Al-Urdan
Last night, three terrorist attacks killed at least 53 and wounded 300 in hotels in Jordan (according to the New York Times). Abu Musab al-Zarqawi is suspected. Apparantly, he's kind of pissed at the Jordanian government, since they're about our number one source for intelligence against insurgents in Iraq. Sandmonkey, as usual, has a great post on the subject.
I know that this isn't a "wake up call" to the Jordanians, because Jordan, by and large, is supportive of the US. But what struck me was that the owners of the Radisson were Palestinian-Jordanians, and they have come out in condemnation of al-Qaeda (as I'm sure you would come out against anyone who was responsible for destroying your business). The owner had this to say:
Why? We couldn't ask for a better news story here.
Anything that al-Qaeda does to damage their reputation with moderate Arab Muslims (which are by far the silent majority of Arab Muslims) serves our interests in wanting to see al-Qaeda weakened and destabilized. We CAN'T stop al-Qaeda; only the people in the countries in which al-Qaeda operates can keep them from operating there. We also can't keep them from recruiting and reconstituting their ranks. As long as there are people motivated to such extreme positions, there will be a functional al-Qaeda.
Fighting the War on Terror is fighting a losing battle. We can't "win" a war on terror. What are we going to do? Kill everyone who wants to become a terrorist? How? How will we find them? How will we distinguish them from the decent citizens? Will we just carpet bomb the Middle East?
Folks, we're treating like a war what we should be treating like an international police investigation. We should be turning this over to the CIA, the FBI, and Interpol, and actively seeking the cooperation of foreign police and internal intelligence organizations. We should be working closely with the people on the ground rather than alienating them. As long as it's a military operation, a "war", we're not going to get the intelligence we need to stop this shit.
Think of it this way: if a cop came up to you and asked you about a suspicious person in your neighborhood, and you knew that they were gathering information on that person in order to find out if he was planning on harming people in your community, would you give him the information he asked for? How about if he was wearing a military uniform instead of a police officer's uniform?
People in other countries are suspicious of the intent of our military, especially in the Middle East. But they don't have the same prejudice against Interpol or the FBI. It's because police organizations work within the boundaries of the law (well, maybe not in the Middle East). If we transformed this into an intelligence and law enforcement operation we would seriously cut down on the heightened tensions between us and the rest of the world and we would start to see more cooperation.
Look folks, we need them. We REALLY, REALLY need them. We need the cooperation of the Jordanians, the Saudis, the Egyptians, the Germans, the French, the Italians, and the Iraqis. Especially the Iraqis. But it's like any negotiation; we're not going to get anything out of them unless we give them something that we want. I'm not advocating negotiating with the terrorists; rather, negotiate with the PEOPLE. If the people JUST SO HAPPEN to want the same thing that the terrorists want, DON'T use that as a reason not to give it to them. Just control the dialogue.
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Update: CNN is RIGHT NOW holding a one hour long special on Jordan. They're interviewing Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister. Stay tuned, boys and girls....
I know that this isn't a "wake up call" to the Jordanians, because Jordan, by and large, is supportive of the US. But what struck me was that the owners of the Radisson were Palestinian-Jordanians, and they have come out in condemnation of al-Qaeda (as I'm sure you would come out against anyone who was responsible for destroying your business). The owner had this to say:
May you enjoy the hell that is awaiting you, where, to your dismay, you will be greeted by seven demons instead of your long-awaited virgins! May you rot in hell over and over again along with Zarqawi, Bin Laden, Bin Shit and all those that support you. Nothing in the world can justify this. Those that try to justify this can rot in hell as well! May God protect my country and my people. May God bless the souls of those barbarically massacred today. We will never forget!This is the second attack in the past week against Islamic countries who are in support of the US, the first being that against Morocco. And this is the second time I've heard reports of people gathering in the streets, chanting anti-al-Qaeda slogans (the first being well reported on Gateway Pundit. And this is the second time I've missed reporting of the demonstrations in the American Media.
Why? We couldn't ask for a better news story here.
Anything that al-Qaeda does to damage their reputation with moderate Arab Muslims (which are by far the silent majority of Arab Muslims) serves our interests in wanting to see al-Qaeda weakened and destabilized. We CAN'T stop al-Qaeda; only the people in the countries in which al-Qaeda operates can keep them from operating there. We also can't keep them from recruiting and reconstituting their ranks. As long as there are people motivated to such extreme positions, there will be a functional al-Qaeda.
Fighting the War on Terror is fighting a losing battle. We can't "win" a war on terror. What are we going to do? Kill everyone who wants to become a terrorist? How? How will we find them? How will we distinguish them from the decent citizens? Will we just carpet bomb the Middle East?
Folks, we're treating like a war what we should be treating like an international police investigation. We should be turning this over to the CIA, the FBI, and Interpol, and actively seeking the cooperation of foreign police and internal intelligence organizations. We should be working closely with the people on the ground rather than alienating them. As long as it's a military operation, a "war", we're not going to get the intelligence we need to stop this shit.
Think of it this way: if a cop came up to you and asked you about a suspicious person in your neighborhood, and you knew that they were gathering information on that person in order to find out if he was planning on harming people in your community, would you give him the information he asked for? How about if he was wearing a military uniform instead of a police officer's uniform?
People in other countries are suspicious of the intent of our military, especially in the Middle East. But they don't have the same prejudice against Interpol or the FBI. It's because police organizations work within the boundaries of the law (well, maybe not in the Middle East). If we transformed this into an intelligence and law enforcement operation we would seriously cut down on the heightened tensions between us and the rest of the world and we would start to see more cooperation.
Look folks, we need them. We REALLY, REALLY need them. We need the cooperation of the Jordanians, the Saudis, the Egyptians, the Germans, the French, the Italians, and the Iraqis. Especially the Iraqis. But it's like any negotiation; we're not going to get anything out of them unless we give them something that we want. I'm not advocating negotiating with the terrorists; rather, negotiate with the PEOPLE. If the people JUST SO HAPPEN to want the same thing that the terrorists want, DON'T use that as a reason not to give it to them. Just control the dialogue.
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Update: CNN is RIGHT NOW holding a one hour long special on Jordan. They're interviewing Jordan's Deputy Prime Minister. Stay tuned, boys and girls....
posted by sadiq at 11/10/2005 11:04:00 AM
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