Most of the news coming out of the Middle-east, lately, is bad. The war is going bad in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The war on terrorism is going bad, with U.S. citizens actually trying to join terrorist groups at home and abroad. Recently it was reported in The Wichita Eagle that top terrorist suspects were moved to Guantanamo Bay, in Cuba, so the CIA could get around giving these suspects constitutional rights.
This is really pretty frightening when our leaders are so afraid of our adversaries that they have lost all respect and faith in the very system of government that they are supposed to be protecting.
If these people were all from Middle-east countries, this would seem like a simple case of racism. But recently Americans have been watched, by U.S. agents, for contacting those considered terrorists by our state-department. Fourteen Americans have actually went to Somalia to join up with an alleged terrorist group. According to MSN;
” The indictments unsealed in Minneapolis, San Diego and Mobile, Ala., reflect "a disturbing trend" of recruitment efforts targeting U.S. residents to become terrorists, Attorney General Eric Holder told a news conference. In one case, two women pleaded for money "to support violent jihad in Somalia," according to an indictment.”
It’s disturbing that any person would intentionally join a group of people that wants to kill large amounts of U.S. innocent civilians. While the Islamic religion may provide an ideological incentive, why does it manifest itself into so much anger? Why do these people hate their own countrymen (and women) so much? Do they really see the U.S. as the aggressor in a holy war against Islam?
Which brings us back to the use of secret torture sessions and the avoidance of legitimate courts for these people? This country claims to be bringing Democracy, freedom (that includes religious) and civilized rule of law to the countries we invaded. But secret interrogation techniques and a shady disregard to the rules of law will not encourage would be terrorists to give up their “jihad” ideas. If anything, such underhanded tactics only create suspicion for many Moslems, both in the Middle-east and at home.
Some of us oppose the military presents in Iraq and Afghanistan. Beyond that, our leaders can’t expect the world to take them seriously if they talk about democracy and practice fascism.
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