November 04, 2005

France and Iraq—Two Fronts in the Same War

Iraqi-American Fawaz Saraf emails:

Below is a link to an article in Elaf reporting on the news conference given by Ahmad Chalabi following the announcement of the Iraqi National Congress List for the upcoming December elections (List 569).
 
The program announced by the INC appears to represent the most enlightened prospect for the future of Iraq.  Following are key elements of the INC program:
 
1 – Equal distribution of Iraq’s oil wealth and the adoption of the oil dividend concept wherein every Iraqi citizen is guaranteed his or her equal share of Iraq’s oil wealth.  The INC program appears to support the progressive view that Iraq’s oil wealth should be distributed directly to the citizens of Iraq and not routed through grandiose government projects and spending programs.
 
((refer to the Wall Street Journal editorial of August 17, 2005 for additional details this concept as proposed by Chalabi).
 
2 – Fully supports the establishment of regional governments within Iraq and emphasizes that the newly adopted constitution guarantees the rights of the provinces to form regions.  The program further emphasizes that a federal system for Iraq is the best guarantee for Iraq’s unity.
 
((in my view only a federal system with strong regional governments is capable of avoiding past pitfalls of (and massacres associated with) pursuing the ideology of Arab Nationalism or the parochial flag-waving Iraqi nationalism.  Rather, a federal system guarantees the right of  diverse groups within Iraq to freely respond to their emotions, regardless of whether those emotions are triggered by their religious of ethnic heritage)).
 
 
3 – Ahmad Chalabi praised Sistani’s highly positive contribution to the political process in post Saddam Iraq while emphatically rejecting the concept of an Islamic political system for Iraq.
 
In my view, the above key policy statements along with Chalabi’s proven anti-Baathist record, should make List 569 one of the better choices for consideration by the Iraqi electorate.
 
Fawaz Saraf
 
http://www.elaph.com/ElaphWeb/Politics/2005/11/102593.htm

Juxtaposing this with the current French riots leads to the astonishing observation that in the new millenium, war is waged by winning over the opposing public as much as by military action -- and France and Iraq are two fronts in the same war. Democracy moves forward in the heart of the Islamic world, even while Islamofascism makes headway in the heart of Europe.

Islamofascists seek to impose Islam on France through violence, intimidation, and by convincing the French people that they themselves are to blame for the poverty and unemployment of the Islamic population in France. MSM doggedly espouses that view, as seen in quotes such as this from CNN:

The rioting began last Thursday in Clichy-sous-Bois after two teenagers were accidentally electrocuted and a third was injured while apparently trying to escape from police by hiding in a power substation. Officials have said police were not chasing the boys.

But the original cause has been all but forgotten as residents of other communities -- weary of poverty, unemployment and discrimination against the large immigrant and Muslim populations -- have vented their frustration.

I've debunked that view in detail here. 

Meanwhile, in Iraq, Democracy is winning the hearts and minds of the people, by providing them a way to control their own lives and their own destiny, and to seek prosperity and success.

I believe there is no doubt at all that Democracy will win, although this may be reasonably expected to take decades. 

But we must make sure to minimize the loss of life to Democratic nations along the way. We must work hard not to get nuked by Islamofascists.

And we must work hard to control immigration to the U.S. from Islamic nations so as to avoid the sort of pain France is suffering at this time. 

Mark Steyn: MSM is ‘Willfully Misleading’ the Public on the French Riots

Radio Blogger posts this transcript of Mark Steyn interviewed by Hugh Hewitt: 

Mark Steyn: ...this, I think, is the start of a long Eurabian civil war we're witnessing here. 

...Hugh Hewitt: Mark Steyn, how do you account for the indifference or ignorance of the mainstream media in America?

Mark Steyn: Well, I think this is now basically becoming a willful effort at misleading. It's not just the United States. Other countries, too, are reporting this as their youths, or their French youth. And it isn't until you get thirteen paragraphs into the story, and they're quoting one of these youths, and you realize he's called Mohammed, that it occurs to you that there might be an ethno-cultural religious component to this situation. And this is absolutely grotesque, because the one...I'm sometimes accused of being terribly pessimistic when I speak in North America. And I always tell Americans and Canadians, that the one great advantage people have, you know, everything may...there may be a lot of bad news in the world, but the one advantage North Americans have, is that Europe is ahead of you in the line. And you have to learn what's happening. You have to confront honestly what's happening with these disaffected Muslim populations in Europe. I mean, most of the September 11th bombers, the Millenium bomber, a lot of these people all passed through various parts of the European welfare state. It's relevant to U.S. security, too.

Mark no doubt has been reading the same reports I've been quoting from here in recent posts on the French riots.  The quotes documenting that the rioting communities are Muslim are found at the very end of the articles.

French Riots Day 8—Rioting Spreads—A Call for France to Deport Islamofascists

On Wednesday I posted that the rioting of Muslims in Paris looked to me like "It could become a revolt by the Muslims against the non-Muslims of France." Now, after two more days of riots, MSM is saying it too. From AP:

Since then riots have swelled into a broader challenge against the French state and its security forces.

AP appears to have looked for a Muslim to condemn the rioting. Here's the Muslim they quoted:

Rioters also set fire to a gym near the Les Tilleuls housing complex in the Seine-Saint-Denis region. It burned and smoldered Wednesday night as residents looked on in despair.

"Where is she going to practice now?" asked Mohammed Fawzi Kaci, an Algerian immigrant whose 8-year-old daughter took gymnastics classes at the facility.

...Police have made 143 arrests during the unrest, Interior Ministry Nicolas Sarkozy said.

Residents and opposition politicians have accused Sarkozy of fanning tensions with his tough police tactics and talk — including calling troublemakers "scum."

"Sarkozy's language has added oil to the fire. He should really weigh his words," said Kaci, whose daughter lost her gym. "I'm proud to live in France, but this France disappoints me."

Kaci condemns, not the rioters, but the French official, Sarkozy, who dared to call the rioters "scum." He also condemns France. But Yahoo quotes no condemnation from Kaci for the rioters themselves. This is the party line of Islamic jihad: "we attack you and you are to blame for it." "You offend us by not showing us enough deference. Who cares if we're burning your towns down: how dare you call us scum?" As noted by Yahoo, Kaci's view reflects that of other "residents and opposition politicians."

The timing of the riots coincides with Islamic holy days. From AFP:

Many of France's estimated five million Muslims live in those suburbs. Thursday night was the end of the Islamic holy month of Ramadan, a night traditionally marked by feasts and family get-togethers.

News flash for France: They're not going to assimilate. You have to deport them.