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SLOGANS AND DEFINITIONS

Reader comment on item: War against Radical Islamists

Submitted by DAVID M. DASTYCH (Poland), Jun 16, 2002 at 16:23

Dear Sirs,
I received the transcript of the discussion this morning (Sunday, June 16) and studied it with utmost interest. First, it was an academic discussion between three scholars, who know the subject ("Radical Islamism") very well. But the general public, in America and elsewhere, has no such knowledge. When people hear about a "War on terror" from their President, they understand it literally: as a war on such people like the perpetrators of September 11."The war on terror" is a political slogan.

"The war agaist radical Islamists" is the definition of the enemy. But it isn't the full definition of the enemy, as the enemy of the USA and of the West, even of the rest of the rational and moderate World are "THE TERRORISTS AND THE TERRORIST STATES".

Let me explain my point of view more in detail: (1) the people who transform a personal faith into a radical utopian ideology [I refer here to a very good definition by Dr.Pipes] are not only the radical Islamists, there are more of them in this World (The Catholic IRA, the fanatic Hindu organizations etc.); (2) there are other terrorists, who are not religiously motivated but act as the radical Islamists (Palestinian leftists and nationalists, for example); (3) there are terrorists who join the radical movements for personal reasons [to kill people, to earn money, to live high] - all these categories of the terrorists are our enemies, the enemies of the USA as well as of all civilized people in the World. They threaten the base of our civilization and must be fought against at all means.

The most dangerous enemies, however, are the TERRORIST STATES. Not all of them are Islamist (what about North Korea!), not necessarily they must form a coalition but they are a double threat to the World: (1) they practice a totalitarian ideology, religious or not, (2) they are the most active sponsors of the terrorist movements and organizations that usually are their "clients" (like the Hizbullah, a client of Iran). The terrorist, expansive, terrorism-sponsorint states (like Iraq and Iran in the first place) are the most dangerous enemies.

The relations between the terrorist ORGANIZATIONS and the terrorist STATES represent a character of a self-perpetuating vicious circle and these relations, indeed, contribute to the spread out of terrorism nowadays.

To end by a brief definition: the radical Islamists constitute a significant part of the enemy camp but the ENEMY is much more complex and more more powerful. The sooner we understand this problem, the better we will defend ourselves.
Thanks for reading my views. DAVID M. DASTYCH, Warsaw, Poland
Submitting....

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Reader comments (27) on this item

Title Commenter Date Thread
Some perspective and statistics [1336 words]TCNov 25, 2008 11:35143784
Radical Islamist [210 words]HarjitJun 12, 2008 15:29131906
An Indian "moderate" Islamist [113 words]Arun GuptaJun 25, 2002 20:02973
I see it clearly now. Thanks, Dr. Pipes! [31 words]Stevie ForteJun 25, 2002 15:07957
Know Thine Enemy [205 words]Robert ArsenaultJun 19, 2002 19:33875
What about "Palestine" [240 words]Jean MartinJun 19, 2002 18:36873
re Palestinians Radical Islamists? [80 words]Tamara SternJun 18, 2002 12:21840
Islam and freedom [305 words]Glenn KlotzJun 17, 2002 21:41826
Don't be delusional [298 words]Sam LahiriJun 17, 2002 18:05825
Devout Muslims [122 words]Mordecai J. GoldJun 17, 2002 17:17824
2Islam by any other name is still Islam [255 words]D WJun 17, 2002 16:16823
2Moderate Muslims [169 words]Nazia KhanJun 17, 2002 14:06821
It is division of work; aim is convert or kill [56 words]Ravi Ranjan Singh Bharat PanthiMay 18, 2011 12:13821
the only way to deter the martyrs [108 words]alan fleckJun 17, 2002 10:36818
The West Islamised? [101 words]Leonard SokolicJun 17, 2002 08:58816
Militant Islam is Evil Totalitarian Thinking Merely Hiding Behind a New Disguise [91 words]Stephen CarlileJun 17, 2002 07:01815
Violence Renounced? [52 words]Sol ShalitJun 16, 2002 17:31805
SLOGANS AND DEFINITIONS [435 words]DAVID M. DASTYCHJun 16, 2002 16:23804
militant islam is not radical islam [459 words]adelJun 16, 2002 13:23800
There is no "moderate" Islamist [696 words]Timothy Farrell, PhDJun 16, 2002 11:22799
Radical Non-Violent Islam [76 words]Israel PickholtzJun 16, 2002 10:50798
Radical Islamists [92 words]Carl BitzerJun 16, 2002 09:51797
war on clerics [33 words]john stirlingAug 18, 2006 10:31797
Islamist vs Militant Islamist [97 words]Mark TylerJun 16, 2002 09:06796
Moderate Islamists? [141 words]R AbramsJun 16, 2002 07:28794
Radical Islam [122 words]Minna FeligJun 16, 2002 05:17793
Anywhere in the world + Islam+ muslims = war and destruction [129 words]notimpressedFeb 17, 2009 10:42793

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