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Reader comment on item: Merkel's Historic Folly

Submitted by James Luce (Spain), Aug 24, 2017 at 02:37

Dear Mr. Pipes,
Your interview with Ms. Enghusen presents the best statement of the threat of Islamism I've seen. It remains a mystery as to why such clarity of thought remains invisible to Western policy makers.

Two comments:

1. There is a precedent for what you observed happen to a once prosperous and peaceful Finland and to the decline of Western Civilization in general...the fall of the Western Roman Empire. Guilt was not a factor, but otherwise the causal chain is almost identical.
a) Declining population (leading to the necessity to hire mercenaries and also to economic decline);
b) Unchecked "barbarians" (i.e non-Romans then, non-Europeans now) pouring over the borders;
c) A new religion (in the case of Rome it was Christianity: in the modern West it's radical Islam) attacking traditional values and bringing religious leaders into politics...ultimately leading to a loss of secular control over government;
d) Rise of a rival power in the East that competed with the West for resources. In the case of the Western Empire, it was the Eastern Empire. In the case of the contemporary West it's China;
e) Increased corruption and stagnation in government at all levels.

2. Islamism is indeed the greatest threat to Western Civilization, whereas global climate change and overpopulation are global threats that may bring down all civilizations in the not-too-long term. There is not much we can do about the two global threats short of a general nuclear war that drastically reduces population and also creates an atmospheric cloud so dense that it blocks much of the solar energy that's a major cause of our overheating. A global nuclear war would certainly reduce carbon emissions for the simple reason that there would be no functioning modern industry and less human activity in general adding carbon to the atmosphere.

Thus, Islamism is the only major threat to Western Civilization that humans have any chance to counter (absent the aforementioned nuclear winter). If not quelled in the short term certainly Islamism will bring down the West long before climate change or overpopulation will do so.

Yours, James Luce

Submitting....

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Daniel Pipes replies:

The basic difference between the Roman case and our own is that the Romans were beaten militarily.

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Reader comments (26) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
the last paragraph [52 words]Ron ThompsonSep 12, 2017 10:02240777
Is Islam dangerous for Europe's future? [56 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Vadim AnshelevichSep 9, 2017 23:47240754
Re: Is Islam dangerous for Europe's future? [367 words]Vadim AnshelevichSep 13, 2017 11:45240754
Neo-Colonialism - Muslims Settling the West [403 words]RobertSep 9, 2017 10:50240749
moderate imperialists? [128 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
rwAug 29, 2017 21:10240642
some things don't change [144 words]rwSep 5, 2017 21:17240642
2Our sages warned us this could happen [102 words]Solomon2Aug 29, 2017 15:14240636
a trifecta [12 words]Ron ThompsonSep 12, 2017 21:16240636
Hello, Refugees! [97 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Solomon2Aug 29, 2017 13:59240635
But since the net isn't down, it still is just as swamped as 2-3 years ago. [19 words]AnonDec 18, 2017 23:27240635
2Merkel's East-German impulse [71 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
mythAug 25, 2017 06:57240595
Merkel infantelising the electorate and the East-German reaction [129 words]mythAug 30, 2017 09:33240595
Merkel seemed to mean what you took her words to mean [54 words]AnonDec 12, 2017 10:10240595
1paradox of Wilders and Merkel [162 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
mythAug 25, 2017 06:46240594
2M-Day [35 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
mythAug 25, 2017 06:32240593
1the enigma of Merkel's self-radicalisation [67 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
mythAug 25, 2017 06:30240592
No enigma in Merkel if you know the globalist mentality. Of course if you disbelieve ... [85 words]KirbyAug 27, 2017 01:49240592
1how the CDU did not find another candidate [318 words]mythAug 30, 2017 10:12240592
I didn't know [56 words]Wallace LiechtyAug 24, 2017 22:48240590
Help from History [348 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
James LuceAug 24, 2017 02:37240584
1Merkel's Historic Folly [55 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
AnonAug 23, 2017 14:05240579
Please write letters of support for Christine Douglass-Williams, a potential victim of political correctness: [128 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
DeanAug 23, 2017 08:59240575
The West is wilfully introducing Islamization [367 words]DeanAug 23, 2017 08:03240574
1What basic questions do Europeans face? [44 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
Tally BakstAug 23, 2017 04:01240572
1Muhammad set the standard for ALL Islam and was an Islamist practitioner of Islamism ... [118 words]
w/response from Daniel Pipes
KirbyAug 23, 2017 02:06240570
4That crying Palestinian girl said in a later interview she "wants Israel to dissapear". [39 words]AnonAug 22, 2017 20:36240568

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