Posted 7/22/2002 12:47:00 PM by Ocean Guy
It's not like he needs the likes of this blog linking to him, but the Instapundit, today, comments on a "Get him or not" debate regarding Osama bin Laden. The professore thinks the Saudis are behind this whole war against the US. Methinks he gives them too much credit. Certainly the Saudis are contributing to both the cold and hot wars that Islam is involved in, but they, in no way are 'running' it. The problem is a much larger one which is mostly ignored.

Saudis may like to believe they control the Ummah, but it is hardly a fact.
Can they be considered 'running' the war against us because they believe in the inevitable spread of Islam throughout the world, and are working to achieve it? Does anyone really think there is a man, committee, tribal council, or anything of the sort residing in the Saudi Kingdom which is calling the shots in all of the conflicts that Islam is involved in along its "Bloody Borders?"

The Instant man is right in saying that OBL is not the root cause of all of this. Those who believe bin Laden is a modern Caliph, need to re-examine the facts. There is a huge number of people throughout Islam who have proclaimed Jihad against America, against the west, against Israel, against all non-believers. They are not organized into a force that has central command. They do not wear distinguishing uniforms. They do not profess allegiance to any 'National' or secular government, although they have tremendous influence in many States. They are not members of the UN, but a large segment of the UN works in their interest. Not all of them are fundamentalist nut-cases, but, they are all convinced their cause is just and that Islam's spread is as inevitable as it is needed. Not all of them want to see 'hot war.' But ALL of them want to see the destruction of western society and the spread of Islamic law and values.

These enemies are almost impossible for us to identify except by their own proclamations. Because of that it is imperative that we listen to them and believe them when they declare that Western society is evil, that America is the Great Satan. If they declare themselves enemies, who are we to tell them, "Oh you don't really mean that. We're such nice people!" We should listen to what they say. If we had listened to bin Laden from the outset, then 9/11 would most likely not have happened. Still, too many politicians, pundits, and public officials simply ignore the warnings. They don't believe the Islamists mean it when they declare hatred for us and declare war against us.

Our government is not structured to deal with this kind of borderless, nationless threat. The State Department, especially, is having trouble dealing with the new reality. In the interest of keeping existing personal and diplomatic relationships, the reality is being largely ignored. It's being ignored because the system is not capable of dealing with extra-national issues. That must change. But first of all we need to understand the threat.

Today’s threat is unlike any other we’ve encountered. We hardly know our enemy and even ignore them when they shout out their hatred for all America stands for. We must listen. We also must ask for the help of Muslims living in the West. So-called ‘Moderate Muslims need to accept the responsibility of helping the rest of us understand who our Islamic friends are. I have to believe there are some out there. If we have no Islamic friends, we need to know that too, but we should be listening to those who call us their enemy.

No, bin Laden is not the supreme commander of the Islamic wars around the world. Nor are the Saudis pulling the strings, any more than Iran’s mullahs. This enemy is diverse in nationality, and has no allegiance to any existing State, and takes orders from no single man or government. The problem is huge and cannot be ignored for much longer.