Saudis Spew Hatred Through Madrassa Textbooks

In an update to stories about Saudi textbooks, Slate ran an article about current revisions. The story was about a report published by the Hudson Institute's Center for Religious Freedom. One example is a question that appears in a recent edition of a Saudi fourth-grade textbook, Monotheism and Jurisprudence, in a section that attempts to teach children to distinguish "true" from "false" belief in god:

"Q. Is belief true in the following instances:
a) A man prays but hates those who are virtuous.
b) A man professes that there is no deity other than God but loves the unbelievers.
c) A man worships God alone, loves the believers, and hates the unbelievers."

The correct answer, of course, is c). According to the Wahhabi imams who wrote this textbook, worship of God includes hating unbelievers too. By the same token, b) is also wrong. Someone who worships god cannot be said to have "true belief" if they love unbelievers.

"Unbelievers" are Christians and Jews.

This question is typical of the new, "revised" Saudi textbooks. Previous versions contained even darker passages and the Saudis agreed to clean up their act, and this is the clean-up, to eliminate the disparaging remarks about other religious groups.

The textbooks in question do not remain in Saudi Arabia, a nation that is no ideological friend to the U.S. The texts are written and produced by the Saudi government and subsequently distributed, free of charge, to Saudi-sponsored schools throughout Africa and South America. Muslim British textbooks contain books that call Muslims to kill all apostates.

The West is charged with cultural imperialism so I will now wait to hear from American academics who will denounce the Saudis as religious and cultural bigots.

Iran Supports Hezbollah: Iraq

As reported on the Long War Journal, Coalition special forces teams, likely the terrorist hunter-killer teams of Task Force 88, have captured a Hezbollah Brigades propaganda specialist during a raid in New Baghdad. The propaganda specialist uploads web sites with imagery and video taken from attacks on Iraqi Security and Coalition forces. The really annoying part of this effort is that then the propaganda is believed hook, line, and sinker but gullible Americans. Since the mainstream media has little presence in Iraq, and is not reporting by and large, the propaganda is then seen as reliable evidence that the insurgents are doing really well.

In this case, the propagandist is a part of the Hezbollah Brigades, or the Kata'ib Hezbollah. Multinational forces Iraq indicates the group receives support from Iran, and is an “offshoot of Iranian-trained Special Groups." US forces captured Ali Mussa Daqduq inside Iraq in early 2007; he is a senior Hezbollah commander tasked with setting up the Mahdi Army Special Groups.

Any dealing with Iran must include the evidence that Iran is actively engaged in killing U.S. troops.

"Pickens" Not So Slim

T. Boone Pickens, oilman and financier, launched a low-key but effective campaign for his “Pickens Plan,” a call for energy independence that includes greater reliance on natural gas and wind power. He has more details on his web site.

What Do You See?

Graphic source: The New York Times

Satire reveals something real through stripping away the veneer. The cover depicts the worse fears of misunderstanding Americans who fear the worse the Obamas have to offer the U.S. It says little about the Obamas themselves but it is a satire of American misunderstandings. I don't think it demeans either Michelle or Barack at all. The laugh is on American ignorance of which there is much.

Japan Backs Out of Supporting Coalition

Japan backed out of an earlier commitment to dispatch its Self-Defence Forces (SDF) to Afghanistan now that the security situation has declined. Nonetheless, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's ruling party plans to extend a special law for another year that allows the SDF to continue refueling mission past January in the Indian Ocean to support the Coalition. Japan's war-renouncing constitution limits the SDF's use of arms outside of Japan which is of course a limitation that does not hinder AQAM (al-Qaeda and Allied Movements).

Six Ways to Wage Ideological Warfare on Islamism

Graphic source: Global Security


During a statement that aired in September 2007 Abu Yahya al-Libi, a prominent al-Qaeda recruiter, provided six ways to wage ideological warfare: highlight the views of jihadists who renounce violence; publicise stories about jihadist atrocities against Muslims; enlist Muslim religious leaders to denounce jihadists as heretics; back Islamic movements that emphasize politics over jihad; discredit and neutralize jihadist ideologues; and play up personal or doctrinal disputes among jihadists. This is a beginning. I would like to see any educational leaders in the West begin this path.

NASA Confirms Water Deltas on Mars

This is a color-enhanced image of the Jezero Crater delta on Mars which NASA scientists are saying once held a lake. Researchers contend that ancient rivers ferried clay-like minerals (shown in green) into the lake which formed a delta. Clays tend to trap and preserve organic matter which makes the delta a good place to look for signs of ancient life. Graphic credit: NASA/JPL/JHUAPL/MSSS/Brown University.

Some of the latest, dramatic photos have been released and scientists are confirming that what appeared on Mars for some time, deltas and rivers, are, in fact, deltas and rivers. This is a dramatic development nonetheless and confirms what we had thought about the Red planet. This confirmation has implications about the uniqueness of life on Earth. We may not have always been alone.

Mainstream Media and American Lack of Interest in Pakistani Threat

Despite the serious decline in security along the Pakistani border with Afghanistan I would not think much will come of it. A survey of the leading mainstream news outlets reveals a lack of interest. They simply note more troops may be needed in the area. The war on terrorism and the possibility that rogue elements in these areas seems to have fallen off the list of Washington's interests. No wonder the elephant continues to be attacked.

Petraeus Drawdown Exactly as Planned

Graphic source: September 2007 graph from Gen. Petraeus' testimony before Congress.

The U.S. is not undergoing an accelerated withdrawal as falsely reported by The New York Times. The pace for drawing down troops was publicly available and announced last year by General David Petraeus during his September 2007 testimony before Congress. The graph demonstrates that the current pace is following his plan. The U.S. military planned to draw down to 15 combat brigades by July which has happened and targeted a drawdown to 12 combat brigades by the end of this year. The decision to draw down to 12 brigades will be made sometime in September based on security considerations. In March of 2009, the U.S. will decide to draw down to about 10 combat brigades.

As noted by Bill Roggio, of the Long War Journal:

The reality is that as the media focused on deriding General Petraeus's testimony on the state of the security situation in Iraq, they ignored the military's assessments on the planned posture of U.S. forces in Iraq in 2008 and beyond. Now that the U.S. is moving forward with its plans, their failure to note the timeline last year is characterized as an acceleration.

The drawdown in Iraq is exactly as Petraeus announced it months ago.

Taliban Overrun Pakistani Outpost

With the Taliban developing a massive, coordinated attack which destroyed a Pakistani paramilitary fort in Hangu, I wonder how long the Pakistanis can claim sovereignty in the tribal regions. Afghanistan's President Karzai has virtually declared war against Pakistan in his most recent statement yesterday, critically for Coalition interests is that the Taliban have virtually free reign in the outlying districts. This has got to stop.

Afpak Lack of Sovereignty: Coalition Should Respond Vigorously

As AQ has slithered out of Iraq due to their recent losses the Afpak region has become a hotbed of fighting. In a massive attack insurgents tried to overun a Coalition base but they failed to take it. Although many insurgents were killed the Coalition lost 9 troops as well.

The security situation is grim because Pakistan seems unable to rule the largely lawless tribal regions. At the loss of our own troops, the Coalition can ill afford Pakistan's inability to reign in the Taliban and AQ. Pakistan's sovereignty is not absolute. It obviously must not be absolute or they would not have conceded areas to the insurgents. We can not continue to handicap our troops while they are in harm's way while the lawless attacks persist.

If Afpak can not secure its sovereignty and the training camps and insurgents continue uninhindered we have to act more vigorously. Afpak has abdicated their sovereignty thus these areas should be regarded as they are in other places and instances as under international law. In short, lawless, non-state territories, regarded as havens of piracy and brigandry, need to be dealt with forthwith.

The U.S. acted vigorously in fighting the Berber pirates, or in the intrusion of the U.S. across the border with Mexico to defeat Pancho Villa, and so we should act now.

We should not announce our attacks or ask for permission since we do not intend to occupy territory in Afpak, on the other hand, it might be possible to persuade Pashtun tribal leaders that the insurgents are no good for their areas. As in all precious areas, the locals eventually wise up and call for the removal of the insurgents and AQ. The locals would be better off backing the Coalition.

Special forces should be deployed in the tribal areas, if they are not already, and call on air strikes to defend against Taliban and AQ reprisals. High value targets of opportunity should be hit hard.

I would hope that the vacationing politicians in Washingon are advocating effective and forthright action.

Obama's Forged Birth Certificate and Pious Muslim Schooling

Graphic source: Israel Insider

An anomaly on the published document, and doubts of the authenticity of Obama's birth certificate by Hawaiian state officials, has clouded Obama's candidacy. Obama's published certificate does not contain the offical seal and authenticating marks on the document. An anomaly has been identified by certificate documents experts in regards to Obama's birth certificate, originally posted by Obama advocate Jay Mckinnon, which would indicate that Obama's certificate has been tampered with; and, coupled

Graphic source: Israel Insider

with the fact that Obama's half brother Malik has indicated that his brother was raised as a Muslim and attended a particularly devout Indonesian Muslim school, more serious doubts about Obama's background should be considered. The Fight the Smears website, an official Obama website does not address the issue or offer effective counter evidence. The site simply posts a copy of the tampered document.

Chinese Uyghur Situation a Golden Opportunity for U.S. Diplomacy

Map of the Western (purple) and Eastern (blue) Göktürk khaganates at their height, c. 600 CE. Lighter areas show direct rule; darker areas show spheres of influence. Graphic source: Wikipedia Commons

The Uyghur peoples of China are a Turkic people of Central Asia who live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (also known by its controversial name East Turkistan or Uyghurstan). In shades of widely dispersed ethnic groups, there are Uyghur diasporic communities in Pakistan, Russia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Mongolia, Uzbekistan, Germany, Canada, Turkey, and a smaller one in Taoyuan County of Hunan province in south-central China, as well as in major Chinese cities like Beijing and Shanghai.

But that is not all. There is a U.S. connection as well which implies that their fate is somehow connected to the U.S. as well, as there are Uyghur enclaves in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York City, and Washington, DC.

In a possible conflict the Uyghurs of China may ally themselves with their co-religionists, Muslims, throughout Asia and the Middle East. This situation presents an excellent opportunity for diplomacy. The Chinese can assist the Coalition, provide greater assets for security in the region, on the one had, yet the U.S. can promote human rights and disabuse China of the notion that it can repress Muslims indiscriminately. China is particularly apt to listen to world opinion currently as host of the Olympic Games. So how is China doing?

According to the Times of India:

Chinese authorities have replaced top police and security officials in the Muslim dominated Xinjiang province, which is the hotbed of separatism and political violence. They have also closed down 41 "illegal" places of worship.

Chinese authorities claimed the houses of worship were used as training grounds for conducting a "holy war." Xinjiang, which borders central Asia and Pakistan, has been tied to a pro-independence movement connected to its co-religionists across the border.

82 "suspected terrorists" have been held in the past six months in view of fears that they might disrupt the Olympic Games.

The re-organization brought one of the three new core commanders to the fore, Hanabati Sabukhaya, an officer from the Kazak race, since Xinjiang borders Kazakisthan and several other countries including Pakistan and Russia, the choices are based on age-old ethnic conflicts. This will no doubt increase the tension, or at least temporarily, quell the political opposition.

The opportunity will likely be lost on U.S. diplomatic efforts. The Islamic world largely is suspicious of U.S. foreign policy and one primary reason is that the U.S. makes little tangible efforts to protect the human rights of Muslims.

Map of the Uyghur Khaganate and areas under its dominion (in yellow) at its height(not correct) see Uyghur Empire, c. 820 CE. Graphic source: Wikipedia Commons

Robert Fisk, The Great War For Civilization: The Conquest of the Middle East

Although the thought of Noam Chomsky is amply represented in Fisk's journalistic tour-de-force in this work, he never acknowledges him and makes no reference to his ideas throughout. A reference to Chomsky does appear in the bibliography though but this is a form of dissembling from an otherwise forthright journalist.

Fisk's work is a fascinating study which waves his personal journalistic odyssey, psychological makeup, and family history into a compelling conquest narrative. "Bill," his war veteran father, gripped the teen age Fisk by trampling upon the hallowed British battlefields of his father's WW I battle memories.

Will Fisk reconcile his liberal, journalist's aversion to the horrors of war with his father's crotchety, war-scarred experience?

We won't know for sure but as readers we are offered a rare glimpse into the mind of a journalist who will be interpreting chaotic Middle Eastern violence through his lense of Chomsky and as a journalist haunted by his father's wartime memory.

Chomsky--Paul Berman tells us in Terror and Liberalism--holds that corporations greedily command the press and governments, and with these institutions at their behest, "drench the world in blood and misery" (p. 146). The freedom instinct though animates the human spirit to resist and the freedom instinct battles the greedy instinct. The battle between the two instincts explain nearly everything we see in world events.

As the Chomskyian view has unfolded and interpreted American foreign policy since the 1960s, Chomsky's analysis does not admit that pathological mass movements exist (Berman, 147). As described by Berman, we are all seduced by the attractive belief that "people are bound to behave in more or less reasonable ways in pursuit of normal and identifiable interests. It was a belief that the world is, by and large, a rational place" (Berman, 153). It is as Berman states: "In this country, we are all Noam Chomsky" (Berman, 153).

On the contrary, pathological mass movements, especially those based on faith, do exist. Blinded by Chomsky, Fisk is oblivious to what "should now be obvious to everyone that Muslims have more than their fair share of the latter," i.e., bad beliefs (Harris, The End of Faith, p. 108). Fisk is left with the lack of explanatory power inherent in many commentators who attribute the roots of Muslim violence on the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza, the collusion of Western powers with corrupt dictatorships, and the endemic poverty and lack of economic opportunity plaguing the Middle East. He usually can not see that he is also dealing with Middle Eastern elites and the `best and the brightest' of Middle Eastern society.

As Harris comments, the usual explanations do not account for the virulent theological hair-splitting that characterizes political Islam. Harris states:
the world is filled with poor, uneducated, and exploited peoples who do not commit acts of terrorism, indeed who wold never commit terrorism of the sort that has become so commonplace among Muslims, and the Muslim world has no shortage of educated and prosperous men and women, suffering little more than their infatuation with Koranic eschatology, who are eager to murder infidels for God's sake (Harris, p. 109).

Not only poor and uneducated are willing Islamic terrorists but the educated Muslim elites are ardent jihadists.

Islam is a religion of struggle and of conquest. If it were not, the bloodshed between the rival claimants to Mohammed's mantle, Shia and Sunni, would have reconciled long ago. But without the equivalent of a Reformation movement, the Koran is seen as a document as if wafted down the clouds from heaven, and all human actions are seen as subject to divine review. The Koran is beyond reproach or is not critically examined.

Indeed, one of the central propositions of Western thought is self-criticism (Paul Cartledge, Thermopylae, p. 205). The West is not beyond reproach but it is a tradition that reflects upon itself, criticizes the tradition, and re-applies and innovates with new ideas. Fisk describes Amira Hass, for example, the Israeli journalist who lives, voluntarily, though some might argue foolishly, in Ramallah in the heart of the Palestinian homeland. There is reflection and self-criticism in this valiant perspective.

Although the conquest, and the failure to grasp the futility of not criticizing received Islamic thought occurs before his eyes, Fisk only sees the conquest characterized by his psychology and his own private battle with inheriting British culture. Fisk sees: The West vs. Middle East, Christian vs. Muslim, Israeli vs. Palestinian, Power vs. conquest--all mediated as his conflict with "Bill," his father.

Fisk writes of "an arrogance of power" (p. xxi) as "the sins of fathers visited upon their children" (p. xxii). Indeed, Fisk is reporting "Bill" vs. Fisk. Fisk reflects that in 1992 he "stood upon the very paving stone"
where "Gavrilo Princep stood as he fired the fatal shot that sent my father to the trenches of the First World War. . . . That was the year in which my father died. This is therefore the story of his generation. And of mine (p. xxii).

Fisk is reporting his personal struggle and conquest of his father.

The parallels continue in Fisk's odyssey. The British descend on Afghanistan resulting in a series of British-Afghan Wars (1838-42, 1878-80, 1919-21) only to leave their dead behind. During the period of British aggression Bill is dispatched to fight in WW I; and while reporting, Fisk surveys early British accounts of Afghanistan characterized by "British heroism" and "Muslim savagery" (p. 35).

This survey will in turn be undone by Westerners such as British soldiers. And, the West will get what it has coming to it as a result.

In an account such as this then, the Ottoman slaughter of Armenians, although related, is not seen as a Middle Eastern atrocity. Fisk describes it as the "First Holocaust." Haven't the Germans flagellated themselves over the Holocaust? Have the Turks?

Fisk does not equate Middle Eastern atrocities as in the same class as Western intrusions in his detailed presentation of material. For example, on 17 May 1987 the USS Stark was hit by Iraqi Mirage missiles in the Persian Gulf where 37 American sailors were incinerated (p. 215). In this tragic mistake no human details are provided about the American sailors. They barely seem to exist. They don't have names and we do not learn anything personal about them. The only voices that are heard belong to impersonal U.S. government officials and statements.

Yet, an almost exact parallel exists in the unfortunate and mistaken shooting of the Iranian Airbus on 3 July 1988 by the U.S. but according to Fisk has an "appalling human dimension" (p. 259). Fisk details the human aspect of the atrocity and describes the families, the horror, and the sickening maiming of limbs and the deaths at American hands.

This is by no means the only human atrocity committed by the Americans. Fisk tells us of Raafat al-Ghossain, who dies at the hands of an American bomb in Libya on 15 April 1986. The eighteen year old artist, on holiday from school in England, and the family, wealthy Palestinian refugees live and work in Libya. Yes, there is the photograph of Raafat taking part in several Palestinian demonstrations in England Fisk tells us, but never mind, we are provided with an insight into her hopes, dreams, laments, and the desire for her to return to the family's Palestinian homeland. In any case, she fell victim to American bombing.

What are we to make of this? In a world where there are no innocents, no one is innocent.

The possibility that Raafat was a more dangerous student radical, or someone simply at the wrong place at the wrong time does not occur to Fisk. The American bombing, or acts brought on at least as much by Libyan leader Khadafi's intransigence, as American hard-line bombing strategy, is not entertained.

Fisk seems to miss that human cruelty and atrocities are the monopoly of no one. There are many losers in the appallingly inhuman atrocities in the clashes of the Middle East. Arafat, the betrayer of Palestine, comes off easily in Fisk's account. Why?

However, the banality of atrocities, and the unflinching Middle Eastern cultural value of death seems to escape Fisk's grasp. He can lament the deaths of ordinary persons of any culture, and I believe rightfully so, but Muslim v. Muslim atrocities, regardless of how outrageous, fail to elicit a response.

Most troubling though is the discussion of post-colonial Algeria. Granted France performed horribly in Algeria but how long can France be held responsible for post-independence civil wars? The tricks of government, according to Fisk, were learned from the French during the colonial era. Its as if the 1990s Islamic internecine struggles were somehow immune from inventing their own diabolical means of destruction (p. 522-585). "The Plot" is Algerian paranoia though which saw the U.S. behind every bush (p. 546). Dialogue with Islamists was thought to be suspect as well. If anything, the U.S. hoped the Islamic conflict could be resolved. Even when the Islamists and the Algerian government commit mutual, despicable horrors, even invoking the Koran's blessing, Fisk fails to criticize (p. 548). Though the U.S. was not present during the horror, according to Fisk though, they can be criticized for arriving with too little, too late, along with the U.N. which should bear responsibility for human rights abuses (p. 585). Its damned if you do, damned if you don't kind of thinking. The section on Algeria is not for the faint of heart. Do not eat before reading this section.

Why do Islamic societies produce such heinous abuses of humanity? I would certainly like to know. If there is no Plot, because we know the U.S. has no designs on backwater places like Algeria or Libya, why are the Islamists so brutal? Why is there so much killing and bloodshed? Fisk does not tell us.

At some level, Westeners, including Fisk, are profoundly motivated to act with integrity, compassion, and reflect seriously on their behavior. I fear Fisk is seduced by the same phantasmal (Michael B. Oren, Power, Faith, and Fantasy, pp. 13-14) force that has clouded so many Western observers. He seems though to have no expectation of somewhat reasonable behavior by his informants, though in at least one instance he himself has to fear for his physical safety while under personal attack in Afghanistan.

I hope Mr. Fisk can resolve his issues of self-flagellation through which he sees the Middle East, or the Other, and in that way overcome how his father never accepted the basic humanity of the Other during his wartime experience. Fisk is filled with outstanding powers of observation, and he is an extremely important source because of his early access and interviews with Bin Laden (Michael Scheuer, Through Our Enemies Eyes, pp. 408-09), his journalistic relationship with Arafat, and his touching descriptions of ordinary Middle Easterners and their experience. His reporting though is tainted by a naivete about his subjects. The Middle East, as anyone will tell you, is a rough neighborhood.

Fisk defines war early on as "about death and the infliction of death" (xviii). Yes, Mr. Fisk, you got that right.

Benjamin Franklin Opposes Surveillance

ACLU Challenges Surveillance Law

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and several other groups filed a lawsuit to counter a law allowing the U.S. government to intercept the phone calls and e-mail messages of people with suspected ties to terrorism.

The ACLU is opposing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) Amendments Act.

As approved by the Senate on Wednesday, the law allows the U.S. National Security Agency and other intelligence agencies to conduct surveillance of a wide range of people "reasonably believed" to be outside the U.S. The law also will likely require a U.S. court to dismiss more than 40 lawsuits that have been filed against telecommunication carriers that allegedly participated in the NSA program before there was court oversight of the surveillance.

The FISA Amendments Act still allows broad, un-targeted surveillance, including spying on U.S. residents who are talking with people overseas, said Jameel Jaffer, director of the ACLU National Security Project.

The law allows the "massive acquisition of U.S. citizens' and residents' international communications," Jaffer added. "It permits the government to conduct intrusive surveillance without ever telling the court who it intends to surveil, what phone lines or e-mail it intends to monitor, where the surveillance targets are located, or why it is conducting the surveillance."

The new law violates the Fourth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, prohibiting the government from unreasonable searches and seizures, the ACLU said.

Author and journalist Chris Hedges, former Middle East bureau chief for The New York Times, stated that the FISA Amendments Act will make it difficult for journalists, especially those who report on overseas issues, to do their jobs. The difficulty is in determining whether journalists, since they are reasonably outside the U.S., are subject to surveillance. The new law impacts negatively on the First Amendment because Congress is not to prohibit the freedom of the press.

Hedges raised questions on whether the law will negatively effect the voices of "whistle-blowers, human-rights activists, dissidents, true-tellers and people with a conscience to rise up and speak against the audacity of those in power."

In 2007, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit threw out a similar lawsuit against the surveillance program brought by the ACLU because they didn't have standing to sue the government in that they couldn't demonstrate they were targeted by the secret program.

Amendment IV states:

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

The new law abrogates the citizen's rights to be secure in the person and their papers. Its a bad law that has not been proven to be effective in thwarting terrorism.

"Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both." -- Benjamin Franklin

Iranians Doctored Missile Fauxtographs

The Western media has a penchent for accepting anything uncritically from Middle Eastern sources but fortunately, Charles Johnson, a debunker, noticed how the Iranians fudged their recent missile launches.

Home-Grown Terrorism Hits Turkey

The showdown outside the U.S. consulate in Istanbul, Turkey which left six people dead was clearly terrorism and the latest in a test of Western defenses. Gunmen simply pulled up in a car and opened fire at a police security checkpoint at the consulate entrance. Three police officers and three assailants were killed in the shootout. Two other police officers were wounded in the attack. No American assets were hurt.

This is the latest attack in Turkey since November 2003 when a string of bombings targeted the British consulate, two synagogues, and a British-owned bank. The blasts killed more than 70 people.

Turkey faces its own battles with terrorists, including battles between secularist and traditional Muslims, and the ongoing difficulties between Kurdish separatists and the central government. No one has claimed responsibility for the attacks just yet but I suspect this is as much a home-grown terrorism as anything else. It is not spectacular enough nor deadly enough to be the markings of an AQ attack.

Iran and the Strait

The Iranians can not claim to be the most rational folks on the planet but I do not think they would be foolish enough to challenge the world on the Strait of Hormuz. And, although the Coalition has conducted a naval exercise designed to maintain international shipping, the practice seemed to be more saber-rattling than anything else. The exercise was helpfully subtle.

Since the mid-seventies, the Strait of Hormuz has been considered a major political point of contention in the region. The Shah of Iran, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, pretended to be the region’s police officer so that he could spank the socialist Iraq. Once the West's lackey Shah was ousted by Ayatollah Ruhollah, the Khomeini revolution and Tehran’s policy began to threaten blocking the strait thus Western presence was required.

The Strait has evolved to be congested with battleships and nonstop maneuvers while nearby nations are embroiled in a constant vigilant state of security.

Nonetheless, just as in the case of the Suez Canal, or other critical waterways, there is international resolution against Iran's arbitrary approach to a Strait that they share with their neighbors. The Sultanate of Oman overlooks the Strait as well. Further, the Strait of Hormuz represents the only exporting exit for Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain and Qatar, while the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Oman overlook the Gulf of Oman, and Saudi Arabia overlooks the Red Sea.

Critically, most of the Gulf oil goes to China, Japan, and India, as well as to European countries.

And, as I often will advocate on this blog, this is another excellent opportunity for both rising powers, China and Japan, to step up to the plate and offer security resources. Japan already has pledged to increase its security presence in the region as a result of more support for the Coalition in Afghanistan.

McCain Old, Obama Outsider, Poll Shows

The presidential candidates, John McCain and Barack Obama, according to an Associated Press-Yahoo News poll are perceived in particular ways. The percentage of people who provided these answers is listed and bear in mind that more than one response was allowed.

John McCain:

1. Old, 19 percent

2. Military service, 9 percent

3. Record, qualifications, 8 percent

4. Bush, 7 percent

5. Strength, 7 percent

6. Insider, politician, 7 percent

7. Iraq, terrorism, 6 percent

8. Honest, 5 percent

9. Republican, 5 percent

10. (tie) Moral/good and dishonest, 4 percent

Barack Obama:

1. Outsider, change, 20 percent

2. Lack of experience, 13 percent

3. Dishonest, 9 percent

4. Inspiring, 8 percent

5. Liberal, 6 percent

6, 7 (tie). Obama's race, young, 6 percent

8. Not likable, 5 percent

9. Intelligent, 4 percent

10. Muslim, 3 percent

The only double-percentage word association regarding McCain is age. Outsider and inexperience are the double-digit terms associated with Obama. I wonder if McCain should be defeated because of age discrimination as the leading negative association. And, Obama does not seem to be favorably viewed in any case. It makes one lament the sad state of candidates who can be taken seriously as presidential candidates. I mean, this is the best that American democracy can do?

Apostate, or Reverting?

One of the profound difficulties America will have, if we elect a Muslim apostate, would be to further inflame Middle Eastern tensions. Edward Luttwack, a military historian, writes revealingly of the point in an article in The New York Times. In fact, I don't know which is worst, Obama as a Muslim apostate, or, if he decides to revert to his childhood upbringing in a Saudi madrassa. Neither scenario would increase the security of the U.S.