to Regan - I agree

Submitted by Sidda (United States), Mar 15, 2006 at 10:15

Regan, I agree with what you posted. I believe that our government (both Dems and Republicans) has been naive and uninformed on the subject of Islam. I don't think we had any idea of the ideology we were supporting when we backed the mujahedeen in Afghanistan back when the Soviets invaded.

Don't misunderstand me--I'm no Communist apologist! But, I wonder if we would have handled that situation in a different manner if we had really understood all of the tenets of Islam as a belief system back then and what the ramifications of empowering it would be. I still wonder just what kind of a grasp our leaders have on this subject even now.

I look back even on when oil companies went into Saudi Arabia back in the 30's to develop the oil fields. I believe those who formed alliances with the Saudis (including Roosevelt), simply viewed these people as having quaint customs and different style of worshipping God and had no idea of what they were getting into; again, a total lack of understanding of Islam as a comprehensive political, economic, and social belief system as well as religion and how integral it was to the lives of the people. I think they thought they could just conduct business with them as with anyone else in the world. It was a total miscalculation on our part and we are paying for it now.

As to the "war on terror." Anyone who is clear thinking and not over burdened with some sort of anti-American or anti-Western agenda has to know by now that we are not waging a war on "terror" but on Islamists. It is complicated, though, in that we do not wish to wage war on all Muslims, but on those who take the mandate seriously to wage jihad until Islam covers the earth and is dominant.

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