What Does The New Arab Revolt Mean For The Western World

Daniel Pipes writes an interesting article today regarding the conflict that is exploding and intensifying in the Middle East and Africa.  I'd highly suggest you read it:  http://bigpeace.com/dpipes/2011/03/01/the-new-arab-revolt/

The following is my reply to his ideas.  I will add Dr. Pipes' commentary if he responds.

Your optimism is encouraging Dr. Pipes.  And your thought that "Conspiracy theories have been the refuge of decayed rulers, not exuberant crowds." seems eloquently self-evident.  But I'm concerned about what happens a couple of moves into the game.

Would you concede it as likely that radical interests are fueling this general status of revolt?  The Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas, Hezbollah, etc. are far are in a far more advantageous place from which to achieve their strategic goals once the tyrannical rulers are removed.  Isn't this a replay of 70's Iran where the liberals were instrumental in overthrowing The Shah?

Once the "kumbayah's" died down, and The Shah was in exile, the theocracy seized power.  Wouldn't the modern day equivalent result in a more unified, anti-West "Axis of Islamofaciscm"?

While I can't imagine any liberty-concious, freedom-loving individual would support the Quadaffi's of the Middle East, wouldn't a push (from the EU, UN, NATO, US) toward a more orderly transition to regionally realistic democracy be advantageous to everyone?  My fear is that the Western "powers that be" will naively support and champion the cause of individual freedom, only to have the end result of a far greater global menace, and a drastically worse human condition for the so-called newly free.

I explored this last month when I wrote:

http://rwreagan1.blogspot.com/2011/01/more-powerful-government-less-freedom.html

Please allow me to sincerely and humbly submit that your knowledge of the region, and geopolitics in general, is far greater than mine.  But I would appreciate your thoughts (or those of anyone willing to offer their insight) regarding what will happen when the tyrants have been toppled.  Are we saving ourselves from drowning only to be burned at the stake?

The Nazis Of The New Millenium

Here's an interesting exercise in history repeating.  Just take the following report from the AP, replace Hezbollah or Shiite with Nazi, Israel with "the Jews", and take a look at what you end up with: 



The Third Reich's leader told his Nazi guerrilla group Wednesday to be prepared to invade the Jews, a day after the Jewish defense minister warned that the quiet along the tense border could erupt into violence.

The comments by the two sides illustrate the fragile situation along the frontier since they (Jews and Nazis) fought a bitter, six-week war in the summer of 2006. The war ended in a U.N.-brokered truce but officials on both sides of the border believe it is only a matter of time before hostilities resume.

"I tell the holy warriors of the Third Reich to be ready for a day when, if war is imposed on us, your command might ask you to control the Jews," Nazi leader Adolf Hitler said in a televised speech Wednesday. The Galilee refers to land in northern Israel.

On Tuesday, Jewish Defense Minister Ehud Barak toured the Jewish military's northern command and told soldiers there that the quiet along the frontier might not last.

"This is not forever and it could under certain conditions deteriorate, and then you will have to be called on again, with everything you learned in training," he said. "Today the units are better trained and more prepared but there is always more to be done and you need to be ready for every test."

The Nazis and Israel fought a 34-day war in 2006 that left 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Jews dead.

Also Wednesday, a Nazi cell commander who escaped from an Egyptian prison during the country's recent uprising appeared at the Nazi rally.  Adolf Hitler, better known as Der Fuerher, held up a Nazi flag and raised his hands in a V-for-victory sign Wednesday during the rally in Beirut.

The Nazi militant group says that Hitler was among the thousands of prisoners across Egypt who are believed to have escaped or been set free shortly after the revolt against longtime President Hosni Mubarak erupted Jan. 25. But this was his first public appearance.

Hitler was convicted in 2010 along with 25 others of spying for the Nazis and plotting attacks in Egypt.

Now read the article as it was actually written:
Hezbollah's leader told his Shiite guerrilla group Wednesday to be prepared to invade northern Israel, a day after Israel's defense minister warned that the quiet along the tense border could erupt into violence.

The comments by the two sides illustrate the fragile situation along the frontier since they Israel and Hezbollah fought a bitter, six-week war in the summer of 2006. The war ended in a U.N.-brokered truce but officials on both sides of the border believe it is only a matter of time before hostilities resume.

"I tell the holy warriors of the Islamic Resistance to be ready for a day when, if war is imposed on us, your command might ask you to control the Galilee area," Hezbollah leader Sheik Hassan Nasrallah said in a televised speech Wednesday. The Galilee refers to land in northern Israel.

On Tuesday, Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak toured the Israeli military's northern command and told soldiers there that the quiet along the frontier might not last.

"This is not forever and it could under certain conditions deteriorate, and then you will have to be called on again, with everything you learned in training," he said. "Today the units are better trained and more prepared but there is always more to be done and you need to be ready for every test."

Hezbollah and Israel fought a 34-day war in 2006 that left 1,200 Lebanese and 160 Israelis dead.

Also Wednesday, a Hezbollah cell commander who escaped from an Egyptian prison during the country's recent uprising appeared at the Hezbollah rally.  Mohammed Youssef Mansour, better known as Sami Chehab, held up a Hezbollah flag and raised his hands in a V-for-victory sign Wednesday during the rally in Beirut.

The Shiite militant group says that Mansour was among the thousands of prisoners across Egypt who are believed to have escaped or been set free shortly after the revolt against longtime President Hosni Mubarak erupted Jan. 25. But this was his first public appearance.

Mansour was convicted in 2010 along with 25 others of spying for Hezbollah and plotting attacks in Egypt.
Source

If you haven't been concerned about the recent surge in radical Islam around the world, perhaps it's time you should be.

Obama Begins Talking About Religion Again. Why?

President Obama inhabits a largely secular presidency, rarely blending his religious beliefs with his public duties, and spending more Sundays shooting hoops than going to church. So it was a notable shift when Obama went deeply devout for last week's National Prayer Breakfast, telling attendees the role daily prayer plays in his life.

"When I wake in the morning, I wait on the Lord, and I ask Him to give me the strength to do right by our country and its people," Obama said. "And when I go to bed at night, I wait on the Lord, and I ask Him to forgive me my sins, and look after my family and the American people, and make me an instrument of His will."

A cynical interpretation would note Obama's intensely religious rhetoric -- even for a prayerful event -- coincides with the unofficial start of the presidential campaign season.  At the same time, Obama talked frankly about his family's "certain skepticism" about organized religion, and noted his father was "a nonbeliever." Obama's own path to religion was through the civil rights movement.

"Religion is a touchy thing and it has to be handled very carefully to not make it seem like the president is doing it for political reasons," said Jim Pfiffner, a professor of public policy at George Mason University.

Religion maintains a central role in politics and is likely to do so in 2012. Among other features, two Mormons, Mitt Romney and Jon Huntsman, are considering Republican primary runs, along with Mike Huckabee, an evangelical Christian.

While the Republicans are more closely associated with religion and politics given the strong role Christian conservatives play in the party, John C. Green, an expert on religion and politics at the University of Akron, noted the Democrats have their religious constituencies as well.  Obama in 2008 won in part with the support of black Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, Jews, Muslims and more, Green noted.

"The question in 2012 will be which side, which party will be able to develop that enthusiasm from their core religious constituencies," Green said.

Obama's former congregation in Chicago, Trinity United Church, came under scrutiny during the 2008 presidential campaign when pastor Jeremiah Wright's sermons were judged by critics to be intemperate, even anti-American.

Obama has yet to find a regular congregation in Washington. The family reportedly enjoys attending services at the Evergreen Chapel when they are at Camp David, and have sampled local Protestant churches.

Obama's predecessor, former President George W. Bush, was by contrast a born-again Christian who used evangelical language frequently in his presidency, often talked about how his religion informed his decision making, and was a regular church attendee.

Mark Gammon, an assistant professor of religion at Simpson College in Iowa, noted that Obama "comes out of that spiritually adrift generation," a background that made him compelling to many Americans.

"I think there are people for whom there are these religious litmus tests, and they take them very seriously," Gammon said of voters.

SOURCE