Shariah is coming! Shariah is coming!

[Bob's World]

Cliff,

If we encourage governments to dialog with their populace and be open to reasonable evolution with one hand, and encourage non-violent challenges of poor governance by oppressed populaces with the other, we can realign ourselves with our national ethos. Not the neutrality of a fan sitting in the bleachers watching, but rather the neutrality of an umpire on the field keeping things from getting out of hand as the competition plays out.

To proclaim that U.S. interests and US values are "universal" as we do in our National Security Strategy though,blows me away. The hubris is off the chart, or maybe it's just ignorance, I don't know which. Glenn Beck has been ranting about how we are out to form a world government; I guess if you think everyone shares your interests and values, why not? Worrisome stuff, that. People need to chart their own path; extremes of behavior don't fare well in the light of day, and there are fewer and fewer dark corners in the globe every day.

Our current doctrine for COIN presumes keeping the current government in power. I am no fan of regime change, but I think we approach the troubled states where AQ has so much sway more effectively when we do not just grant the government a guarantee that we will help them maintain the status quo. We become more effective when we don't take sides and don't project our interests and values onto others. To wage this kind of diplomacy is nothing that our "state" department is trained, organized or inclined to do. We need to tune our own government and policies up to be more effective in the emerging world, and then go out to engage it.

Who knows, our greatest allies 20 years from now may well be states that have not yet formed, or governments that do not currently exist. They might not even be states at all. Now is not the time to attempt to rigidly enforce the past, but rather to develop a greater flexibility for embracing the future as it emerges around us.

[tequila]

But in any case, when people in Pakistan read that essay, do you think they'll say, "Oh that's just a fringe publication, so we should disregard it"?

But Steve, why does it matter so much whether or not the general cultural mood in Pakistan is anti-American? Surely we should take steps to reduce it if possible, but do general public perceptions really matter so much when it comes to foreign policy?

[Cliff]

To proclaim that U.S. interests and US values are "universal" as we do in our National Security Strategy though,blows me away. The hubris is off the chart, or maybe it's just ignorance, I don't know which. Glenn Beck has been ranting about how we are out to form a world government; I guess if you think everyone shares your interests and values, why not? Worrisome stuff, that. People need to chart their own path; extremes of behavior don't fare well in the light of day, and there are fewer and fewer dark corners in the globe every day.

I agree with this. One thing that has been interesting for me to see in CGSC is the degree to which we mirror image... even folks who have just come from working wonders COIN-wise in foreign cultures still have a hard time seeing things outside the "American" perspective- especially strategically.

Our current doctrine for COIN presumes keeping the current government in power. I am no fan of regime change, but I think we approach the troubled states where AQ has so much sway more effectively when we do not just grant the government a guarantee that we will help them maintain the status quo. We become more effective when we don't take sides and don't project our interests and values onto others. To wage this kind of diplomacy is nothing that our "state" department is trained, organized or inclined to do. We need to tune our own government and policies up to be more effective in the emerging world, and then go out to engage it.

Definitely agree with this... Karzai being one good example, the current Iraqi political structure being another, and Pakistan being a potential third.

The problem is, how do you prevent the replacement from being worse than the status quo?

If you look at the trajectory of democratization and economic progress, the folks who developed economically first and politically second did better than those who tried the other route. South Korea is a great example of this... I think the economic part is probably the most important piece- you gain so much traction if people's lives are better.

Is there a middle ground, where you can encourage change but not chaos? Seems like a tough balance. I think our current policies may be too hypocritical to work - it's great to be for liberty but that kind of seems false when you support dictatorships.

I guess the other question is will anti-Americanism fade if people's economic and political conditions improve?

V/R,

Cliff

[Cliff]

This will help our stratcomms for sure.

The Texas Board of Education has passed a resolution to limit references to Islam in textbooks.

V/R,

Cliff

[120mm]

This will help our stratcomms for sure.

The Texas Board of Education has passed a resolution to limit references to Islam in textbooks.

V/R,

Cliff

Well THIS is a valid response to a genuine concern. A normally Muslim-friendly (non-religious) friend of mine is doing a research project and has privately shared findings with me that pretty much show that textbook companies are trending toward PROMOTING Islam.

At issue is that any factual representation of Islam as a religion is subject to unending lawsuit peril from Radical Muslims living in the US, so the textbook manufacturers have defaulted to basically including a highly complimentary "See how Islam is superior to all the other world religions" theme.

The problem as I see it, is that Americans come in two flavors, vis-a-vis Islam. They are either xenophobic 'Murrican anti-Arab/furriner/Muslim, or they are spineless, brainless, gobs-o-goo "Religion of Peace" apologists. There is very little actual middle ground or understanding of how Islam works or what it stands for, at least among mainstream Muslims.

[Tom Odom]

And here I was worried the family farm might be at risk...

Group Launches Media Blitz in Oklahoma for Anti-Shariah Ballot Initiative
A group vowing to fight "Islamofascism" has launched a media blitz in Oklahoma supporting a state constitutional amendment that would prohibit the courts from considering Islamic or other international law when ruling on cases in Sooner State courtrooms....

...The group says the constitutional amendment will prevent the takeover of Oklahoma by Islamic extremists who want to undo America from the inside out.

[SteveMetz]

If that passes it will be proof positive that Oklahoma is not yet ready for democracy. And those buffoons probably don't know that the U.S. Constitution makes international law part of U.S. law. I assume they simply aren't sharp enough to understand the distinction between international law and foreign law. Nor are they bright enough to understand that in Western countries where sharia courts exist, like the UK, they are informal bodies which do not supersede British law.

It is pretty sad, though, that Woolsey has sailed boldly off the edge of reality.

[82redleg]

If that passes it will be proof positive that Oklahoma is not yet ready for democracy. And those buffoons probably don't know that the U.S. Constitution makes international law part of U.S. law. I assume they simply aren't sharp enough to understand the distinction between international law and foreign law. Nor are they bright enough to understand that in Western countries where sharia courts exist, like the UK, they are informal bodies which do not supersede British law.

It is pretty sad, though, that Woolsey has sailed boldly off the edge of reality.

The Constitution does? Please reference.

I'm sure some progressive judicial ruling does, but that doesn't keep it being as wrong as I don't know what.

And the sharia courts (as they exist in the UK and other places) are just a step. If you don't fear a religion that doesn't accept the separation of church and state, and demands that its followers use force to convert or make subservient non-believers, you are blind to the realities of Islam.