As Economies Sink, Religious Radicals Suffer Setbacks

We cannot "win" the war against terrorism by the military. In Afghanistan in particular, our military options are very limited. Ditto for Iran. If we want to "win" the war against terrorists, we must cut if their allowance. Terrorists get their money through petro-dollars, either ours or some one else's.
Therefore if we must free ourselves from the tyranny of oil. We must do everything we can to cut down on our use of oil. We also need R & D in all forms of renewable energy, including getting fuel from algae, bacteria or sea kelp. Ahmadinejad's rhetoric aside, the strongest message we can send to Iran is "Keep your crude."
Beyond liberating ourselves from oil ASAP, we must attack the underlying causes of terrorism. Malcolm X once said, "The most dangerous man in the world is a man with nothing to lose." From Djakarta, Indonesia to Casablanca, Morocco, and swinging down to sub-Saharan Africa is a expanding crescent of urban slums with soaring unemployment rates - especially among young men. This is the breeding ground for Islamic Fundamentalism. We must address these economic problems.
Obama has the right ideas. He understands what I am writing about. The BIG problem is the ignorant, lazy douchebags in the Senate. Not to mention their counterpart douche-bags on FOX NEWS, CNBC, and CNN. The biggest threat to our security is not al Qaeda. It's our own collective arrogance, ignorance, and stupidity.

to Indian,
Religious tolerance can exist in Muslim societies. The Muslims in Spain actually discouraged conversions into Islam, albeit Christians and Jews paid a special tax which was a source of revenue. But compare Muslim Spain with Christian Spain - with its orgy of Inquisitions, and you'll see a difference. In terms of implementing religious tolerance in the Middle East, you will NOT, I repeat, you will NOT implement religious tolerance in Islamic states by "bombing their cities, killing their leaders and converting everyone to Christianity." This is Ann Coulter's solution- and I might add the solution proposed by the entire GOP.
A much more effective approach is what Bill Clinton said last summer. We must operate by "the power of our example, NOT an example of our power." Obama's trip to Turkey underscores this attitude. No, we will not succeed overnight.The GOP, like so many immature teenagers, demands instant gratitifaction. BUT, Clinton's approach is far more effective than what we are doing in Iraq.

We cannot "win" the war against terrorism by the military. In Afghanistan in particular, our military options are very limited. Ditto for Iran. If we want to "win" the war against terrorists, we must cut if their allowance. Terrorists get their money through petro-dollars, either ours or some one else's.
Therefore if we must free ourselves from the tyranny of oil. We must do everything we can to cut down on our use of oil. We also need R & D in all forms of renewable energy, including getting fuel from algae, bacteria or sea kelp. Ahmadinejad's rhetoric aside, the strongest message we can send to Iran is "Keep your crude."
Beyond liberating ourselves from oil ASAP, we must attack the underlying causes of terrorism. Malcolm X once said, "The most dangerous man in the world is a man with nothing to lose." From Djakarta, Indonesia to Casablanca, Morocco, and swinging down to sub-Saharan Africa is a expanding crescent of urban slums with soaring unemployment rates - especially among young men. This is the breeding ground for Islamic Fundamentalism. We must address these economic problems.
Obama has the right ideas. He understands what I am writing about. The BIG problem is the ignorant, lazy douchebags in the Senate. Not to mention their counterpart douche-bags on FOX NEWS, CNBC, and CNN. The biggest threat to our security is not al Qaeda. It's our own collective arrogance, ignorance, and stupidity.

Mwalimu @

Muslims are vehemently opposed to Islamic fundamentalism and Islamic terrorism, quite frequently at great risk to their own lives............................................

Hence we all should unite to eliminate fundamentalism and moreso terrorism thats plaguing any and every religion. Agreed. How do we do that. We must first accept and absorb the existence of other faiths. Can you convince muslims to inject this idea of respecting other religions at least on paper first. Implementing the concept is a whole different matter.

Once islamists attain a critical mass,even popular opposition to them will not save these countries from falling to them.Hitler,Stalin and Mao all showed what naked brutality can achieve against a easily intimidated majority.

It is factually incorrect to call all Indonesian political parties "Islamist." There are Islamist parties in Indonesia. They won about 15% of the vote - not 25%. Down from about 20% in 2004, not 38%. There are also Muslim parties in Indonesia that are not "Islamist", i.e. they accept the non-sectarian nature of the Indonesian constitution. These parties appear to have won about 10% in this last election. This is an extraordinarily important distinction. In the American context, it is equivalent to the difference between accepting the Bill of Rights and rejecting it.

Walter Lohman