otium cum dignitate

New Blog up

A new summer group blog is up. Should be a fun place for political and other fun debates between myself and a few fellow college students this summer. While I hope that the new summer blog takes off quickly, I'll still try to post or at least cross-reference on this blog as well.

American Decapitated

Yesterday afternoon, my post-exam euphoria was quickly extinguished by the gruesome news (and video) of an American civilian being beheaded in Iraq. Although the major news sources cut the video off before the actual killing takes place, the snippet they do offer isn’t exactly rated G. Masked men stand behind Nicholas Berg (the captive American) and after reading a politicized speech rife with Islamic references, one of the men, supposedly Al-Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, pulls out a long knife and throws the American to the floor screaming.

I guess these guys don't read Friedman. As al-Zarqawi begins sawing off Berg's head, he chants "God is Great!" In similarly hypocritical language, al-Zarqawi chides the Arab peoples in his message before the killing:

"Where is the compassion, where is the anger for God's religion, and where is the protection for Muslims' pride in the crusaders' jails?."

In an effort to make sense of such brutality, some turn to Bush-bashing and argue that this is just another example of the failing neo-con agenda. I'm unconvinced. The New York Times does a nice job explaining al-Zarqawi's background, funding, and purpose. Just read the agenda that al-Zarqawi lays down in his statement:

He said his goal was to prevent the establishment of a stable Iraqi-run government and would do so by attacking Shiite Muslims, as a way to provoke sectarian war. The ultimate aim, he said, was to drive American forces from Iraq, a task he conceded had grown exceedingly difficult. "So, the solution, and only God knows, is that we need to bring the Shia into the battle," the letter read. "It is the only way to prolong the duration of the fight between the infidels and us. If we succeed in dragging them into a sectarian war, this will awaken the sleepy Sunnis who are fearful of destruction and death."

The important thing for us to remember is that what the terrorists want is not necessarily what the Iraqis want. True, its presumptuous to assume that the majority of Iraqis want us there, but it is equally presumptuous on the terrorists part to believe that what they are doing is best for the Arab world and Islam. This war has to be won. We can't just let these guys go around sawing peoples head off -- this is what is wrong with the world. I still think we can fix it, even if it leads to this country's eventual relinquishing of hegemony.

Friedman Gets Emotional

There was no mincing of words in today's Friedman. Its probably one of the most heartfelt columns of his I've ever read. Obviously Friedman, like the rest of us, is getting increasingly annoyed, disturbed, frustrated, and horrified after reading the consistent bad news coming out of the Mid-East. Even Friedman can't help but blame the locals:

The Bush team has made a mess in Iraq, but the pathologies of the Arab world have also contributed — and the sheer delight that some Arab media take in seeing Iraq go up in flames is evidence of that. It's time for the Arab world to grow up — to stop dancing on burning American jeeps and claiming that this is some victory for Islam.

This column shocked me back to reality. I've heard about enough criticism of the U.S. and Bush's strategy and policy decisions concerning Iraq. The point is, we really are involved in something of a humanitarian venture at this point. If Iraqis can't finally "grow up" and take advantage of their oppurtunity to become integrated into the world, what's the point of wasting American lives? Friedman continues:

There were a million acts of kindness, generosity and good will also extended by individual U.S. soldiers this past year — acts motivated purely by a desire to give Iraqis the best chance they've ever had at decent government and a better future. There are plenty of Iraqis and Arabs who know that.

If there really are "plenty" of people who recognize the good we are trying to accomplish in Iraq, why is it that all we ever hear about is how much they hate us? Iraqis desperately need a pack of courageous leaders who will steer them away from extremists like Al-Sadr and towards a more hopeful and peaceful future. The Islamic fundamentalists have too strong a hold on the international perception of what Iraq wants. This culture of fear on the part of the pro-reconstructionists has got to end. We can't win in Iraq ourselves. Its going to take some help on their end.

Back to Politics

Exam week is fast approaching and that means further blog neglect for a little while at least. This summer, im planning on starting up a new group-blog to sort of get the pre-election festivities underway. Last summer, I had a fairly successful blog over at blog spot that enjoyed consistent posting and a good deal of intense argument. This year, im going to look for a better service where blogging is alot easier and quicker (typepad maybe?).

To kinda get started thinking about the election, I challenge any of my few blog readers to give me some real good reasons for voting Kerry. I'm very much on the fence right now and could likely end up voting democrat in the first election of my voting career. Who would've thought?

But what is Kerry's deal lately? As Donna Brazille, a well known democratic strategist, put it:

"George Bush has had three of the worst months of his presidency, but [the Kerry campaign] is stuck and they've got to move past this moment."

Kerry definetly has a chance to steal this thing. The question is whether he'll ever decide to actually start a real campaign until its too late.