooted glorification of suicide makes terrorism, even nuclear terrorism, more feasible.
Globally, however, the problem is real. Given the appeal of Islamic fundamentalism to even a minuscule fraction of more than a billion Muslims, it is hard to believe that jihadism will be a passing movement, even if it does happen that ISIL is crushed. It's at least as likely that it will continue to strengthen and spread, take hold of other countries and possibly become caught up in horrendously catastrophic wars and revolution. The prospect is very scary, and almost anything could happen. In fact in some ways Islamic fundamentalism is more alarming than Communist fundamentalism or the other totalitarian movement we had to defeat, Nazi fascism, because its religiously-rooted glorification of suicide makes terrorism, even nuclear terrorism, more feasible.
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The West's long-term strategy against the spectre of Communism was twofold. Militarily the West learned that containment of Communist expansionism was more likely to succeed than futile attempts at conquest. Thanks to the reciprocal restraint that the Communists themselves learned to adopt, for many years there was tacit co-existence between the two great ideological camps, odious as this prospect was to the true believers on both sides.
The West's long-term strategy against the spectre of Communism was twofold. Militarily the West learned that containment of Communist expansionism was more likely to succeed than futile attempts at conquest. Thanks to the reciprocal restraint that the Communists themselves learned to adopt, for many years there was tacit co-existence between the two great ideological camps, odious as this prospect was to the true believers on both sides.
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During periods of coexistence, both sides had to address the root cause of most forms of social disorder, which is people's inchoate but powerful desire for a better life. As the 20th century wound on, utopian Communism proved corrupt and unworkable in daily life, materialistic capitalism proved flexible and productive, and the Red threat to the economic and social systems of our societies waned and then imploded on itself. As the title of a famous anthology by former Communists put it, theirs had been the god that failed. But, to slightly change the metaphor, it had been a social experiment that probably had to be tried.
During periods of coexistence, both sides had to address the root cause of most forms of social disorder, which is people's inchoate but powerful desire for a better life. As the 20th century wound on, utopian Communism proved corrupt and unworkable in daily life, materialistic capitalism proved flexible and productive, and the Red threat to the economic and social systems of our societies waned and then imploded on itself. As the title of a famous anthology by former Communists put it, theirs had been the god that failed. But, to slightly change the metaphor, it had been a social experiment that probably had to be tried.
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I've made here an extended argument hinging on an analogy between revolutionary Communism and revolutionary Islamic fundamentalism, and of course it has many limits. But if nothing else our history with the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 and the rise of ISIL in 2014 underlines the importance of our realizing how much we need to know about cultures and regions of the world that are profoundly foreign to ours. And how we need to think clearly and carefully about power, its uses, both at home and abroad, and its limitations. Good intentions - the best intentions - are never enough. Understanding the limits of our knowledge, understanding context and contingency, knowing how hard and chancy it is to impose our will on the future, is at least a starting point.
I've made here an extended argument hinging on an analogy between revolutionary Communism and revolutionary Islamic fundamentalism, and of course it has many limits. But if nothing else our history with the Bolshevik revolution of 1917 and the rise of ISIL in 2014 underlines the importance of our realizing how much we need to know about cultures and regions of the world that are profoundly foreign to ours. And how we need to think clearly and carefully about power, its uses, both at home and abroad, and its limitations. Good intentions - the best intentions - are never enough. Understanding the limits of our knowledge, understanding context and contingency, knowing how hard and chancy it is to impose our will on the future, is at least a starting point.
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