03-14-2004, 01:20 AM
"Was there ever talk amoungst non-kooks about going after Saudi Arabia, or Germany?"
Germany, of course, is just out of the question.
But Saudi Arabia? While I don't support going to war over things like this, if you wanted to find the number one source of 1) Islamist leaders 2) Islamist money 3) Islamist support, you wouldn't need to look any further than our good friends at the House of Saud. Terrorism is not just acceptable there; it's downright popular. People getting uppity about Saddam contributing to the Palestinian resistance? That was a token. The big support for nearly all Islamist terror comes out of their money and Wahabbi ideology.
If there was an objective search for the causes, sources and support structure of terrorism, Saudi Arabia would probably be the global no. 1, even before the invasion of Afghanistan.
Why haven't the Saudis gotten anything more than a slap on the wrist? Oil. Apparently, if someone has the US by the balls, in terms of fuel, they get a "get out of the axis of evil free" card.
"Some surprises to me are Pakistan, Yeman, Egypt, Jordan and other islamic nations who lose quite a bit of street cred by being involved in something which many feel is anti-islamic."
Yes, they have. And if Islamist terrorist recruitment triples as support for these governments plummets, that would certainly paint the "obviously you must be against terrorism!" notion in rather a different light. If the people of these nations feel unrepresented by their governments, the best case scenario is that they join terrorist organizations by the hundreds. The worst is that the whole governments come down, a la Iran.
Jester
Germany, of course, is just out of the question.
But Saudi Arabia? While I don't support going to war over things like this, if you wanted to find the number one source of 1) Islamist leaders 2) Islamist money 3) Islamist support, you wouldn't need to look any further than our good friends at the House of Saud. Terrorism is not just acceptable there; it's downright popular. People getting uppity about Saddam contributing to the Palestinian resistance? That was a token. The big support for nearly all Islamist terror comes out of their money and Wahabbi ideology.
If there was an objective search for the causes, sources and support structure of terrorism, Saudi Arabia would probably be the global no. 1, even before the invasion of Afghanistan.
Why haven't the Saudis gotten anything more than a slap on the wrist? Oil. Apparently, if someone has the US by the balls, in terms of fuel, they get a "get out of the axis of evil free" card.
"Some surprises to me are Pakistan, Yeman, Egypt, Jordan and other islamic nations who lose quite a bit of street cred by being involved in something which many feel is anti-islamic."
Yes, they have. And if Islamist terrorist recruitment triples as support for these governments plummets, that would certainly paint the "obviously you must be against terrorism!" notion in rather a different light. If the people of these nations feel unrepresented by their governments, the best case scenario is that they join terrorist organizations by the hundreds. The worst is that the whole governments come down, a la Iran.
Jester