Petrified Truth

Celebrate

It's already 2007 in Australia.

Radical Islam

Victor Davis Hanson ponders Why Radical Islam — And Why Now?

In the 1930s, German-style fascism appealed to Arabs in Palestine and Egypt. Soviet-style communism had sympathetic governments in Afghanistan, Algeria and Yemen. Baathism took hold in Syria and Iraq. The secular Egyptian dictator Gamal Abdel Nasser promised a new pan-Arabism that would do away with colonial borders that divided the "the Arab nation." Then there is the more pragmatic authoritarianism that survives in Muammar el-Qaddafi's Libya or in the petrol-monarchies in the Gulf.

Radical Islam may be as totalitarian and as morally bankrupt as any of these past or mostly defunct "isms," but its current appeal isn't hard to figure out. Unlike fascism or communism, radical Islam is locally grown, and not plagued by charges of foreign contamination. Indeed, Islamists claim to wage jihad against the modernism and globlization of the outside, mostly Westernized world. Such a message resonates in stagnant, impoverished Muslim countries.

Of course, while the people of the region may be poor, the Islamist movement isn't. Huge oil profits filter throughout the Muslim world, allowing Islamists to act on their rhetoric. In today's world, militias can easily acquire everything from shoulder-held anti-aircraft missiles to rocket-propelled grenades. With such weapons, and on their own turf, Islamists can nullify billion-dollar Western jets and tanks.

There is still another reason for the rise of Islamists: They sense a new hesitation in the West. We appear to them paralyzed over oil prices and supplies and fears of terrorism. And so they have also waged a brilliant propaganda war, adopting the role of victims of Western colonialism, imperialism and racism. In turn, much of the world seems to tolerate their ruthlessness in stifling freedom, oppressing women and killing nonbelievers.

Of course, the first thing needed to win this fight is to tell the truth about the evil we face. How about that for a 2007 New Year's Resolution?

Saddam put down

Saddam Hussein has joined his two sons in hell. Too bad it took so long.

History lesson

Former President Gerald Ford has died at age 93. He came to office unelected due to the bizarre circumstances of a U.S. Vice President and then a U.S. President who both resigned in disgrace. So it's not unexpected that the press coverage today features prominently the words "Watergate" and "pardon."

Ford knew the personal price to be paid and did it anyway, for the good of the country. That decision alone was an indication of what kind of guy he was. RIP.

Leaving

Reporter Gregory Katz has a fine, detailed series in the Houston Chronicle detailing the anti-Christian religio-ethnic cleansing that's been taking place gradually, even silently, in the Middle East. He specifically profiles events in Lebanon, Bethlehem, and Egypt. Fascinating, disturbing reading.

The flight of Lebanese Christians is one symptom of a larger malady: the wholesale departure of Christians from the Middle East.

This silent exodus is reshaping the region's cultural mosaic, eating away at its diversity by slowly removing Christians from the birthplace of Jesus Christ. Their voice is being muted as Islam becomes more strident.

The Islamic holy book, the Quran, preaches respect for other religions, but the growing popularity of radical Islam, which casts Christians and Jews as infidels, has convinced many Christians they will soon be unwelcome, said Anthony O'Mahony, a London professor who has written several books on Christianity in the Middle East.

"We may be seeing the end of a historic Christian presence," he said. "Islam has profoundly displaced the indigenous religions, Christianity and Judaism. We're seeing another stage of the Islamicization of the region. You start to see the Middle East purely in Muslim terms, dominating the whole region."

Precise figures are elusive, in part because governments in the region do not carry out sensitive surveys listing religious affiliation, but historians believe that at least 2 million of the region's Christians have left the Middle East in the past 30 years. Sharp declines have been observed in Lebanon and the West Bank over the past three decades.

Compare and contrast the West's general lack of either awareness or concern about this long-term forced exodus of millions of Christians by Islamists with the dramatic military response of the U.S. and NATO to the ethnic cleansing of Muslim Kosovars by the Serbs.

Tender mercy

PX Christmas

Secret Santas in Iraq.

In addition to mortar attacks, shootings and bombings, American troops had another pressing concern last week: what gifts to give when they play Secret Santa for their colleagues.

Across Iraq, soldiers have been ordering online and buying greeting cards, wrapping paper and ribbons at the PX, or post exchange.

Some might play a Secret Santa who's more naughty than nice — think sheets and fly swatters. But they might also get lucky: Those who win a PX lottery get to buy themselves a PlayStation 3, a hot commodity virtually unavailable in Iraq.

Some soldiers perused Iraqi bazaars set up in trailers on their bases, where handmade sandstone carvings and knife sets sell for $25 to $140 and can be shipped home by FedEx. Others were picking out gag gifts, including Chippendale-style calendars that easily meet the average $30 Secret Santa price limit.

A little peace on earth is too much to ask, I guess, but at least our military folks can think a bit about other things for a moment.

The Nativity Story

Last night we went to see The Nativity Story at our local megaplex. The reviews have been lukewarm, but we thought it was quite fine. If anything, it's perhaps too much a literal retelling of the familiar story; taking a few more chances might have been interesting.

But the photography and actors were first-rate, and the evolution of young Mary's relationship with Joseph comes alive. Joseph was indeed a good man. My rating: B+. Go see it if you have not.

Official site

Not obvious?

The Washington Times reports that President Bush had to be "pressured" into agreeing to the idea that more soldiers and Marines are needed to fight our long war in Iraq and elsewhere.

President Bush only acceded to a jump in the number of U.S. Army and Marine Corps ground troops after intense pressure from senior officers, active and retired, including the Joint Chiefs, defense sources said.

Mr. Bush, who announced Wednesday that he will increase an active force that now stands at 1.4 million personnel, this month heard about the stressed Army and Marines Corps from a group of retired officers at the Pentagon.

But the deal-clincher came when he traveled to the Pentagon and met with the six-member Joint Chiefs inside the super-secret "tank."

Why the need for "pressure" when the need for more forces is so stunningly obvious and has been since Sept. 12, 2001? The Rumsfeld world view is part of the answer, but only part.

Mark Helprin said it clearly back in 2004.

The military must be reconstituted so that it has a surplus of power without having to choose between transformation and tradition, quality and numbers, heavy and light: All are necessary. This is expensive, and would require more plain speaking and less condescending manipulation from those who govern, but would allow for the quick and overwhelming application of force, unambiguous staying power, coverage of multiple contingencies, and, most importantly, deterrence. It is always better to deter an enemy than, by showing weakness, to encourage him to take the field.

In the name of The Prophet

Here's a very interesting report from "crunchy con" newsman Rod Dreher about a meeting between a group of Dallas imams and the editorial board of the Dallas Morning News.

[T]hey accurately recognize that I don't believe their claims that they are completely innocent of radicalism, and are wholly victims of irrational fear of Muslims. Once again, I came away from a meeting with them even more convinced of my views in this regard.... In summation, though, the group was defensive, evasive, and wouldn't give a straight answer to simple questions.

Read the whole thing.

Tip via The Corner @ NRO.

Futurewar

Coolness: Marines in space.

Hansel and Gretel

A highlight of our weekend was to take in the Sunday matinee performance of Houston Grand Opera's Hansel and Gretel. The entire production was first-rate, but was especially notable for the innovative visual elements provided by world-renowned puppeteer Basil Twist.

Earlier, Houston Chronicle music critic Charles Ward focused on the "subversive" qualities of the production (while also being way too hard on HGO's choice of a small chamber orchestra).

In their stories, the Grimm Brothers pointed to dark, often sinister parts of the human psyche. Hansel and Gretel, ostensibly a story about lost children who discover a house built from sweets, is no different.

Well, there are some of those elements. But is it the heart of story? Maybe not.

Happily, Opera Today had a different take, and more appreciation of the chamber opera approach.

“Hansel and Gretel” has taken a beating in recent seasons, as over-zealous directors — aping the excesses of Eurotrash Regieoper — have made Humperdink’s largely innocent retelling of the Grimms’ tale the victim of hyper-active imaginations....

As a chamber opera “Hansel and Gretel” is a kinder and gentler work than the original as it is often encountered today. “The score is lush,” Kelly says, “but its bone structure is clear and clean.” And it is the strength of these qualities that bring to the HGO staging a feeling of rebirth and rediscovery that make “Hansel and Gretel” a masterpiece of classic restraint.

In this lean environment the German children’s songs that Humperdinck built into the score retain their authenticity, and the transparency of the reduced orchestration brings to the surface a charm often obscured by the forces of the original version.

Hansel and Gretel was a pleasing alternative to more stereotypical holiday fare. HGO performances continue through Dec. 23 in the Cullen Theatre at the Wortham Center downtown.

Prisoner of conscience

The cause of Francisco Usón, one of the many prisoners being detained by Venezuelan strongman Chávez, has been taken up by the Human Rights Foundation.

A civilian critical of the government of Venezuelan president Hugo Chávez continues to be imprisoned for having made a televised remark that angered the Venezuelan government. After an in-depth investigation, the Human Rights Foundation—a new international human rights organization based in New York—has published its findings and adopted Venezuelan political prisoner Francisco Usón as its first prisoner of conscience. HRF is concerned for Usón’s life after a bizarre set of medical errors almost killed him—twice.

Usón, a retired army general, appeared on a Venezuelan television show on the morning of April 16, 2004. The program that day consisted of a discussion about punishment cells at a Venezuelan military base. On three separate occasions enlisted soldiers have been killed in fires inside punishment cells and in one particular incident, at Fort Mara military base, there were allegations that the soldiers had been burned with a flamethrower. On the show, Usón explained that he was a military engineer by training and answered technical questions about how a flamethrower operates. As for the Fort Mara case, he stated, “this is very, very serious, if it ends up being true.”
For that remark, Usón was detained by the National Guard on May 22, 2004, in Puerto Ordaz, State of Bolívar, Venezuela. Usón was in Puerto Ordaz to help collect signatures to petition the Venezuelan electoral council for a recall referendum focused on President Chávez.

“This case is a sad indication of the climate of intolerance and repression in Venezuela. Freedom of speech and due process are under assault by the Chávez government; this is one illustrative case among many,” said Thor Halvorssen, president of the Human Rights Foundation (HRF). HRF has published a 9-page report on the case and posted relevant evidence and court documents on its website. Halvorssen stated, “Over the next few weeks we will begin a worldwide awareness campaign on behalf of Mr. Usón. Beginning with direct contact with the Venezuelan president, we shall take this case to recognized authoritative bodies as well as grassroots organizations. Mr. Usón’s imprisonment is a scandal and he must be freed. He is a prisoner of conscience and a political prisoner of the Venezuelan state.”

Gifts for boys

Need non-electronic gift ideas for boys? Camille at Book Moot recommends Books that guys love.

I also have been asked three times in 24 hours for recommendations for book gifts for boys. I figure the question must be in the air so for the record, here are my suggestions for books that guys absolutely love.

Freakout and destiny

Peggy Noonan has been pondering the sudden political rise of Barack Obama.

It seems to me that our political history has been marked the past 10 years by lurches, reactions and swerves, and I wonder if historians will see the era that started in the mid-'90s as The Long Freakout. First the Clinton era left more than half the country appalled--deeply appalled, and ashamed--by its series of political, financial and personal scandals. I doubt the Democratic Party will ever fully understand the damage done in those days. In reaction the Republican Party lurched in its presidential decision toward a relatively untested (five years in the governor's office, before that very little) man whom party professionals chose, essentially, because "He can win" and the base endorsed because he seemed the opposite of Bill Clinton. The 2000 election was a national trauma, and I'm not sure Republicans fully understand what it did to half the Democrats in the country to think the election was stolen, or finagled, or arranged by unseen powers. Then 9/11. Now we have had six years of high drama and deep division, and again a new savior seems to beckon, one who is so clearly Not Bush.

We'll see what Sen. Obama has, what he is, what he becomes. But right now he seems part of a pattern of lurches and swerves--the man from nowhere, of whom little is known, who will bring us out of the mess. His sudden rise and wild popularity seem more symptom than solution. And I wonder if historians will call this chapter in their future histories of the modern era not "A Decision Is Made" but "The Freakout Continues."

No defeat

For those of us interested in meatier fare than the cynical and short-sighted Iraq Study Group report, this week brings a pair of thoughtful alternative analyses.

Robert Zelnick has a sober and realistic piece in the new Policy Review.

To concede that going to war in Iraq was a grave mistake of policy is not to embrace the conclusion that an immediate pull-out — or one by a declared date moderated by conditions on the ground — would today serve U.S. interests. The country may have entered the war with erroneous notions of the state of Saddam’s wmd programs. It may have underestimated the resilience of former Baathists and regime loyalists, their access to weapons and the help they would get from foreign jihadists. It may have failed to anticipate that a society divided and oppressed by an authoritarian ruler might erupt into ethnic and religious conflict when that leader departs. It may have been naïve in thinking that an externally modeled Iraqi democratic government would opt for secular rather than sectarian parliamentary representation and that its near perfect transition would transform the region into a galaxy of democratic states. And it may have underestimated the number of troops needed to occupy a country of 25 million.

Yet the answer is not to compound those mistakes by leaving in a way that makes large-scale civil war nearly inevitable, pushes the country into the lap of its Iranian neighbor, or advertises the U.S. as an unreliable friend, a hesitant hegemon, and a rewarder of those terrorists with the tenacity to outlast the behemoth. No, when a Great Power puts its leg in a snare, there must be some cure other than amputation.

I'm puzzled by Zelnick's lack of extensive comment on the role of Iran and Syria in funding, arming and accelerating the militias and insurgents in Iraq, which seems crucial to me. But his analysis of Iraq's political complexities is eye-opening and his suggestions for action are solid.

We can only hope that President Bush is listening to these other voices.

Hiatus ending

Time for blogging has been scarce for a while now, but something like a more normal activity level should return soon. My thanks to those who've asked.

Iraq Study Group

So Jim Baker's Iraq Study Group, an attempted grand exercise in realpolitik, has issued its much-anticipated final report.

The study, the product of numerous meetings and study sessions since March of this year, noted that "if the situation continues to deteriorate, the consequences could be severe. A slide toward chaos could trigger the collapse of Iraq's government in a humanitarian catastrophe."

The Baker-Hamilton group issued a series of ideas, most of which already have emerged in public debate, aimed at preventing that outcome. The report calls for the launch of an immediate diplomatic offensive to build "an international consensus for stability in Iraq and the region."

The report also calls for the United States to attempt to directly engage Iran and Syria in diplomatic talks.

Read the full report here. There's lots of dubious commentary at The Corner and elsewhere. President Bush's official response is here. Capitol Hill gasbags will undoubtedly issue their pronouncements throughout the day.

One thing, however, is clear: a strategy based on getting help from Iran and Syria, with whom we are effectively at war, will end nowhere but on the ash heap of history. That very inconvenient, but barely acknowledged, fact makes finessing the Iraq situation fundamentally difficult. If the ISG really believes differently, that's just highly disturbing.