Asymmetry?

Submitted by Paul Hilder (United Kingdom), Jan 2, 2003 at 07:17

Some cogent arguments here.

But on this logic, I presume "Crusades" must also be apologised for and overcome by the Christian-Western tradition?

There's also an incomprehensible aspect: Jihad is explained as an intellectual, religious and political tradition - therefore an idea, one claimed by a wide range of people for different purposes. But Pipes closes with a throwaway compressing violent jihad into a single military force that could somehow be crushed:

"violent jihad will probably continue until it is crushed by a superior military force (Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, please take note)"

Unfortunately, the idea exists and cannot be crushed. It has been defeated militarily before, only to resurface elsewhere. To believe that such a messianic ideology can be crushed militarily is to make a category error. You can't destroy an idea with a gun... the most you can do is send it underground. More important is to undermine its premises, or remove its motivations. Of course, guns can be helpful in this. But guns kill people, and ideas live on.

This is one of the truths of asymmetrical warfare, being learnt again and again in Israel and elsewhere: It returns. And often in more potent form.

For more reasoned and historical angles on both Islam and the West and Iraq, I recommend www.opendemocracy.net.

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