I find this CNN quotation from George’s speech interesting and maybe even important:
“We’re facing a radical ideology with an unalterable objective, to enslave whole nations and intimidate the whole world,” he said. Bush indicated that the public is unaware of many anti-terrorism victories. He said the United States and its allies have disrupted 10 al Qaeda terrorism plots since September 11, 2001, including three inside the United States. Critics have charged that war in Iraq has become a breeding ground for terror and opinion polls have found U.S. public support for the war waning since spring. But Bush argued the war in Iraq did not cause hatred of the United States among radical Muslims or global terror attacks, but rather is an “excuse” to further the goal of creating an Islamic state across the Mideast. “The militants believe that controlling one country will rally the Muslim masses, enabling them to overthrow all moderate governments in the region and establish a radical Islamic empire that spans from Spain to Indonesia,” Bush said. “The hatred of the radicals existed before Iraq was an issue,” Bush said. “And it will exist after Iraq is no longer an excuse.” “No act of ours invited the rage of the killers, and no conscience, bribe or act of appeasement will change or limit their plans for murder.”
I find the presentation of the purpose of Al Qaeda in this holistic all encompassing way interesting as it is no longer a war against ideas triggering fanatical terrorism. It is a war against a group with a plan of empire and domination.
But there has to be a reality to it. Is it generally accepted that Al Qaeda could actually achieve this empire or anything like it? Could Al Qaeda even, for example, now take over an area of land, say, a hundred miles square and create a radical Islamic empire in that space. The answer is clearly no. They do not have the resources or support to do so. The Taliban could not control all of Afghanistan at its height of strength. Look at Iran. With all its power it could not do that if it wanted to…which it really doesn’t as it would face the culturally impossible task of Persians dominating Arabs regardless of the potential creation of similar religious fervour. Syrian and Libya tried in the 70s, didn’t they? It failed. Administratively and logistically the return of the empire is simply not going to occur…even without the West’s reasonable decision to fight against those few who dream of its return.
So while no one in their right minds cannot agree with pursuing the war on terror – being finding the stateless radicals in their cells where ever they are including in the Middle East and stopping them from killing innocents – do you buy this new characterization of the war on terror as a state-against-state empire building thing? If so (which is fine) please explain how a few hundred in a few cells becomes empire? Or is there another source of radical-islamo-wickedness outside of Iran and Al Qaeda that will trigger this empire?
Hey, I’m just asking – how does this dangerous future come into being?