ATN
Thursday, August 21st, 2008, 01:16 AM
When I went up for Corporal (USMC) I was up in front of a major and several top gunnery sergeants, some I knew from duty. I got asked the usual promotion board questions.. protocols, general orders, etc, I still recall the one they asked me: the 8th one, (“Give the alarm in case of fire or disorder”).
After a while the major got political in his questioning. At that time our embassy in Tehran was over run buy extremist and our staff was being held hostage…(I assume most of you all recall). Iranian hostage crisis?
I was asked, “What do you think about the hostage situation?”. My reply then 28 years ago is the same as I'd reply today...something most people over-look I believe.
“Sir, I believe that as long as westerners or any non-invited, non-muslim persons are walking on their sacred holy grounds they will attack us, they are very religious”
The young major flipped his pencil onto the desk and sighed. No way I was getting promoted right? Well they did promote me as an NCO, the old gunnery sergeants that lived through the Korean and Vietnam wars had apprently agreed.
Today, more than ever the muslim's holy grounds have become our war grounds. We’ve built bases on them, we’ve done business with their governments only because they have oil or had a stratigic mission against another. Their people even grew more radical against their own governments because theirs was doing business with ours.
It all started when our “friends” in Saudi Arabia cozened up to us and allowed us to build bases there. Very strategically dubious for the security and to perceptions of many middle eastern countries. (A bad sign to them). After that is when it all went bad. The moderate muslim became more radical about their religion and helped usher in a more stricter religious element into their governments...more specific to certain beliefs…no diversity. How about hamas gaining seats in the Lebanese government? They are sunni muslims you know.
We (the US administrations (including Clinton), CIA, via covert ops…etc) made deals with criminals over there, pitted one against the other. We even supported Iraq to help them invade Iran!..and Iraq LOST. We also paid OBL to rebel against RUSSIA…then after the Russians lost in Afghanistan the religious extremist taliban took over, again, another stricter religious regime.
Seeing a pattern here?
The Taliban, these guys were just gun and drug runners…you may say bull, the story you read was that they had eradicated poppy growing (heroin source)…the opposite is true, they did eradicate one year but only after they stockpiled a huge mass of heroin thus their price margins increased. I kid you not but still today, even with our presence they have war lords ruling areas controlling poppy growth. You can buy a position as sheriff for a few hundred thousands but you only are sheriff for a few moths then you leave a millionaire, a lot of corruption has come out of this folly of a venture onto their holy grounds. The heroin market is flourishing now and we even had an OU student OD on it last week. Many US cities have had record numbers of overdoses the last few years. This Afghanistan heroin is our next epidemic. The market is flooded and the profits go to further terrorism. Get it?
“Afghanistan's heroin production reached a new high in 2007, with 8200 tonnes - a 34 per cent increase on 2006.” (http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/heroin-overdoses-on-the-rise/2008/03/06/1204779968978.html (http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/heroin-overdoses-on-the-rise/2008/03/06/1204779968978.html)) and (http://news.opb.org/article/2071-heroin-overdoses-push-drug-deaths-oregon/ (http://news.opb.org/article/2071-heroin-overdoses-push-drug-deaths-oregon/))
(Note: No concise numbers were available but I found many local stories from the US to Australia indicating a horrible trend towards epidemic levels)
Another important element in their distrust of the “west” is the number of christian missionaries who went to supply “aide” to muslim countries…these aides brought bibles with them and tried to convert muslims to christianity which further complicated the situation.
Perceptions are that this IS a christian crusade to convert or kill them. Bush has called this war against terrorism a "crusade"...perceptions! The extremist use this well in recruiting people to be more radical...
Torture factor. The Abu-Ghrabe pics that were leaked as well as the news of “secret torture facilities” conducted by covert operations made things even worse. They hear that America endorses and does torture so how does that play with the moderates? Not well, it increased the number of extremists, helping in recruiting. You might want to say that torturing has helped curb attacks but if you ask John McCain…and he knows something about this…then you’ll know that torture does not work and has only worsened perceptions.
When you repeatedly poke a hornets’ nest you will eventually get stung.
Think!
PS: We pay the country of Pakistan (where the CIA is sure he’s at) a billion dollars a year to find OBL, do ya’ think they’re going to give that up and turn him in? I don’t think so…the billions would stop.
Please review the definition of insanity and then advise...
Thank you,
τΏτ
After a while the major got political in his questioning. At that time our embassy in Tehran was over run buy extremist and our staff was being held hostage…(I assume most of you all recall). Iranian hostage crisis?
I was asked, “What do you think about the hostage situation?”. My reply then 28 years ago is the same as I'd reply today...something most people over-look I believe.
“Sir, I believe that as long as westerners or any non-invited, non-muslim persons are walking on their sacred holy grounds they will attack us, they are very religious”
The young major flipped his pencil onto the desk and sighed. No way I was getting promoted right? Well they did promote me as an NCO, the old gunnery sergeants that lived through the Korean and Vietnam wars had apprently agreed.
Today, more than ever the muslim's holy grounds have become our war grounds. We’ve built bases on them, we’ve done business with their governments only because they have oil or had a stratigic mission against another. Their people even grew more radical against their own governments because theirs was doing business with ours.
It all started when our “friends” in Saudi Arabia cozened up to us and allowed us to build bases there. Very strategically dubious for the security and to perceptions of many middle eastern countries. (A bad sign to them). After that is when it all went bad. The moderate muslim became more radical about their religion and helped usher in a more stricter religious element into their governments...more specific to certain beliefs…no diversity. How about hamas gaining seats in the Lebanese government? They are sunni muslims you know.
We (the US administrations (including Clinton), CIA, via covert ops…etc) made deals with criminals over there, pitted one against the other. We even supported Iraq to help them invade Iran!..and Iraq LOST. We also paid OBL to rebel against RUSSIA…then after the Russians lost in Afghanistan the religious extremist taliban took over, again, another stricter religious regime.
Seeing a pattern here?
The Taliban, these guys were just gun and drug runners…you may say bull, the story you read was that they had eradicated poppy growing (heroin source)…the opposite is true, they did eradicate one year but only after they stockpiled a huge mass of heroin thus their price margins increased. I kid you not but still today, even with our presence they have war lords ruling areas controlling poppy growth. You can buy a position as sheriff for a few hundred thousands but you only are sheriff for a few moths then you leave a millionaire, a lot of corruption has come out of this folly of a venture onto their holy grounds. The heroin market is flourishing now and we even had an OU student OD on it last week. Many US cities have had record numbers of overdoses the last few years. This Afghanistan heroin is our next epidemic. The market is flooded and the profits go to further terrorism. Get it?
“Afghanistan's heroin production reached a new high in 2007, with 8200 tonnes - a 34 per cent increase on 2006.” (http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/heroin-overdoses-on-the-rise/2008/03/06/1204779968978.html (http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/heroin-overdoses-on-the-rise/2008/03/06/1204779968978.html)) and (http://news.opb.org/article/2071-heroin-overdoses-push-drug-deaths-oregon/ (http://news.opb.org/article/2071-heroin-overdoses-push-drug-deaths-oregon/))
(Note: No concise numbers were available but I found many local stories from the US to Australia indicating a horrible trend towards epidemic levels)
Another important element in their distrust of the “west” is the number of christian missionaries who went to supply “aide” to muslim countries…these aides brought bibles with them and tried to convert muslims to christianity which further complicated the situation.
Perceptions are that this IS a christian crusade to convert or kill them. Bush has called this war against terrorism a "crusade"...perceptions! The extremist use this well in recruiting people to be more radical...
Torture factor. The Abu-Ghrabe pics that were leaked as well as the news of “secret torture facilities” conducted by covert operations made things even worse. They hear that America endorses and does torture so how does that play with the moderates? Not well, it increased the number of extremists, helping in recruiting. You might want to say that torturing has helped curb attacks but if you ask John McCain…and he knows something about this…then you’ll know that torture does not work and has only worsened perceptions.
When you repeatedly poke a hornets’ nest you will eventually get stung.
Think!
PS: We pay the country of Pakistan (where the CIA is sure he’s at) a billion dollars a year to find OBL, do ya’ think they’re going to give that up and turn him in? I don’t think so…the billions would stop.
Please review the definition of insanity and then advise...
Thank you,
τΏτ