How to Fight the War against Radical Islam
The Boston Globe reports that Senator John Kerry “blasted the leading Republican presidential candidates on foreign policy yesterday,” a speech at Johns Hopkins University’s School of Advanced International Studies. Kerry said that “‘it should disturb all of us’ that the GOP contenders are taking increasingly hawkish stances on national security issues like Iran and the Guantanamo Bay detention center.”
Two days ago, Pamela Leavey published the Senator’s entire speech. An excerpt:
Fourth–it is a misconception that torturing prisoners, as we saw at Abu Ghraib, and detaining them indefinitely, as we are now at Guantanamo Bay, are effective ways of fighting terrorism. In fact they define the word “counterproductive.” Just this week, a federal appeals court struck down part of the President’s detainee policy as having —and I’m quoting judges here—“disastrous consequences for the Constitution and the country.” It should disturb all of us that a proposal to double Guantanamo is considered red meat for Republican primary voters. Our military leaders tell us that torture does not yield better intelligence. And as Colin Powell has said, the world is beginning to doubt the moral authority of our fight against terrorism—our most precious asset in winning the war of ideas…
Many of our best thinkers in the private sector and the Pentagon now speak of fighting terrorism as a “global counterinsurgency” The goal of counterinsurgency operations is far more than just killing insurgents. Ultimate success depends on winning over the local population and isolating the extremists. Applied to global terrorism, this leads us to focus on winning a global “information war,” and turning “the street” against Al Qaeda wherever they seek a base of operations.
As we’ve seen in Iraq, this struggle cannot be won by military means alone. Again, it’s the Army’s new counterinsurgency manual that tells us “the more force used, the less effective it is.” Successful counterinsurgency relies on every tool in our national arsenal—economic, political, military - and perhaps most importantly recognizes the power of our ideas.
It’s the Tip O’Neill doctrine applied to a dangerous world – successfully fighting a global counterinsurgency recognizes that, just like politics, all terrorism is local. That means looking beyond catch-all phrases like “Islamo-Fascism” that obscure more than they illuminate. After all, Al Qaeda is, as the theorist David Kilcullen says: “sixty different groups in sixty different countries who all have different objectives.” …
Some policymakers like to say we need to stay on the offensive against the terrorists. They tend to equate “offense” with military force. But we must never forget that we are fighting a battle within Islam for the hearts and minds of Muslims everywhere.
Al Qaeda understands that we are fighting an information war: they quadrupled their output of propaganda videos last year and take advantage of some 4,500 different jihadi websites. And we know that Al Qaeda’s #2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, urged Al Qaeda in Iraq to stop mass-murdering Shia civilians because he worried it would hurt Al Qaeda’s reputation among moderate Sunnis. Today the sobering reality is that, in many quarters, we are losing a public relations battle to a gang of cave-dwelling mass-murderers…
To succeed in this arena, we must regain our moral authority. Our actions matter more than our words: no Madison Avenue PR firm or public diplomacy czar can make the Arab world forget Abu Ghraib. This self-defeating tendency continues today at Guantanamo—which has become a catchphrase in every language for the perceived lawlessness of America’s fight against terrorists. These policies amount to a unilateral disarmament in the war of ideas.
I suggest you read Kerry’s entire speech. It has to be said - it is a good speech, he makes some excellent points. The war against terrorism is more than a military war, it is also an information war, it is also a moral war, it is also an ideological war, it is also a war from the hearts and minds of Muslims worldwide, etc.
We, the West, have to be seen as the good guys. Admittedly, it may take us a while to convince Muslims worldwide that we are the good guys, but we must be patience because we cannot afford to lose the battle for the hearts and minds of Muslims. We must invest in Muslim countries - in a positive way. I propse a gigantic Marshall plan for Muslim countries that are in need. Hezbollah, Hamas, etc. were able to become so powerful, because they invest in people, in neighborhoods and cities. We must build schools, we must create jobs, we must improve these people’s lives without wanting anything in return (except for moderation and a partner in the war on radical Islam).
H/t Ginny Cotts.
I’m afraid I must disagree with some points here. First “Islamofascism” is not a “catch-all phrase”. It is quite specific. It distinguishes between the peaceful practice of even the most fundamentalist Islam and the drive to establish totalitarian Islamic rule over all parts of the globe. To use the word “Islamofascism” is to admit that all Mulsims are NOT violent fanatics- that the only enemies of the West are those who *combine* religious fervor with a determination to establish complete social and political control, and who are willing to use the time-honored tools of fascism to acheive that end- propaganda, violence, etc. I’d rather have people say we’re fighting Islamofascism than saying we’re fighting Islam. It’s no more a “catch-all” phrase than “Nazism.”
Second, it is simply untrue to state that Al Qaeda is “sixty different groups with sixty different countries who all have different objectives.” In this case “objective” is being confused with “method.” Groups in these 60 countries all have the same objective- establisment of totalitarian rule. What differs is method- the techniques that happen to work best in each situation. At the moment, Islamofascists in Thailand find it expedient to behead schoolteachers and monks. In Pakistan, kidnapping young girls, raping them and than forcing them to accept Islam is quite popular- as is storming and burning Christian churches. In Nigeria, harrassing and attacking non-Mulsim religious schools has been fairly effective- as has enforcing Sharia dress codes on Christian women by imprisoning and threatening to whip them if they do not comply.
In all cases, the goal is the same- Islamofascist rule. The only difference lies in the tools and tactics that come to hand. While it may be said that all 60 countries suffer from different problems and weaknesses, the “solution” chosen by these violent groups is always the same: Islamofascist rule.
While I deplore the abuses at Abu Ghraib, they are not the cause of hostilities. The bombing of Khobar Towers predates Abu Ghraib, as does the bombing of the U.S. Marine Barracks in Beirut. And while I have no objection to honest, charitable enterprises, it should be pointed out that the United States is one of the largest single donors to many countries in the Arab world- including Egypt. Our citizens do not deserve to be murdered in their workplaces simply because we are not doing for other countries what their own governments should be doing- building roads and schools, creating jobs, establishing the rule of law.
I am as unhappy about Abu Ghraib and Guantanimo as the Sentor, but I would ask him consider this: since well before 911, Americans have literally watched their fellow citizens being mutilated and dragged through streets by cheering crowds, held prisoner for over a year by violent student radicals, stomped to death and thrown out the windows of hijacked planes. Yet no Americans have yet comandeered a jetliner and flown it into a skyscraper in Cairo or Jeddah or Tehran. Why should this be? If Arab/Muslim societies are so angry at American abuses that they can attack ordinary Americans, why is it that Americans, watching the butchery of their citizens/soldiers by Arabs and Muslims, aren’t motivated to do the same? Why are we not kidnapping and beheading here in the states?
That is the question that really needs to be asked, and I think the answer- a very complicated answer- would not fit well with the logic of the Senator’s speech. But it is the one question that should be asked right now- and answered.
The answer is culture. But how does that get us closer to a solution? (Truth is, there is a growing dominionist movement in the US and if they win I suspect their enforcement methods won’t look much nicer than Islamists.)
As for a Marshall plan for Muslim countries I’m not there yet. Why is it that some of the richest countries, countries that theoretically shouldn’t need help from anyone, have bred some of the most violent terrorists? Will sending MORE money to Saudi Arabia help? I’m thinking the $2 Billion in bribes paid to Prince Bandar isn’t helping but really, they need more money?
We’ve got to be honest. Fundamentalism is a huge problem which has as its roots modernity (change in society is what has triggered similar movements throughout history) and authoritarians.
Since culture is shaped by experience, it might help for us to get out. How much of this is blow back for installing the Shah? That is a VERY ugly chapter in US history and had anyone done that to us, I’m thinking we might harbor some resentment. Truman’s finest hour and Eisenhower’s darkest.
Lynne,
I agree with you about the use of the term Islamofascism. It seems to me that we should stop calling it the global war on terror, because it is much more than that. Terrorism is the result, the fruit, of Islamofascism (well, one of its fruits). The ‘war’ is aimed, not at terrorism, but at the violent, hateful ideology of Islamofascism.
Susan: you should not forget that while the rulers of Saudi may be rich, there are quite some poor Saudis. Also - I am not proposing giving them money and that’s it. Obviously, we got to get something in return. In Saudi Arabia this means that the Saudis have to stop teaching their children in schools that Jews are devils and that the West is satanic.
For instance.
Agreed with you about the Shah. That was a major mistake. On the other hand, we must learn from those mistakes and do it differently this time around.
My professor said someething 3 weeks ago I think was quite on the mark. He said that many people in the Mideast hate the US these days (it was not like that until, say, the 1950s) is because the US is seen as a force that stops change / progress. It keeps things like they are. No movement. That’s got to change.
Be careful Michael or you’ll get a reputation as a thinking moderate
It is a good speech (the excerpt), Kerry is no fool - he sure is a horrid campaigner.
For those fond of the Administration’s catch phrases and labels you will do better to recognize them for what they are, short hand or plain propaganda, and start looking at the world as a wildly variable place where generalities usually fail. Each nation (or smaller region) has its own history, sociology, and variation on religion and lumping them is counter-productive. I don’t know that 60 is a proper number for al-Qaeda, but it certainly isn’t 1. Lumping Mahdi Army into al-Qaeda as Islamofascism is ludicrously meaningless but they certainly meet the minimum standard of Muslim, fundamentalist, and terroristic.
Simple minded political devices do not take the place of reasoned policies and narrowly targeted actions. Bush and cronies like the shotgun approach, pray and spray, and yes that’ll get you bodies, but it won’t win. You do not use a chainsaw to remove a splinter, you take a close look and do the minimum damage and intrusion to remove the offending article. Our military in Iraq is a chainsaw, it is an awesome machine, in both equiment and personel, but it is not subtle nor gentle.
The absolute first step in creating rational policy is to take fear and hate out of the equation, they contribute nothing to the discussion nor to the search for a solution. If people are making an effort to scare you, they LIE. Understand that fear is one of the oldest political tricks and a cover for a lack of sensible policy and respect for the objects of its use. Not once in history has an action of abuse of power and lack of humanity been absent that appeal to FEAR.
For an idea of the results of using a blunt intrument look at the chain of events in recent history. Al-Qaeda flew some planes into a couple buildings and killed 3500 innocent civilians. In turn we have lost more troops in Iraq - in 4 years. In that same time we have inflicted orders of magnitude greater casualties on a nation that had nothing to do with it and probably have managed to kill less al-Qaeda than 9/11 did our own. We also have managed to make (per CIA) more terrorists than we’ve killed. And we’re still bogged down in Iraq and doing not so hot in Afghanistan. We also have managed to worry much of the world more than al-Qaeda. We have no currency in the Middle East anymore, well, we are scarey but that’s not the same as persuasive - see FEAR.
mvdg
why do we have to give them money at all? The way I see it we are giving them TONS of money by buying their oil. We should tell them “stop teaching your kids to hate or we stop buying oil from you”. Or, stop teaching your kids to hate or we won’t pay $2 BILLION in bribe money to you. To do that, of course, we are going to have to find a different/better way to get energy.
I am SO not there in oil rich countries. I don’t know the answer. I’m not sure we can give aid without “proping up” the government of that country and truth be told, one of the largest problems is corrupt leaders in the middle east (which we have propped up).
We got to stop buying oil from them. We need to end our dependence on oil.
We need a change in foreign policy. It is hard to argue that it was NOT the goal of the present administration to creat chaos in the middle east. I don’t understand why it wanted that (was Why We Fight right?). But we need to have an honest discussion about religion. Get it OUT of policy decisions.
Hi
The first step, I believe is to understand the Muslim world. And Islam, of course.
And then you will realize that we, the Muslims, don’t really hate you or your freedom. In fact we love both yours and ours.
There are some crazy guys here. True, but so are there in your country as well. Generalizing from them will be a gross mistake.
Manas I know. You are right to point htat out. You have to understand, that we are talking about Islamofascists, extremists, not about the average Muslim.
The woman of my life is Muslim, so I don’t make that mistake
Ways to win war on terror :
1 - Stop supporting Muslims dictators.
2 - Stop entertaining anti-American Mullahs
3. Stop giving money to American Sychophants.
They use money to train Islamic militants. I wrote emails to Senators o this issue.
4. Make sure American aid money is spent on the people. 95% of this aid money is pocketed by Officials.
5. Don’t welcome drug dealers. 60% of my assembly members are drug dealers.
etc……
DON’T GIVE IMMIGRATION TO CRIMINALS. 90% OF THESE IMMIGRANTS ARE CRIMINALS.
I was refused American VISA Because I did not have enough money in my bank account. I am a lawy abiding citizen . I pay my taxes.
My friend was granted VISA because he had millions of rupees in his bank account . BUT HE NEVER PAID ANY TAX ON INCOME. HE DID NOT HAVE EVEN TAX NO.