The United States government has stipulated that it is quite certain the Pakistani Taliban leader being confirmed dead leaves a void in the Taliban leadership. In a statement by James Jones, the White House national security adviser, the void left by the death of Baitullah Mehsud will weaken the terrorist group, as there is bound to be struggle of succession.
The death is attributed to a CIA strike in Pakistan’s tribal areas, where the Taliban congregated.
Mehsud supposedly met his fate fatale Aug. 5 at his father-in-law’s house. Obviously, his people think he has attained martyrdom and has gone to heaven as a result of dying in the name of Allah. More rational thinkers are happy to be rid of a renowned psychotic terrorist who used Islam as a venue for brutal and senseless killings inside and outside Pakistan.
On public television, Jones spoke of the Taliban leader without mincing his words. He said: “Mehsud was a very bad individual, a real thug.”
He said the U.S. “put it in the 90 percent category” that Mehsud was killed.
“This is a big deal,” he said, though Taliban commanders have vehemently denied claims of their leader’s death.
Since I know Pakistan well as a woman born and raised there and exposed first-person to Taliban politics, it is my humble opinion that whether Mehsud is dead or not will make little or no difference in the long run as far as terrorist activities are concerned.
They say you can cut off a snake’s head, but it does not really die. In this case, if you cut off one head, many grow back to replace it.
The reason is simple. It lies in demographics and the strain of thought which incites Taliban-ization.
Pakistan has one of the largest and fastest growing populations in the world. It is also one of the poorest countries in the world. It has one of the lowest literacy rates in the world. Combine this with fanatical thought, poverty and vested interest groups paying for terrorist training camps in Pakistan. Season it with a generous sprinkling of hate for American foreign policy, vis-a-vis American partisanship toward Israel and Palestine.
Now set this mix in a rugged tribal area in which a mother wants to send her young sons to madrassas so they can learn the Holy Quran. The Qari, who teaches the Quran, tells the impoverished, starving family that they will not only train the child to be a good Muslim, but feed him, pay him and make him an honorable man of God — a true instrument of Islam.
Three meals a day, clean clothes, years of training, and by the time the child is a teenager, the mother has a grown and well-fed son. And the Taliban have a new warrior.
Now multiply this by the tens of thousands of poor village folk who have no access to proper education, food or resources. What you have is an army, a band of brothers called the Taliban.
My fear, based on what I recently witnessed first-hand in Pakistan, is that Mehsud’s death means squat. It is a mere cosmetic victory. The roots of evil have spread way beneath the tree’s trunk — they are spreading like spider veins. You can cut all the trees you want and burn down the forest. It will not make the problem go away.
If I could have a word with President Obama, I would tell him the only way to root out the evil of terrorism is to understand it and begin systematically destroying the conditions that make it grow.
Provide books, not bombs, to the Pakistani children. Provide modern educational institutions, not madrassas, which are breeding grounds of vested interest groups. Do not support corrupt government leaders in Pakistan. Encourage liberal-minded people who understand Pakistan and are committed to its growth to join forces with the U.S. Talk to real people from Pakistan — students, teachers, working women, writers, artists — in order to liberate Pakistan from the clutches of social and political poverty.
Only when you liberate a people of a land can you conquer the land. Killing one bad guy is a start, but isn’t nearly enough.
• Samina Masood is a four-year resident of Tracy, and her writings appear frequently in the Tracy Press. She is a mother of two who has master’s degrees in both journalism and clinical psychology.
Matthew 7:1 Judge not, that ye not be judged.
According to the latest report it will finally come to light how in the Bush era suspects were tortured inhumanely, against all laws of the land and international policy. If the American government can justify such grave atrocities, and commit crimes against humanity, how can it expect crimes against it not to be commited? We have such double standards for ourselves verusus the rest of the world. When it focmes to our own interests we bully our way into other countries but when the bullies bite us back, we call them barbaric, without looking inwards to see if we actually be supporting the same barbarism.
True Crime Video
Report Reveals CIA Conducted Mock Executions
A long-awaited report on post-9/11 interrogation tactics will reveal harrowing new details about treatment of suspected terrorists.
PHOTOS
A Torture Timeline
For hundreds of years, atrocities have been committed in the name of empire-building, religion or national security
By Mark Hosenball and Michael Isikoff | Newsweek Web Exclusive
Aug 21, 2009 | Updated: 6:58 p.m. ET Aug 21, 2009
From the Editors (1) A Torture Timeline See All Recommended (6) CIA Kill Teams Modeled on Israeli Hit Squads We're All Complicit in Torture Red Cross: What Did U.S. Do With Terror Suspects? Obama's Order Ends Bush-Era Interrogation Tactics Obama Should Avoid the Politics of Vengeance Terror Watch: Brennan Bows Out for CIA Position A long-suppressed report by the Central Intelligence Agency's inspector general to be released next week reveals that CIA interrogators staged mock executions as part of the agency's post-9/11 program to detain and question terror suspects, NEWSWEEK has learned.
How Smart Are You?
Take NEWSWEEK's incredibly hard news quiz to find out.
According to two sources—one who has read a draft of the paper and one who was briefed on it—the report describes how one detainee, suspected USS Cole bomber Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, was threatened with a gun and a power drill during the course of CIA interrogation. According to the sources, who like others quoted in this article asked not to be named while discussing sensitive information, Nashiri's interrogators brandished the gun in an effort to convince him that he was going to be shot. Interrogators also turned on a power drill and held it near him. "The purpose was to scare him into giving [information] up," said one of the sources. A federal law banning the use of torture expressly forbids threatening a detainee with "imminent death."
The report also says, according to the sources, that a mock execution was staged in a room next to a detainee, during which a gunshot was fired in an effort to make the suspect believe that another prisoner had been killed. The inspector general's report alludes to more than one mock execution.
Before leaving office, Bush administration officials confirmed that Nashiri was one of three CIA detainees subjected to waterboarding. They also acknowledged that Nashiri was one of two Al Qaeda detainees whose detentions and interrogations were documented at length in CIA videotapes. But senior officials of the agency's undercover operations branch, the National Clandestine Service, ordered that the tapes be destroyed, an action that has been under investigation for more than a year by a federal prosecutor.
The new revelations are contained in a lengthy report on the CIA interrogation program completed by the agency's inspector general in May 2004, around the time that the initial, most intense phase of the CIA effort began to wind down. The purpose of the report was to examine how the CIA program had been conducted, and whether Justice Department guidelines governing the use of harsh "enhanced" interrogation techniques had been followed. According to the sources, the inspector general criticizes some agency interrogators for exceeding official guidelines in the use of extreme tactics on detainees.
Mock executions were not authorized in Justice Department memoranda that outlined the legal parameters that Bush administration lawyers believed should govern the use of "enhanced" interrogations. The Justice Department memoranda, once highly classified, were released earlier this year by the Obama administration in the face of strenuous objections from the CIA and former Bush White House officials.
The inspector general's report, commissioned by then CIA director George Tenet, was sent to the Justice Department and congressional intelligence committee leaders shortly after it was written. But it was not shown to all members of the intelligence committees until September 2006, around the time that President Bush publicly acknowledged the CIA detention-and-interrogation program and instructed the agency, which had been holding detainees in a network of secret overseas prisons, to transfer them to the U.S. military detention camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Top Bush CIA officials, including Tenet's successors as CIA director, Porter Goss and Gen. Michael Hayden, strongly lobbied for the IG report to be kept secret from the public. They argued that its release would damage America's reputation around the world, could damage CIA morale, and would tip off terrorists regarding American interrogation tactics. "Justice has had the complete document since 2004, and their career prosecutors have reviewed it carefully for legal accountability," said CIA spokesman Paul Gimigliano. "That's already been done."
The inspector general's report is expected to fuel political debates over whether the tough interrogation methods used during the Bush administration actually worked. According to another source who has seen the document, the report says that the agency's interrogation program did produce usable intelligence.
At the same time the administration releases the inspector general's report, it is also expected to release other CIA documents that assert the agency collected valuable intelligence through the interrogation program. For months, former vice president Dick Cheney has called for these documents to be released. However, a person familiar with the contents of the documents says that they contain material that both opponents and supporters of Bush administration tactics can use to bolster their case. The Senate Committee on Intelligence is now conducting what is supposed to be a thorough investigation of the CIA's detention-and-interrogation program. The probe is intended not only to document everything that happened but also to assess whether on balance the program produced major breakthroughs or a deluge of false leads.
© 2009
Share:
15 diggsBuzz up! (12) Label Attack! By Sharon Begley The truth about Obamacare.
How Smart Are You? Take NEWSWEEK's incredibly hard news quiz to find out.
Photos: Athletes Who Should Have Stayed Retired On Hold and in Hell By Russ Juskalian Inside the young science of keeping callers on the line. Damn you, Erik Satie.
Mom Shed 47 Lbs With #1 Dieting Rule
Stuck in a Rut? Yo-Yo Dieting Doesn't work. This Does.
KatieLostWeight.comAcai Berry Diet Exposed
Is it a Miracle Diet or a Scam? We Investigated and Discovered…
News11.TVKelly Lost 47 Lbs with 1 Old Rule!
Kelly Cut Down 47 lbs of Stomach Fat In A Month By Obeying This 1 Rule
www.KellysJourney.com
Discuss
Enter Your Comment
Sponsored by
Member Comments
Reply Report Abuse Posted By: Kwami @ 08/21/2009 9:40:58 PM
I was really sorry to read of the mock execution. We were too nice, we should have just executed them. Beheaded them and then gone on national TV to brag about it.
Reply Report Abuse Posted By: ron in ca. @ 08/21/2009 9:39:45 PM
The difference is the US only conducted mock executions...They regularly kidnap and maim or behead their prisoners to make a political statement. In our rush to wash the dirt of war off our hands lets not forget the cold blooded nature of the enemy we face.
Reply Report Abuse Posted By: *Darin @ 08/21/2009 9:39:07 PM
Is this what the other guys do?
ReplyEnter Your Comment
Report AbuseEnter comments if any for reporting abuse
Report Abuse
View All Comments » From the Editors (1) A Torture Timeline See All Recommended (6) CIA Kill Teams Modeled on Israeli Hit Squads We're All Complicit in Torture Red Cross: What Did U.S. Do With Terror Suspects? Obama's Order Ends Bush-Era Interrogation Tactics Obama Should Avoid the Politics of Vengeance Terror Watch: Brennan Bows Out for CIA Position See All
Diet Scam EXPOSED: The Acai Berry
Is it a Miracle Diet or a Scam? We Investigated and Discovered…
News11.TVKelly Lost 47 Lbs with 1 Old Rule!
Kelly Cut Down 47 lbs of Stomach Fat In A Month By Obeying This 1 Rule
www.KellysJourney.comKnow Your Score
Use It To Your Advantage!
www.equifax.com
Previous Next 8/20 8/19 8/18 8/17 8/15 - 8/16 News/Week
How N.J. Gov. Race Could Hurt Obama Astroturfing Is Taking Over Local Activism The Rise and Fall of Blackwater
The Craziest Myths About Health Care August, Rahm, and Health Care Kennedy’s Absence Unfortunate for Democrats
Afghanistan’s Anticlimactic Election Mexico’s Drug War Leads to Prison Crisis How Did We Nab the Lockerbie Bomber Anyway?
Why Are Germany, Japan Beating Recession? Did Cash for Clunkers Work? Robert Rubin’s Agony
Why I Could Hardly Watch the Octomom Doc Will ‘Project Runway’ Work on Lifetime? On Book Cover Design
Health Care Hypocrisy No Matter How Crazy, Healthcare Myths Take Hold Fox Viewers More Likely to Believe Death Panel Myth
Who got run over by Clunkers?
Dealers wary of final Clunkers push
$2 trillion higher deficit projected
Obamas depart for 10-day vacation
Major stock indexes hit year's highs
Defense Says Casey Anthony Has Alibi
Pilot Pleaded to Evacuate Passengers
Poll: Americans Losing Faith in Obama
Slain Model ID'd Through Breast Implants
Runaway to Stay in Fla. Pending Hearing
U.S. Sells Seized Texas Bank to Spanish Firm
Group Takes On Banking Sector
Daschle's Visit Hints at Role
Lutherans Open Pulpit to Gays
Md. Officer Indicted for Perjury
Slate V: Inglourious Basterds, Post Grad, and My One and Only
The Political Gabfest for Aug. 21, 2009.
What's new in Time, Texas Monthly, and Mother Jones.
Can the cocaine on dollar bills be used to track drug use around the country?
The latest updates to Barack Obama's Facebook news feed.
The Week in Cartoons
Can God Save Health Care?
Obama and the Black Elite
A Hurricane Katrina Murder Mystery
Summer Power Trips
About NewsweekAdvertising InformationSubscriber ServicesPressroomContact UsUser AgreementPrivacy PolicyJobsBack CopiesRights and Reprint SalesShowcase AdsOnline and Distance Learning Directory© 2009 Newsweek, Inc.
If I vote yes [on healthcare]...I'll shave my head Okla. Rep. Boren THE HILL
It was a normal day in Afghanistan Western official on the relative calm of the electionAFP
On what planet do you spend most of your time? Rep. Frank to a town hall protesterTHE HILL
A healthcare bill without a public option is DOA in the House Howard Dean WASHPO
Conservatives can have fun too Tom DeLay, on appearing on 'Dancing With the Stars' ABC
I feel th three of ya are gettin close. Not entirely correct, in my opinion, but gettin close ta th truth.
Yes, extremism is th problem an that more often than not leads ta terrorism.
But ya know, extremism is not just something endemic ta th Islamic sect alone. Nope it spans all religions an factions of humanity.
It’s obvious there are Muslim terrorists and we frequently call them by thair correct name as extremists. But thair also Christian extremists who are terrorists in thair own right as well as secular humanists who completely embrace scientific theory as fact and do so with such extreme fervor that they themselves, overcome by thair own passions, become extremists and terrorists in thair own right.
An the real problem with all of this can come down ta one word, ignorance. People, by an large, are lazy. Rather than ta look up an study things fer themselves ta gain true enlighten, be it in a secular or non-secular enlightenment, they invariably take th short cut an simply adopt th beliefs of what someone else told them ta believe. They almost never consider th person tellin em how ta think an believe very likely could be wrong or even purposefully mis-representin things fer th benefit of thair own hidden agenda.
The danger in that method of assimilating enough information, through osmosis in order ta form a belief, is that th information more often than not is biased an incorrect.
Not to be pickin on him but kinaam66 makes some excellent examples of what I’m getting at.
Kinaam66 presents himself as an intelligent, educated an enlightened person that has no need for religion and relies on everything he has heard of a scientific nature ta base his beliefs on.
But let’s really look into that claim an see if it’s completely legitimate.
When it comes ta his knowledge on th Bible and Scripture, he seems to be fairly illiterate. After all, according ta th Bible, woman did not come from Adam’s eve but was created by God from a rib that had been removed from Adam’s side.
Now I’d think that someone refutin God an th Bible would know that. Apparently he missed all th popular movies starin folk like Carlton Heston and John Houston’s “The Bible” that gets run on our television networks about every Eater or he would know that. Must not been a part of his enlightened education don’t ya think?
An if yer refutin somethin that someone believes, shouldn’t ya at least be totally aware of what it is that yer refutin?
He continues his ignorance with a statement that Moses was on the ark with th animals when factually, as referenced by th scriptures, it was Noah who did that. Now let me ask ya, is this a person that you feel knows much about what is actually contained in th Bible based on the Biblical facts in these two very well known instances. I find it amazing that with all the entertainment produced on these two subjects alone, that seem ta be common knowledge in our society today, that anyone would try ta say something different and use it ta submit it as an argument against religion. Sort of boggles th mind.
An if ya recognize his “facts” are in error about th things he has problems with, then how many other errors in his thinkin are ya comfortable with. Are ya really sure ya want ta align with a person that makes these simple mistakes?
But he does use a tactic of persuasion that I do find interestin, none th less, in that he uses his ignorance of scriptures to make other assumptions about people an their religions.
Why it’s easy ta do. Not pickin on ya mariamaria but ya sorta did the same thing ta us with yer “eye for an eye” comment ta justify killin other people who have different religious beliefs.
And, as is th human response, ya even got a little POed when I corrected yer incorrect usage of what Christ Jesus said and came back at me by quotin still other scriptures completely out of context in order ta justify yer viewpoint.
Folks, this comes from a lack of understandin of what yer readin, or more than likely ya just picked it up from someone else’s thinkin an adopted it fer yer own as most people usually do simply because it conforms ta popular culture an thinking today.
Please understand I’m not tryin ta pick on ya but I’m simply usin ya as a common example of how all too many, claimin ta be Christian, don’t really understand what it is to actually be a Christian. Hope ya don’t mind an if ya do I apologize.
In other simpler words, just because yer claimin ta be Christian don’t mean that ya actually an factually are. It’s kinda like women an prostitution. Yep, barin sex change operations, all prostitutes, as our society commonly understands th word, are women. But not all woman are prostitutes.
See th difference? It works th same with religion. Just sayin yer something don’t actually mean that ya are. If ya ain’t conductin yer life as Christ has instructed, ya can’t really call yerself Christian as the Christian Bible tells ya differently. If ya say ya follow Christ an are intentionally doin things against what he instructed then you ain’t a Christian no matter now much ya say ya are, at least accordin ta th Bible that ya claim to know.
This is because th word Christian means a follower of Christ. How can ya follow someone if ya don’t believe in an follow his instructions? It can’t be done.
Th same is true for Islam.
But enough of that, I want ta talk a little more on tactics of persuasion that our friend kinaam66 is usin here.
First, while usin an assumed name ta protect his identity I find incredible that he negatively comments on my assumed identity an then sayin “no one says well ta remember.” Here he has accomplished two things. Here he took my comment completely out of context, somethin people who are unsure of their position an just want to argue anyway. The second is a direct attack on me an my character by relegatin me into a class of “no one.”
He is the one who took an excerpt of what was written out of th context of th complete an correctly written sentence, sans spelling, is “Yep, we'd all do well ta remember that terrorism an extreamism don't fit inta th picture when it comes ta Islam an Christianity or the greater numbers of people that live in Pakistan. “ Sort of takes on a different flavor of meanin when ya put it all together again now don’t it?
Next he pulls th ole tried and true tactic of argument I like ta call th switch. First he says that Christians have th right ta their beliefs. Sort of kissin up ta them so as not to turn them off before he fires on them broadside. Then he follows it up with insultin them by sayin religion is “fundamentally opposed to reason, and in an age of science and reason, does well not to be brought up in politics or education.”
Now I want ya ta notice the sentence structure of his comment immediately following th comma. See it? “Does well.” Now considerin th word does is simply a plural form of th word do, does his comment sound sort of familiar? No one says “do well ta remember,” I believe his comment was ta us, more directly me.
Then our well educated an scientifically enlightened friend continues ta make yet other errors in his word usage. Fer instance, “For Muslims, God is the one who impels them to wage Jihad against Christians.” Catch it? Did ya see th incorrect word used here? Impell, accordin ta th dictionary means “to urge or drive forward or on by or as if by the exertion of strong moral pressure, to impart motion to propel.” http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/impel. Don’t know about you but I don’t see anyone usin exertion of strong moral pressure ta force anyone ta believe one way or another anywhere in th society of th US today.
Now shouldn’t th word be compel instead of impel? Compel, accordin ta th dictionary means, “to drive or urge forcefully or irresistibly as in the sentence his humger compelled him to eat, or “to cause to do or occur by overwhelming pressure.” An even then, I don’t see that type of force bein applied in America today. Sure, there are people who obviously would like ta try, but in our system of government they don’t get very fer with that notion.
Then our friend continues. While painting th picture he is simply a compassionate person that only wants ta stop th madness, he pulls another switch with his admonition ta th author of th article above by writin, “In the long run you need to educate at a mass level so more and more people become rational and terrorists are a minority, and lose their hold on the population they inculcate into their madness.”
While th statement is fairly accurate in it’s structure, I want ya ta particularly notice th word inculcate. Yep, he did use th intransitive verb correctly in th sentence even though it don’t apply well when used in complete context of th paragraph.
Accordin ta th dictionary, inculcate is a word datein from 1539, an is very rarely used today. It literally means, to tread on, to trample or to place under one’s heel; to teach and impress by frequent repetitions or admonitions. Now don’t forget, he was th one that pointed out “no one says. . . “
In another comments our friend says. “I choose science, I am not shoving it down anyone's throat. . . ““Why should one intelligent person be forced to bow his head in prayer simply because two or three others say they believe in God,” “Ban religion, and make the world a safer place” and earlier “If the US continues to bomb and wage war without building up these nations, the killing will never end. War is not the answer.”
Now I’m rather confused by all this posturin and shiftin around on th subject of people with respect ta religion. He chooses science but don’t shove it down no one’s throat. Really? Then why does he want ta inculcate th majority of Americans today, of which, statically speaking, over 80% of our population today claim a Christian religious belief? Somehow I don’t think he’s being genuine in his thoughts he articulates ta us.
An I don’t know about you but I’ve been alive in the US for a great many years. I cannot recall one time, in a public settin, where anyone has ever been forced to bow his head in payer against his or her will. An everytime something that was close to this happenin, it was dealt with quickly legally an usually by Christians who completely understand that religious matters are matters of free will and not to be forced on anyone, in perfect application of th 1st amendment of th Constitution.
But I will concede and agree that he’s right on th comment that “War is not the answer.” Yep, th answers not in war but in education an that don’t come from osmosis by havin someone tell ya what ta believe but only by study an then applyin what was learned.
Lastly , an frankly I’m gettin tired of this, anyone here remember when 1,100 feet per second was th scientific fact that was th absolute fastest anyone could travel? How about th Brontosaurus that later was found to be th skeletal structure of two different animals and thus didn’t exist? An of course everyone believes that our world’s crude oil came from the ole dinosaurs that died out an left their remains that got converted into crude oil.? How about th size of the universe? Use ta be 4 billion years. Then we launched some telescope into th sky and it went from 4 to 8 to 16 and if memory serves me correct it’s somethin like 38 billion years. The point is they don’t know.
Let’s go th other way. Remember when th electronic microscope was invented? Remember them telling ya that ya would be able ta see the atoms and electrons? After all these years have ya ever seen a photograph of an atom? Or how about radio waves? Yep, they’ve been around fer a long time now. But ya know, no one really knows conclusively how they work. Wonder why? Must not be enlightened or educated enough.
Evolution? Ya know all of them thair fishes that went extinct an have been extinct for millions of years? Well what about the live one’s they found in th south Pacific? Where did they come from if they were extinct? Oh, I get it, they must have re-evolved.
Man came from apes? Then why do we still have apes? Seems ta me that if the apes evolved ta man then there logically shouldn’t be any apes left.
Remember when it was actually safe ta take Thalidomide? Or how about th statement that 64,000 bytes of memory is more than enough for everyone?
Climate? Remember the ice age we were all headin into back in the 70’s? Now we’re headin into global warmin. And did ya know that every time ya exhale ya and all other livin things are addin ta th problems of global warmin by addin carbon dioxide ta th atmosphere? Guess we’d all be better off if th people yammerin on an on about addin carbon dioxide ta th atmosphere would just hold their breath. It’d solve two problems. First ya wouldn’t have ta continually put up with their incessant noise, and second, they wouldn’t be addin any more of this carbon dioxide ta the atmosphere.
And pardon me but I thought all th plants needed carbon dioxide ta perform photosynthesis in order to produce oxygen fer all of us to breathe.
Ya know, it seems that science shifts and changes from day ta day. I can’t say th same about God an His scriptures.
So, in accordance ta th instruction I get from th Bible, I’ll let ya have her own beliefs an don’t believe in shovin them down yer throat. In fact, if that happens ya can be guaranteed that I’ll be standin shoulder ta shoulder with ya ta prevent something like that from happenin while there is still breath in my body.
But I don’t want ya to start restrictin my beliefs and changin my constitutional rights and th rights of all Americans ta believe an express their beliefs in the confines of law an then cram yer beliefs down my throat an the throats of others just because ya want ta see it all accordin ta th way you believe it should be. Why that’s more fanatical than any of the examples I can come up with.
Now, instead of yammerin on an on about this and telling others they don’t know what they’re talkin about, I really suggest that all readin this stop this insanity by going to all the respective sources, study them in great detail and then form yer own personal beliefs an stop tryin ta cram yer personal beliefs down other people's throats. Then perhaps we would all get along more peacefully.
Ever hear of the Christian Crusades????
Terrorism comes from extremists, not from a non-separation of church and state.
Oh thats right the I forget that all the right wing christians like um timothy mcvay didnt really blow all those kids up in oaklahoma or atlanta. And the christians sure as hell didnt shoot any doctors in their fight for "life".
Come on now. people of all translations kill in the name of their god all the time.
Ever wonder how much death may be avoided without all the twisted my god is better than yours debate?
Also as I interpret the article, the author did not say terrorists should not be rooted out. She said it's not enough to wage war, that would be sypmtom removal. In the long run you need to educate at a mass level so more and more people become rational and terrorists are a minority, and lose their hold on the population they inculcate into their madness.
In America the right wing Christians are no different in their fundamentalism. I fear if the laws were not as strict, they too would kill and behead those who do not follow their particular version of their particular "Lord."
When these bloggers say we are all God's children, they hit it right on the head. For Christians God is both God, then Lord Jesus, and then some. For Muslims, God is the one who impels them to wage Jihad against Christians. In the name of God, how many millions of lives have been lost? How much senseless killing prevails in this world due to religion being a dividing not a uniting factor?
Therefore the need to keep personal beliefs strictly in check by separation of church and state.Preach what you must inside your little house, don't bring it out in public. Whether it's lunacy as I preceive it or salvation as you do, it has no business in our schools, government offices, army, public affairs, foreign policy etc. It is a personal right not a tool for black mailing the world in submitting to your delusion. Why should one intelligent person be forced to bow his head in prayer simply because two or three others say they believe in God. Believe what you will, but do it inside your head. It's when heads like yours begin to dictate government and foreign policy that this lunacy spreads and there is violence, psychosis, wars and devastation. Enough. Ban religion, and make the world a safer place.
Some good thoughts here. An I like th way ya mention terrorism an extreamism as well. Yep, we'd all do well ta remember that terrorism an extreamism don't fit inta th picture when it comes ta Islam an Christianity or the greater numbers of people that live in Pakistan.
An I do believe th Muslims of th free world an in the Middle East are speakin up an takin action.
But ya see, every time one does, as with Samina's article, it seems ya got a bunch of extreamists with other beliefs shoutin em down an accusin them of bein a part of th terrorism problem when they'd all like ta see th problem go away just like most of th rest of us.
An when yer facin off on th Christian versis Islam thing, ya probably would do well ta remember they all worship th same God and all share the same promise given ta Abraham, a personage that both religions accept an believe in.
Also, it might be a good idea ta understand the levels of education an personal freedoms in Pakistan, particularly in th area of excercisin one's beliefs, are at th opposite end of the spectrum when compairin them to what ya have here in th US. It's a grave mistake Americans often make by thinkin that the entire world thinks an operates th same as we do here in th US.
kinaam66
When ya castigate someone's belief an attack the messages in their scripture you'd sound a lot less stupid if ya actually knew somethin about thair beliefs and scriptures don't ya think?
Fer one it wasn't Moses that was on th boat with all them animals, it was Noah.
As far as th power of prayer, I've seen it cure bleedin ulcers an even restore a liver that had been destroyed by disease an th person who was told she would die in three months lived another 10 years. An thairs a whole lot of historical sciense that has been proven ta be wrong by science today. Or do ya still believe in the Brontasaurus?
mariamaria
What do I say? On one hand ya use th Bible ta justify killin and on th other hand ya show some pretty clear thinkin on the subject of God an Christ. About th only thing I'd say about th last comment would be Matthew 6:14 - 15. It's somethin ta think about don't cha think?
Yes we are free to believe what we choose, that is how the constitution spells it out. You choose to believe there is a figure head God who made a man and a woman with his own hands, or woman out of Adam's eve, that a guy named Moses came on a boat, with hundreds of animals, that waters parted, etc etc.
I believe that gasses in the universe united to cause an explosion which resulted after billions of years of mutation to begin life on earth as we know it.
It does matter that one theory is based on scientific reasoning, and research, and facts. The other is based in delusional thinking, belief and personal opinion. The two are not equal. Science is superior, just as prayer can't heal a bleeding ulcer, a surgeon's knife can. Believe what you will, you have the right. I choose science, I am not shoving it down anyone's throat and request they don't shove down holy, senseless verses down ours. I think in another fifty to a hundred years religion will be obselete for the educated, just hope most kids in the world can get their hands on some science books and get on with life rather than wasting their lives on preachers, Qaris, Priests, Vishnu or whatever makes the deluded tick.
Look hon, how I spell or don't spell isn't th point now is it?
Th point was ya, an I am assumin you wrote it, incorrectly used th scripture containin "eye for an eye." All I did was provide ya an all th others out thair th actual reference ta correct yer error.
An ta answer yer last question, no, I wouldn't wish them dead. At one time in my life th answer was yes. But I've lived long enough ta larn that death ain't the answer.
Look dear, either ya believe in God and follow God or ya don't. An fer Christians, either ya believe in Christ or ya don't. But if yer just sayin that ya do, and in yer heart ya don't, then yer probably gonna be troubled one day with a rude awakenin.
An the beauty of th whole thing is you have th right ta choose. Now you don't want me ta make that choise, an frankly I can't, but what ya don't seem to understand is that I don't particularly want you to make those choises fer me either.
If yer in fer serious discussions on th Bible I'd recommend a different forum as this is not what th place here is intended fer.
Fer each of th examples ya posted there are explanations if ya look fer them. Trouble is a lot of people seem ta have some reason or another not ta really look inta it. Don't know why but can only guess they might not like what they find.
I can relate ta that feelin. A lot of th time when I'm studyin I come across somethin that I don't really like at first. Guess it's kind of like gettin poked in the ribs a little ta do th thing.
Fer kinaam66, ya know, yer right. An it never fails ta amaze an even amuse me how in th year 2009 that th allegedly enlightned people of th world, those who yammer on an on about intolerance an how everyone should tolerate them, have so much intolerance fer the poor ole "fools" that believe in God and attempt ta follow His will as laid down in scripture.
So the fates of millions are apparently goverened by some psycotic delusions that God don't exist despite thousands of years of evidence that indicates that he does.
Ya want ta talk THEORY of Evolution? Bring it on. I'm game if you are. But we gotta have some ground rules or I won't play with ya.
1. No personal insults or insults to someone else's right ta believe th way they want ta.
2. If ya make a statement that's ta be accepted as somethin ta be considered as fact, ya gotta provide some reference source an sorry Wikipedia an blogs of personal opinion on th Internet don't qualify.
3. No attackin or agreein with others that might add thair two cents to th conversation.
Now everythin has a wager don't it? So, what can we wager? How about this? If I convinse ya that thairs a whole lot more ta this religious "creation stuff" then ya attend my church fer one month when they meet.
And if ya convinse me that it don't mean nothiin an evolution is th way ta believe then I'll hang with you four times in th month of yer choise an we can go ta the Lawrence Hall of Science an th Exploratorium an ya can show me th science or is it th THEORY of Evolution in action.
Wanta put a time limit on this discussion? How about two weeks?
So, ya game? Care ta back up yer statements? I am if you are. Should be fun and also entertainin. But I gotta warn ya, I probably have th advantage on ya by a factor of my age, experience an education. The warnin I have given others who incorrectly think that because of th way I write that I'm nothin more than an ole country bumpkin. Things are not often th way they first appear.
Learn to spell please, or have you had too much to drink already?
Joshua 11:11-23 And they smote all the souls that were therein with the edge of the sword, utterly destroying them: there was not any left to breathe: and he burnt Hazor with fire. And all the cities of those kings, and all the kings of them, did Joshua take, and smote them with the edge of the sword, and he utterly destroyed them, as Moses the servant of the LORD commanded. But as for the cities that stood still in their strength, Israel burned none of them, save Hazor only; that did Joshua burn. And all the spoil of these cities, and the cattle, the children of Israel took for a prey unto themselves; but every man they smote with the edge of the sword, until they had destroyed them, neither left they any to breathe. As the LORD commanded Moses his servant, so did Moses command Joshua, and so did Joshua; he left nothing undone of all that the LORD commanded Moses. ...
1 Samuel 15:3-9 Now go and smite Amalek, and utterly destroy all that they have, and spare them not; but slay both man and woman, infant and suckling, ox and sheep, camel and ass. And Saul gathered the people together, and numbered them in Telaim, two hundred thousand footmen, and ten thousand men of Judah. And Saul came to a city of Amalek, and laid wait in the valley. And Saul said unto the Kenites, Go, depart, get you down from among the Amalekites, lest I destroy you with them: for ye shewed kindness to all the children of Israel, when they came up out of Egypt. So the Kenites departed from among the Amalekites. And Saul smote the Amalekites from Havilah until thou comest to Shur, that is over against Egypt. ...
1 Samuel 27:8-11 And David and his men went up, and invaded the Geshurites, and the Gezrites, and the Amalekites: for those nations were of old the inhabitants of the land, as thou goest to Shur, even unto the land of Egypt. And David smote the land, and left neither man nor woman alive, and took away the sheep, and the oxen, and the asses, and the camels, and the apparel, and returned, and came to Achish. And Achish said, Whither have ye made a road to day? And David said, Against the south of Judah, and against the south of the Jerahmeelites, and against the south of the Kenites. And David saved neither man nor woman alive, to bring tidings to Gath, saying, Lest they should tell on us, saying, So did David, and so will be his manner all the while he dwelleth in the country of the Philistines.
IT DOES NOT MATTER HOW U INTREPRET THE BIBLE, UNDER THE LAW IT IS AN EYE FOR AN EYE, IF SOMEONE KILLED YOUR FAMILY WOULD YOU NOT WISH THEM DEAD?
“Even the Bible stipulates we must wage war, an eye for an eye, if the Taliban kill us, why can't we kill them?”
Now that I’ve regained my composure I’d like ta politely tell ya that ya got it completely wrong. Hey, that’s th usual problem with people that take other’s words fer somethin that ain’t exactly so.
Fer instance, th instance of yer misguided quote, “an eye for an eye” comes from it’s only mention in th Book of Matthew, fifth chapter, verse 38.
Thair is a real danger in takin snippets outa th Bible ta make yer point cause often what ya think is true isn’t.
So let’s read what Christ instruction is actually sayin in it’s entire context shall we?
It starts at Matthew 5:38 an ends at verse 48.
38. Ye have heard that it hath been said, An eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth:
39. But I say unto you, That ye resist not evil: but whosoever shall smite thee on thy right cheek, turn to him the other also.
40. And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have [thy] cloke also.
41. And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain.
42. Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow of thee turn not thou away.
43. Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy.
44. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;
45. That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
46. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same?
47. And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more [than others]? do not even the publicans so?
48. Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.
I tell ya these things so that come th end ya won’t be found lackin.
I also suggest ya do some readin in th Good Book before ya make a mistake like this again. Don't take my word fer it or th word of others, read it an understand it fer yerself.