It’s just so unbelievable that a massacre happened in Paris a few days ago. It’s really depressing to see on TV of what’s going on there. It’s so hard to be writing and not shed tears for the innocent people there. When I saw the bodies of too many people lying on the outside of that cafe I felt numb. Can you imagine those people were just eating and enjoying their meals and suddenly they’re lying on the floor dead? Can you imagine the horror of those people that saw those people being killed right in-front of them? Never in my wildest dreams that so many people nowadays were so cruel and heartless.
Just watching the video of the people screaming for their life. It made me sick to my stomach. I think they don’t know yet how many deaths there were. It’s not just French people were being massacred, so many tourist there too from other countries. It’s just sad that as if some people just don’t value life anymore. They think it’s just easy to kill or behead people. It’s so sickening. I don’t want to be political here, I’m just sad for the innocent people. You know what I mean?
Many nations mourn together for the people of France. We can just hope that the perpetrators will be captured and be punished to the extent of the law. I’m sure the families of those who were killed want justice for their loved one. I’ve heard this one person being interviewed on live TV after the incidents he was a Frenchman. He went to the concert with his mom and he was so shook up and was crying on TV. Can’t blamed the guy. He said he was covering his mom while shots fired all over the place. I felt sorry for them. They will be scarred for life, I’m sure.
I’ve seen one of the news guys in the States, who has a daughter that studying in France. His daughter was in the stadium watching the soccer game. I felt for the news guy. He almost broke down on TV hearing his daughter. Really he wanted to, we could tell that he tried holding his emotions. The next day, his other daughter and him were guests on the morning show and the other daughter broke down on TV was scared for her big sister. I think he is flying to France to get his daughter there.
Is this going to stop? I felt those heartless guys just kills innocent people almost every week it seems. I hope that all nations will be united to fight against these cruel killers. Nowadays theirs no place that seems to be peaceful anymore. Geez, I wish we could go back to the old days that even if you don’t locked your doors it still safe. Also the old days people (youngsters and older) are so respectful and kind. I guess it’s already leaving the past behind and face the cruelty of the future. 🙂
To all the people of France and those families that were affected by this heinous crime. Our condolences and prayers for all of you. Hope that justice will be served for your loss.
STAY SAFE!
The French police will not worry about the political correct people and other hand wringers, they will be ruthless and hunt them all down. Just today they raided an apartment and over 5,000 rounds of ammo were used. Go for it France.
Very sad happenings,condolences to the families that are affected and RIP to the innocents ?.
Indeed!
For sure Jericho, so sad indeed.
We need to pray for the country of France and for all those killed or wounded in this attack. This is basically and attack on all the countries of the world who believe in freedom, especially freedom from the religion that does these attacks in the name of their god. I hope there is justice in the next life for the people who committed this crime.
These madmen need to be wiped from the face of the Earth.
As quickly as possible, Malcolm. But, I don’t think our president is going to do anything.. he is very weak.
Looks like the French are doing the job for us Bob!
If all the western powers united , they could soon be wiped out, they are not the brightest bunch!
I hope they finish it off.. Putin is teaming up with the French too… could be a dynamic duo!
We are in there as well Bob !
So are we, but in a very weak role.. that is all that our President will do, sadly.
It amazes me the misinformation! The United States is flying close to 80% of ALL bombing missions against ISIS. That leaves the rest of the bombing missions to go to the guys you think are doing such a great job!
The United States, and the Obama administration, have killed far more of the terrorist than any Republican leader EVER did.
And as a note to that…Lil Georgie Bush, and his lies about Iraq that led to a totally ridiculous war, led to the establishment of ISIS. Even Tony Blair, former leader of Britain, acknowledged that.
It is amazing the the B.S. and the hatred shown to the Obama administration. No country in the world has done more to combat terrorism than the United States and NO president has done more to kill as many of these savage animals as Obama.
Now, if the filipino people could actually figure out a way to take care of their own TERRORISM issues in Mindanao and other places. People being kidnapped not far from Davao. People being kidnapped close to Samal Island.
Just a little FACTS to give some of you to think about.
Todd,
Are you sure about the statements you posted?
Isn’t it true that terrorists might take several people, sometimes not even one person, a year in the Philippines. Check it out.
It’s to bad your president has allowed an irritating boil (ISIS) to fester and become a full blown disease.
By the way did Obama kill the terrorists or the U.S.A’s military?
Strange that after 7 years you, and your president, are still blaming others for mistakes. Winners solve problems and losers blame others, right?
Hi Rusty,
I think one could argue that President Obama has solved a lot of problems. He ended two long wars. He ordered the killing of Osama bin Laden. He came in a time of deep recession and there has been a slow recovery, but improvement in the economy.
Jay,
I don’t know of any president that doesn’t accomplish something. I just wonder if those calling the shots are concerned about all the people.
Somebody should have know once you take the lid off, and Saddam had the lid on, chaos would start. Now that the lids off what can one do?
It was a mistake taking the lid off and it is a mistake to end a conflict. Why? Because it’s not an ordinary war. No countries but ideologies, right?
The PM of Australia said it’s baddies fighting baddies.
H Rusty,
You make some excellent points! Killing Saddam was a contributed to the problem, because he provided stability. He would not have let ISIS exist in his country, because it would have been a threat to his power. You are also correct that it does no good to keep talking about the mistake at least it does not help solve the current problem.
I don’t know the solution. I think President Obama would argue that he is fighting a more targeted war. I understand that may make him look weak and he has certainly made mistakes and I don’t think of him as being a great leader. I voted for McCain, but am glad he did not win, because he would have in my opinion kept us in Iraq. I feel enough brave young people had already died and been maimed there.
This being a blog about the Philippines, I would like to focus on the travel warnings.I have visited the Philippines every 3 years starting in 2002. The country has been under a travel warning every time I went except once when it was a travel advisory. I understand that there is some threat of being kidnapped in the Philippines, but it seems to me that more acts of terrorism are happening in France, Great Britain and Spain. I find it curious why there are no warnings for these European countries.
The terrorist in Spain were wearing suicide vests. The aim of these men was simply to kill as many as possible and then die. This type of terrorism has not been seen in the Philippines, yet. Filipino terrorist seem to not only want to live, but make a profit offer their terrorism. Anyway WWIII is probably already going on and I am not sure the forces of good are going to win this one.
Have a nice day!
Jay
Jay,
Europe certainly is a mess especially with so many terrorists groups living there. No wonder they can’t control things.
There really no excuse for what happened. They certainly have the informational satellites to control that region.
All I know, and I’ve said it before, is a surgeon must know about operating. A mechanic should know about cars. So, there’s no excuse for not knowing what would happen by those in charge when Saddam was taken out.
When I lived in Bolivia there was a dictator. Everything ran smoothly. Once he was forced to leave there was social, and economic, chaos.
No mercy, no concessions , they are out to wipe out our civilisation, so we must get in there first .
Yes, I agree totally. The strike in Paris is only a precursor of their plans… they will hit all western powers if we let them do it.
What possible benefit do they hope to achieve by killing innocent citizens, except to create havoc and panic.
I honestly think they just enjoy it. They are satans.
Some say they want to die for the glory of Allah, OK, let us give them what they want…I wonder if everyone of them will have 7 virgins wating for them ! lol
I thought they got like 70 virgins… but I don’t follow that stuff closely. Did you hear what Putin said about them? Something like “it is up to God to forgive them if he wants, but it is up to me to send them to God”. ha ha
Thing is Bob, they are everywhere now, we thought we were helping by allowing Syrian refugees to come here , seems the terrorists were hiding among them!
You may not know this , but some towns in UK, now have more muslims than indigenous people !
A lot of the Asians came to the UK to work in the mills but now we are getting people from Eastern Europe as well as refugees.
Very multicultural
We westerners have become too stupid, Malcolm. They know we are too soft and want to help, and they are out to take advantage of our weakness.
I know that the majority of muslims are law abiding citizens , but it only takes a few bad apples and the whole lot are affected
I was aware that there are many in the UK. I heard that Mohammad is like one of the top names for baby boys in the UK>
I have many Muslim friends here in Mindanao and I like them very much. But, the radical Muslims (like radical people of any religion) must be stopped.
Im afraid that is true, many brits are moving out and going to places like Spain to live …maybe we will just all move out and ask them to look after the place for us !
See you in Davao, my friend!
Yes, looking forward to getting over there ..will let you know dates later …Goodnight Bob and Feyma
Good night, Malcolm! Stay safe there.
Mohammed is the #1 name in the world..
Yes, but we are not talking about world statistics, we were talking about the UK. For example, while Mohammed is the #1 boys name in the world, it is not #1 in the USA, Noah is at this time.
Yes…. It does stand to reason the more population of Muslims in any area will raise the number of Mohammeds
France did not give in to terrorism…they agreed to take 30,000 more refugees…
Hello Feyma,
One important factor which was left out of your blog was the fact that the cruel and heartless people were Muslim terrorists. ISIS took responsibility for the heinous crimes of cold blooded murder. The French government, even though lead by a socialist president had enough courage to declare what occurred an ” act of war” and strike back without mercy. They along with the Russians will hunt down the modern day ” Nazis in headscarfs” any where on the planet and kill them where they are found hiding and planning more henoius crimes against the innocent.
God bless. Peace to all!
Hi Scott – When I wrote the article the ISIS didn’t say yet that it’s them that did it. I’m glad that the French government with the help of Russia and other countries will do something about it. I hope monster will be wiped out from the face of the earth. It’s hard seeing that lots of innocent people were killed by them.
Thank you for sharing here and God bless to you too. Yes peace to all!!!
Very sad that people are hurt by evil people.
So true Luke. I agree they really are evil people.
ATTENTION TO ALL EXPATS ON THIS FORUM…!!!
IT IS MY FIRM BELIEF THAT THERE IS AN INTERNATIONAL TERROR PLOT BREWING RIGHT NOW AND THAT WE WILL ALSO BE AFFECTED HERE IN PHILIPPINES…!!!
THIS WILL BE TRULLY A BIG AND SAD EVENT.
IT IS ALSO MY BELIEF THAT THIS WILL HAPPEN BEFORE THE END OF THIS MONTH.
BETTER BE PREPARED THAN SORRY.
HOW DO I KNOW ABOUT THIS?
ANSWER: THERE ARE NUMEROUS SOURCES OF PUBLIC INFORMATION AVAILABLE AND THEY ARE ALL POINTING IN ONE DIRECTION…
AN INTERNATIONAL TERROR ATTACK LOOKS IMMINENT…!!!
I AM NOT TRYING TO SCARE ANYONE, YOU CAN ALREADY SEE WHAT’S GOINGON IN THE WORLD. UNFORTUNATELY, THIS WILL NOT STOP ANY TIME SOON, THEREFORE YOU SHOULD BE READY.
Thank you so much PalawanBob for the heads up. Well keep that in mind.
Cheers and God bless!
I FORGOT TO ADD THAT I ALSO FULLY EXPECT MARTIAL LAW HERE IN DECEMBER.
THAT WILL CREATE A JAW DROPPING CONFUSION…
After serving in the Navy on an aircraft carrier in the Mediterranean and Indian Ocean for three years (1980-1983) and visiting many countries in the area it’s not surprising at ll.
Hi Jerome, the problem the innocent people are not prepared of what the heartless people did to them. Hopefully it won’t again though. Wishing… Take care!
The French should take the lead on the Paris attack. The U.S. needs to be involved but not to the same degree. Obviously they need to be hit hard.
It’s too bad they let a small boil fester. Now it’s a disease that must be eliminated.
Hi Horace – I hope that many countries will behind the French people on this fight. I wish to God those evil people be eliminated soon. Hope Putin will do what he says he wants to do.
Peace!
It’s hearbreaking… one of my old co-worker was 2 blocks away from the concert with her husband. They retired a couple of years ago and went back home to Lyon, France. They were in Paris for the weekend when she told me they started hearing guns and her & her husband ran into a bakery & hid with other people.
Her son’s friend was at the concert and was one of the many who were killed.
She emailed a few of us and told us that her other son & family left Paris and drove to Lyon to their home & to get away from all the madness. She said everybody in & around Paris are on edge, and rightfully so.
Ingat palagi Fey and Bob & the kids. God bless.
The problem with fighting ISIS is where do you fight them? ISIS is not a country. You can declare war on ISIS but there are ISIS sympathizers in every corner of the globe now. Those who advocate just bombing the crap out of Syria should also know that you will be bombing the crap out of innocent law abiding muslims there as well. It would be similar to bombing the crap out of Mindanao because of the radical muslims who are there. Millions of innocent people will die. For those who say the innocents should leave…well..what do you think they have been trying to do? They are leaving in droves and are getting turned back at every corner. Many are even risking their lives fleeing from that place. Im sure everyone has seen the images of the toddlers washing up ashore in Greece. Many countries have closed their borders to these refugees. They have no place to go. Their home is their home. Bomb it and you are bombing them.
Now as far as France taking the lead in this “War”, that’s exactly what should happen. They are the country that was attacked. Sure, they will get support from many nations but must be in the lead. Same as it was when the U.S was attacked after 9/11.
Just reading the tea leaves but it seems as though some are suggesting America isn’t doing enough. Well last I checked before this attack in France, It was only America and Russia doing airstrikes in Syria. Those who want a large presence of American boots on the ground should really consider the consequences of that. Sending American soldiers to Syria to basically fight in a civil war that’s been going on for hundreds of years and will continue well on in the future. Assad bombing his own people. Rebels trying to overthrow Assad. Isis fighting both sides for territory and the minds of the people.
For those who want to send more American Soldiers there, I wonder would you want your sons or daughters in that fight? We lost far too many young men and women in Iraq and Afghanistan fighting the “War on Terror” against Al-Quada. Its very easy to shout and scream for War when YOU know YOU will be safe at home drinking your overpriced designer coffee and enjoying the spoils of good living while the future leaders of our country are dying by the thousands fighting a war that foreigners cannot win.
Until the moderate muslims decide to stand against their brethren in Syria and Iraq this war will not be won. Sunni, Shia, whatever you want to call them . They must stand against ISIS….of course with western support.
Exactly Willie. Besides once someone eliminates ISIS, if that is even possible, another radical group will pop up.
We need tough/decisive leafership’. Someone who won’t bend to the establishments.
Rusty
Hi Willie – I’m sure those high up in the government of all the countries knows that they have to find where ISIS are hiding. I’m sure they know how to eliminate them without sacrificing the innocent people. You know who uses the innocent people as shields its the ISIS. I’m hoping they will take out the high ranking guys of ISIS one by one soon.
Peace to you!!!
Hi Geri, that’s really sad. I felt sorry for your friend’s friend who lost her son. Our prayers for them there and the people that were hurt. Geez, what happened to our world? It’s all in madness now. You take care too. Have a great day. God bless!
Wow, guys… I think you just lost me as a reader, Bob.
Your selective ignorance and convenient over-simplification of the situation is mind-boggling (I’m speaking to the commenters – not Feyma). Consider how ISIS came to be: you want to lay that at the feet of our current President? And to say he’s weak and doing nothing is just ignoring the facts. You also fell into the intolerant and racist trap of linking refugees fleeing the horror of war to those fighting the war in the first place? I’m ashamed for you, really.
We cannot in good conscience selectively rail against islamic extremism without also acknowledging the role western countries played in fueling it in the first place. Every seed needs a fertile field…. And to suggest (still!) that they “hate us for our freedom” is just laughable!
You just can’t say these things and make it all better by suggesting you also have Muslim friends.
Wow, guys… just sad.
Later…
John – Over the years of LiP, nearly 10 years now online, politics have never been a big part of the site. I discourage politics from the site. From time to time, though, it comes up.
If you have, over the years, felt that the content on the site has been helpful to you, interesting to you, or enjoyable to read, and one exchange of political views has turned you from reading the site again, well, I would consider that to be quite sad and also short sighted. I have always been told by those of the liberal persuasion that it is liberal people who are open minded and more accepting of even those that they disagree with. I suppose it is not so, based on your most recent comments.
If you are lost as a reader, I am sorry to hear that, but I see nothing I can do to change it. All I will say is that I wish you well, and thank you for reading in the past.
Take care.
Bob,
I was going to respond to John when he first replied but then I said Why? He’s made up his mind and it’s going to change it. He’s wrong but…….
Rusty
There was a day, Rusty, when friends could disagree about a political matter, and we would still be friends. it is sad that those days are gone. I don’t think we will see those days again in our lifetime either. 🙁
Bob,
That’s very True. I used to disagree, 40 years ago, with someone. But we are still friends. Now as John said I’m leaving. Which really means he probably never agreed with anything people said to begin with. He was just looking for an excuse to leave,
Rusty
John Weeks, if you would know only half of the truth, you wouldn’t be saying the above.
Because THE TRUTH is so much beyond the unimaginable that if told, 99% of people wouldn’t be able to handle it.
That would include you as well.
Hint: it will only take another 8 months for you to have an idea (but that’s all it will be, just an idea, because you’ll never know the rest of the story) what I am talking about… ONLY EIGHT (8) MORE MONTHS…!!!
By then, you’ll be a completely changed man. GUARANTEED…!!!
Changed man, only if you
ahttp://www.deagel.com/country/forecast.aspxre
are still alive.
Don’t believe me?
Look at this chart (link above) prepared by the defense industry
It will open your eyes…
I debated with myself about looking at the responses to my post… The thing is, Bob, I wasn’t talking about politics at all. I was talking about your comments on this post and others in recent months. I expect others to be spouting such garbage, but despite your assertions to the contrary, you’ve been supportive of them – especially since AJ went to the US.
I’m talking about hijacking Feyma’s commendable column about compassion for the victims of terrorism and her inability to understand how such things happen – and turning it all into a rant against the muslim faith and pulling other victims – the refugees into the mix. It’s a very slippery slope to go from righteous outrage about terrorism in Paris to blaming others who happen to be different from us for all the bad things in the world. It’s a shame that we still haven’t learned one of the most important lessons from WWII.
My issue is with your intolerance and xenophobia – not your politics (they just happen to coincide these days).
John,
Actually Bob’s posts/replies have been quite to the contrary of your statements. Truth be told you’ve read into Bob’s statements something that isn’t there. Why? That’s a question only you can answer.
Bob never discussed anything about a total religious group as being bad. If saying islamist extremists is bad then you, John, have a problem.
Reality check yourself, John.
Rusty
Thanks for your support, Rusty.
Bob,
Sure Bob. Glad to. Especially when a poster is saying something that just isn’t true. Your actuality the opposite of what the poster stated.
Rusty
Hi Feyma,
It is truly sad that these, disillusioned by evil, people want to kill people in the name of God. You talked about catching and prosecuting the people who did this and the sad thing and scary thing is the people who did this blew themselves up. They had no intention of surviving to be prosecuted.
There is a lot of good in the world who are Christian, Muslim, Buddhist, Ba’Hai, Atheist or whatever! There is a time when you need to turn the TV off and spend some time with good people around you. IDK. Just my advice take it or leave it.
Take care!
Jay
In light of what is going on in the world today, particularly in France, I thought revisiting an old post would be relevant in some way. Remember, though, that this comment was posted in year 2009, long before the advent of ISIS as we know them today.
John Reyes says:
December 1, 2009 at 10:08 am
Hi, Cdc and dvo girl-
This is nothing new. Demographers have been forecasting the Muslim expansion in Europe for years as “news”, albeit with a bit of Fox News-esque tinge to it: “we report, you decide”. However, If you felt threatened after reading this “news”, it could only mean that you have been bombarded with biased opinions. Either that or you probably already have a deep-seated phobia against Muslims in general before you viewed the video.
I wouldn’t lose a single night’s sleep over this news if I were you, but if you have a particular penchant for visiting ultra-right wing, evangelical Christian websites, this is the sort of bellicose rhetoric you can expect to find. In my opinion, such attempts at indoctrination not only insult your intelligence, but they also often sow unfounded fear and anxiety in the hearts and minds of otherwise rational and intelligent people. It is often said that ignorance is a breeding ground for fear and bigotry.
Personally, I find nothing alarming about the news that Muslim population of Europe is projected to increase by more than 50 percent by 2040. Mexicans, too, will be a majority in California in the not-too-distant future, but do you hear any alarm bells going off? The way some of these alarmists are carrying on, you’d think that Muslims are subhumans incapable of co-existing with people of other faiths in “peace and harmony”.
In Mindanao, for example, Muslims and Christians in general have been living in peaceful co-existence with one another for ages, have they not? Take away the ASG, which is a minority anyway, and you have negligible conflicts between neighbors that probably have more to do with cows being stolen than their differences in religion. Life among Muslims and Christians in Mindanao is relatively peaceful. Just ask Bob Martin.
While it may be true that a good proportion of terrorist acts the world over are committed by Muslims, they are committed by Muslim extremists. Fortunately, they are not the majority. To lump all Muslims together is simply irrational and a reflection of one’s intelligence. To feel threatened by reports of a growing Muslim population based on the notion that Muslims are more likely to commit terrorist acts is a dangerous generalization that distorts the view of what mainstream Islam is all about.
Extremists are to be found on both sides of the aisle, you know, but it’s the moderates from both sides of the aisle that count. There are plenty of terrorist acts committed by non-Muslims, too, so are we to condemn an entire class of people because of the actions of a few?
The 2005 riots in France by Muslim youth is still fresh in my mind. Many people believed that the French riots were a precursor to Islamic domination of Europe. They couldn’t have been more wrong.
The rioting was nothing more than a manifestation of a social problem that absolutely had nothing to do with religion at all. Muslim African and Muslim Arab youths who threw rocks and set fires on cars belonging to white citizens were more interested in upward mobility than in changing the face of France, and, by extension, the face of Western Europe into an Islamic one.
The riotings were a culmination of the many years of pent up frustration stemming from racial injustices and social neglect suffered by French citizens of color, many of whom were African and Arab Muslims. Their grievances were similar in nature to that of African Americans in the U.S. which eventually led to the racial riots in 1968.
I recall that the Watts section of Los Angeles, the ghettoes of Detroit and Newark, and, yes, right here in Washington, D.C. within spitting distance of the Library of Congress where I used to work and the United States Capitol were gutted, ignited by the 1968 assassinations of Martin Luther King and the then-presidential aspirant, Bobby Kennedy.
As with the French Muslims, African American rioters in the late 60s only wanted liberte and egalite, to paraphrase the French. They wanted to be treated as equals. They wanted to be incorporated into the main body politic just like everyone else, just as Filipino Americans today aspire to be significant participants in the larger American society. By no means, am I condoning nor justifying these criminal acts. I am simply stating the roots of a social problem which, when ignored long enough, could lead to devastating consequences.
The aftermath of the riots in the 60s was a time of deep soul-searching for the U.S. When the government finally made up its mind that it needed to acknowledge the fact that black Americans were American citizens as well, not second-class citizens, thus deserving the same rights and privileges as white Americans, it enacted the Civil Rights Act that ultimately led to desegregation and the official dismantling of institutional racism in America. While some form of subtle racial discrimination no doubt still exists in the U.S. today, blacks no longer have to use separate washrooms, and they no longer have to give up their bus seats to white people. Today, many African Americans hold positions of influence and power in the top echelons of the U.S. government including the executive office, as well as in corporate boardrooms.
That American experience was a lesson learned for the French. French response to the riots mirrored that of the U.S.’s in correcting the wrongs and injustices of the past. It legislated measures to uplift the plight of the marginalized citizens who for long were sub-existing in the fringes of French society. Those who cast aspersions on the French government’s efforts in instituting social reforms as a means to put an end to the riots displayed an incredible ignorance of the genesis of civil unrest and how best to quell it.
While it is difficult to imagine an Islamic Western Europe, such Bernard Lewis-inspired pathological fear of an eventual Islamic expansion is not totally beyond the realm of possibility, but so what? If such a scenario becomes a reality, it would not be because of the French riots, nor because of the French government acquiescing to the social imperatives of its entrenched multi-cultural society. It would be because of open borders, the liberal immigration policies of some Euro member countries, and the growing birth rate of Western Europe’s Muslim immigrant families.
Western Europe has had a long history of welcoming foreign workers to its soil to do the manual labor white Europeans are loath to perform. Germany, as I recall, when I was there with USAREUR in the 1960s, had been importing laborers from Muslim Turkey to dig ditches and for construction work. Their descendants are still there today, no longer laborers but prosperous and influential members of German society.
Exacerbating the fear of further diluting what remains of West European homogeneity is not exactly the Muslims’ fault. It was the formation of the European Union that spawned open borders. Thus, citizens of any EU member country can freely travel within the Union for the purpose of gaining meaningful employment that is in short supply at home.
If you really want to know what is changing the face of Western Europe today, it is the steadily growing influx into the region of citizens of former East bloc countries – the Russians, the Poles, the Latvians, and the Lithuanians – in search of better opportunities not found in their respective countries, while bringing along with them their unique cultural baggage, language, and traditions to blend with the host society’s, producing a fascinating melting cauldron that is putting to shame the so-called American “melting pot” of the 19th century.
Throw in the Muslim Africans, the Arabs, the South Asians and the Filpinos, and you then have a truly multi-hued conglomeration of smells, sights, and sounds among the competing ethnic enclaves from Amsterdam to Zagreb.
Along with instituting social reforms, France had actually tightened, not liberalized, the country’s immigration laws, a feature of immigration which makes U.S. immigration watchdogs, Mesdames Michelle Malkin and Phyllis Schlafly look like Girl Scouts.
Conferring of French citizenship today requires a total immersion in French culture, including proficiency in the French language. By contrast, here in America you go to any 7-11 convenience store, you’d find yourself face to face with a U.S. citizen employee who is a dead ringer for Osama bin Laden and whose English is so unintelligible, you begin to wonder if you were in Kandahar, Afghanistan rather than in Alexandria, Virginia.
My whole point in this windy diatribe is that we are all citizens of the world. We are all inhabitants of a rapidly shrinking Mother Earth. We are all in this trip together and we need to stop worrying about the Muslims taking over Europe. Let’s get rid of our deep-seated suspicions about Muslims and accept diversity in all its forms, to find REAL solutions to REAL Earth problems – solutions that transcend race, national origin, and political and religions persuasions – or we’re in for what Bernard Lewis would like to see happen in this lifetime – the Clash of Civilizations.
Rusty –
I refer to your comment above regarding “taking the lid off”.
Taking out Saddam Hussein was a decision based on current information the U.S. had at the time, or was it Dick Cheney’s persistence in obtaining severely doctored information from the CIA ‘s to be used as justification for war? Who would have thought that toppling Saddam would spawn the likes of ISIS? I was very much against the second Persian Gulf War, but not because I thought it would bring more chaos as a result. Once again, here is my perspective about “taking the lid off” – another visit to an old post made in the year 2010.
John Reyes says:
August 21, 2010 at 10:35 am
Hi, Jim:
Like you, I have carefully mulled over the following response to your comment and have debated in my mind ever since and over the course of a 3-hour drive to Virginia for the weekend the wisdom of reopening old wounds caused by an unnecessary war that touched so many lives deeply in ways difficult to imagine since Vietnam, especially at this point in time when finally, the last U.S. combat division has already left Iraq, ahead of the August 31, 2010 deadline set by the present administration.
As one who was staunchly anti-war. a war which resulted in over 4,000 American military deaths and the horrific sufferings of non-combatant civilians from both sides in terms of lives lost and damaged infrastructure, of which arrogant hawks of the past administration fondly dismissed as “collateral damages”, I could easily have jumped in on the anti-U.S. bandwagon and shout at the top of my lungs, hooray, the U.S. lost the war because “the stated goals of the conflict to create stability in the region were not met.”
Stability in the region? I was very much around in 2003 before, during, and after the invasion. History will show that the Bush administration flip-flopped from one reason to another in its effort to settle on a credible justification that would at the very least garner UN backing. Administration allegations shifted from Iraqi ties to al-Qaeda (that was not sufficiently proven); to culpability for 9/11 (that could not be proven); and, finally, settling on weapons of mass destruction (that could not be proven). Like you, I have religiously followed the print and broadcast media, listened to the pros and cons of rancorous debates then raging in the streets of the world about the wisdom of invading a country that posed no security threat to the United States. I had hoped naively as it turned out that the ramp up to the invasion was a just a bluff to get Saddam Hussein to own up to his transgressions and just fade away without a shot being fired. Not once, however, did I hear from the Bush administration neocons that we needed to go in to Iraq in order stabilize the Middle East. If there was a region that needed stabilizing in 2003, it was the United States, what with its porous borders and security apparatus so flimsy that Saudi punks easily chose the WTC, the Pentagon, and a farm in Pennsylvania as their egress points with which to leave this Earth for their rendezvous with their virgins in heaven as a reward for their martyrdom.
I honestly believed then, that if it were up to Bush alone, without the prodding of his hawkish advisers, he would never have given the go ahead to invade Iraq under the conditions and circumstances that were present during the build-up to the war. There were just so much uncertainty. Going to war was not a rational decision under the circumstances. I really believed that Kuwait was as far north as we would go, and that our war-like deployments in the Persian Gulf buttressed by an overwhelming show of technologically-superior military force would be sufficient to intimidate Saddam to banish from sight.
Conditions did not favor an invasion: Domestically, the U.S. Congress was divided, or appear unsure about what to do. Massive anti-war demonstrations in major U.S. cities recall a divisive Vietnam era. Internationally, the United Nations failed to pass a resolution authorizing military force. World-wide opinion was running decidedly against war. U.S. ambassadors worldwide were resigning from their posts in droves, citing growing anti-Americanism in the countries where they served.
Our major allies, except your Great Britain and the Commonwealth nations (except Canada), Russia and China were vehemently opposed to the war. Even in Britain, Australia, Spain, and Italy, whose leaders allied themselves with the U.S. the populace turned out in the millions to protest the war. Then there was also the gnawing uncertainty that Saddam would unleash his purported WMD against coalition forces. And, lastly, the fear that the war would only intensify terrorist attacks on the U.S. and its foreign interests, or, worse, it could ignite a larger conflagration in the Middle East region.
Worst of all, there was nothing in international law or in the United Nations charter that compels any one nation to cross a sovereign state’s territorial boundaries to impose its will and remove a leader because that leader is a despicable despot. I believed then, and still do, in the rule of law – the integrity of a sovereign nation and the right of its citizens to self-determination is sacred, and that domestic issues and other human rights problems within a country, I don’t care which country, are for its citizens and its citizens alone to act upon.
But invade we did, and succeeded in “liberating” a people that, for the most part, did not even want to be liberated. In that sense, one of the stated goals of the past administration was met; thus, we won the war despite all the misgivings.
On the other hand, we did not invade Iraq just to get rid of Saddam Hussein and “liberate” the Iraqis from his despotic rule. We did not go in solely for the purpose of dismantling imaginary WMDs, or to fight terrorism abroad in the mistaken notion that we would not have to fight it at home.
The resonating effects of 9/11, however, was a grave threat to U.S. superpower status and potency. The invasion of Iraq was, therefore, as much a hunt for WMD as a retribution for 9/11 and a redemption for a tarnished American machismo. Consequently, we needed to regain our pride quickly and to reassure ourselves that we were still THE force without peer.
Iraq was the perfect laboratory for testing our latest weaponry and technology in this regard: the B1s and B2s, the stealth bomber, tomahawk cruise missiles, Paladin howitzers, the M-1 Abrams tanks, the Strykers and the Humvees, the precision-guided munitions, the Mother of all bombs (MOAB) – using Iraqi women and children like duck pins in a bowling alley.
The way with which this awesome war machine was employed severely at the onset of the war was a classic shock and awe. It followed to the letter former U.S. General Colin Powell’s canon of war, developed as a consequence of Vietnam, that if we ever go to war again, we must 1) define the mission; 2) go in with overwhelming force and deliver a whipping so severe as to take out the enemy’s will to fight; and, 3) have an exit strategy.
Meanwhile, the battlefield efficiency in which the U.S. military high command planned, coordinated, and conducted the campaign: from the deployment of the big carrier battlegroups, to logistics, to maintaining a supply line beset by roadside bombs and snipers, to strategy and tactics employed on the battlefield, to the coordination of aviation, infantry, armor and artillery, all the way down to such minute details as door busting equipment and folding ladders for house-to-house combat was a lesson in battlefield perfection that would have made Napoleon very proud.
From this standpoint alone, how can anyone argue that the U.S. did not win the war?
Now, the hidden goal of the Iraq invasion. The major motivating force behind the push by the neocons at the Pentagon’s Defense Policy Board then headed by Richard Perle, Donald Rumsfeld, Andrew Feith, Dick Cheney, Paul Wolfowitz et al, to dominate the world is the blueprint for the imperial Pax Americana, in my opinion.
This blueprint is, in fact, articulated in the Bush doctrine, formally called, “The National Security Strategy of the United States of America”. Though this doctrine was drafted with unmistakable references to the so-called “axis of evil”, namely, Iran, Iraq and North Korea and implemented in the immediate aftermath of, and as a reaction to, 9/11, it was by no means a new doctrine that was written and implemented to deal with present day realities. For, in fact, the beginning of the American global imperium began to take shape more than 100 years ago, when then Commodore George Dewey defeated Spanish Admiral Montojo in the Battle of Manila Bay on May 1, 1898.
With the ejection of Spanish military power from the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, the United States emerged as a wold power but with very little possessions to speak of – a smattering of tiny dots in the Pacific. The spirit of “manifest destiny”, however, remained alive in the American subconscious in the more than 100 years since.
Interrupted by Word Wars I and II, then thwarted by the expansion of communism in East Europe, in North Korea and Vietnam, the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1990 all but removed the only obstacle to American desire for global hegemony. The intervening years gave rise to the crop of neocons during the Bush era who viewed Islam as the major obstacle to the imperial Pax Americana.
Viewed from this historical perspective, Iraq wasn’t really step number one in America’s drive for world domination. The Philippines was.
From a purely military standpoint, the stated goal to remove Saddam Hussein and liberate the Iraqis was a success. However, the setbacks in Iraq suffered by the Bush administration both militarily and politically led to the dissolution of the neocons and the abandonment of the idea of Pax Americana. For this reason, the hidden goal for the invasion was a failure, and, for this reason, you and I can agree that the U.S. did lose the second Gulf war.