Kenya – an analysis that is half right

The latest atrocity committed by Muslims occurred in Africa. It is not just the Westgate Mall attack in Nairobi, but also the Boko Haram attack on 40 sleeping students to take into consideration. There are many other savage attacks where suicide bombing has been used to take lives.

Brendan O’Neill, writing for the Telegraph gets it, but he only gets half of it right. I am not referring to the fact that he left out Saudi Arabia from the equation because I actually think that the funding is coming from other sources, such as Iran. What Brendan leaves out is any kind of analysis of Muslim on Muslim violence and why it happens in the first place. It is Sunni vs. Shia.

Iraq is a very good place to start when it comes to trying to understand this particular issue because Iraq has been riven by Sunni vs. Shia violence, with a twist because they also attack the few Christians that remain in the country.  Iraq has not settled since Saddam Hussein was removed from power. He was in fact a violent man who was more of a Marxist than anything else. As far as “religion” is concerned Saddam Hussein was a Sunni minority who was suppressing the rights of the Shia majority in Iraq.  Violence begets violence.

The allied forces went into Iraq because Saddam Hussein had used chemical weapons on the Kurds. The UN had demanded that he get rid of his stockpile. He was supposed to cooperate with the weapons inspectors. He did, but then again he did not cooperate. There was some evidence that he had not gotten rid of the weapons. After the attack on the World Trade Centre George Bush, the POTUS at the time demanded that Saddam Hussein comply with the request and when he did not comply or rather he implied that he still had the weapons, action was taken. Thousands of Iraqis actually welcomed the forces that arrived. They offered no resistance at all. Baghdad was taken within a few weeks, and we watched the whole thing play out on T.V. Who can forget Baghdad Bob? He was a real hero :).  Once Saddam was gone, and eventually captured, the allied forces had to secure the country so that Iraqi citizens could take over their own governance once again.  The war itself had ended at this point, but what did not end was the suicide bombings, and then Al Qaeda came and got involved in the country.  The story of Iraq is actually a lot more complex than some media would have us believe.

So, why did Iraq remain a basket case? The real issue in that country, the real reason for the suicide bombings is Sunni vs. Shia. In Islam, there are hundreds of cults and sects. The largest two are Sunni and Shia and in fact those two represent the first split that happened within a generation for Islam. The Sunni ended up in Saudi Arabia and the Shia ended up elsewhere including in Iran.  It would be tempting to proclaim that this was a fight between Iran and Saudi Arabia but again that is too simplistic. The Sunni in Iraq have been blowing up Shia mosques, the Shia have been blowing up Sunni mosques. Each group thinks it is ok to use suicide bombers against the other side because each group believes that the other is apostate and therefore it is ok to kill them. In a nutshell, this is the essence of the way that they are thinking and explains why they have no compunction when it comes to killing other Muslims.

At this point I need to mention some of the minor sects within Islam, the chief one of these minor sects that I want to mention is the Ahmahdi (there are others that are in fact more dominant such as the Ishamelists and the Sufi, but they generally do not abide this kind of activity).  The Ahmahdi remain a target of both Sunni and Shia because they are seen as apostate by both sides. As a result they remain a target wherever they live, in Indonesia, Pakistan, Iran, Iraq and elsewhere. Sunni and Shia Muslims have no qualms about attacking and killing Ahmahdi Muslims.

However, this is only the beginning of the story where Islam is concerned. We should not be the slightest bit surprised by the brutality that has been on display. These savages have always been extremely brutal, especially when it comes to Jews and Christians, and what they term as Crusaders. We are the ones who have a problem getting inside the heads of these savages, trying to understand why they are extremely brutal. The truth is, one only has to look to the Koran, and the Sunna or Hadith to find out the truth. The most brutal savagery that we see on display today was present when Mohammed the cattle thief and murderer was busy plundering region after region in the 7th century. On that score nothing has changed at all.

The surge in interest in Islam, and the increase in numbers worldwide has in fact led to an increase in attacks as well as an increase in outright savage brutality. In Syria for example, the extremists have been gaining a foothold, and it has meant that Christians are being massacred. We do not know the exact numbers of the Christians being massacred, but there are stories that are filtering into the wide world – the problem is, the mainstream media will not mention these massacres, whether it is in Syria, Tunis, Pakistan, Libya or some other African nation. I think this is why the press has been reluctant to mention the extreme brutality on display in the Westgate Mall in Nairobi.

Minority groups of Muslims such as Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram have been adopting what we consider to be an extreme form of Islam. What Westerners do not understand is that this extreme form of Islam is purely based upon the strictures in the Koran and the Hadith. They do in fact believe that they have the right to kill anyone who will not convert to Islam.  It is all part of what has been preached to them by extremist preachers.

Boko Haram were the perpetrators of the murder of the 40 students who were killed as they lay sleeping in their dormitory. We can cluck and shake our heads but do we understand the justification for these murders. Boko Haram are extremists. They believe that any form of western education is wrong. Such beliefs only leads to the dumbing down of the population, but it goes beyond dumbing down to what I believe is the real issue – if the population embraces western education then they will begin to question this primitive theocracy and they will seek to leave Islam. In their minds this is not allowed to happen, thus they attack those who are trying to become educated.

It is not just Boko Haram, because in Pakistan and Afghanistan, the Taliban also uses extremist measures against the population. How soon do we forget the atrocities that had been committed against Afghani women who had been doctors, lawyers, teachers and other professionals? When the Taliban wrested control in Afghanistan the women were treated in an horrendous fashion, enduring beatings, imprisonment and rape because a little bit of flesh was showing around the ankles. Actually they did the same thing in Iran!! Under the Taliban girls were not allowed to go to school. Over the past few years we have heard of girls being gassed in their classrooms, of acid being thrown in the faces of girls at school, and of male teachers being murdered because they dared to teach these girls the basics. Islam, in this extreme form is all about the enslaving of women. It is all about keeping the women and the population as a whole ignorant so that they will not have the desire to explore and to use their intellect.

There is no better case than that of the young girl who was shot as she was riding on a bus from school in Pakistan. This brave young girl, who survived the brutal attack upon herself, had spoken out against those who would deny her an opportunity to get an education. How pathetic that the Pakistan Taliban was willing to kill a 14 year old girl simply because she wants an education.

There is a lot more that can be written about the Muslim way of thinking and why it is that they are in a perpetual state of war against the rest of civilization.  It will take time to assemble more information.

Disturbing information regarding Libya

Whilst I remain supportive of the new Libyan government, I cannot help but feel alarm over the continued increase in arms smuggling that is occurring in that region. There is a good reason to believe that the militia’s of former rebels need to be pulled into line, and the Libyan government needs to bring all Islamists under control.

What I want to question is whether it is just the one side that is doing the arms smuggling. Why do I question the source of these arms?

1. Mali – Gadhafi had been giving arms to the Touareg in Mali and it is the Touareg that have acted in a questionable way in Mali. Could it be that the Gadhafi family and their supporters have continued to supply the arms? I throw up this question because I do not believe that there is a simple answer to the question regarding who has been financing the trouble in Mali and with members of the Gadhafi family living in Niger and Algeria I have my own suspicions.

2. Syria – the continued supply of arms to Syria is one of the things that disturbs me the most. Is it just Libya who is smuggling the arms to Syria? Is Libya being used as a conduit of arms being sent from Qatar or some other friendly country? Has the U.S. government been supplying the “rebels” in Syria via Libya?

There are many unanswered questions. I am not 100% ready to accept that it is Libya alone responsible for the supply of arms in the region. I suspect that prior to the rebellion and revolution in Libya that saw the end of the Gadhafi regime, the arms smuggling to the “Islamists” and rebels in Mali was either ignored or undetected by the world at large. There is sufficient evidence to show that Moammar Gadhafi had been supplying arms to the Touareg as a means of keeping them loyal to himself. He very likely supplied arms etc. to Niger and Algeria as well. I have not seen any analysis relating to the African countries that were friendly with Gadhafi with regard to the impact of Gadhafi money in each of those countries. One country really did stand out and that was Mali because the uprising in Mali followed the death of Gadhafi, and on top of that the leaders of the uprising and the damage that took place happened to be the Touareg. I feel that I am only seeing half of the story.

The Islamists in Libya remain a problem. In some areas such as Benghazi they continue to be out of control to the point where they are threatening Christians who live in the region.

Even though I am supportive of the new Libyan regime, I remain critical of their lack of action over certain matters. I want them to do more in relation to the attack upon the US consulate in Benghazi. I want to hear that there have been arrests and that people are being charged and even facing the death penalty over that attack. I have not seen enough in the way of positive action. In this respect the new regime has remained moribund. Yet, I do not believe that they are supporting the terrorists.

In the future I will be continuing to watch developments in Syria and Libya. I remain concerned about the strengthening of Al Qaeda in Iraq and the way in which that group have formed an alliance with “rebels” in Syria. I continue to remain neutral and not support either side in the Syrian conflict because I do not know enough about the “rebels”.  On the other hand I cannot support Assad because he is backed by Iran.

The reason that I am not against the No-Fly Zone

Whilst there is a good reason to exercise caution with regard to the rebels in Libya, there is another side that causes me to throw good sense and caution to the wind, and support those who want to get rid of Moammar Gaddhafi.  It is the manner in which people have disappeared.

In the past few weeks I have been reading of some of the stories that go back in time, where anyone who opposed Daffy Duck, even when residing in another country, could be arrested and taken away from their families. One such story involves a Libyan-American cardiologist, whose father was taken when he was 6 years old.

Another story, that of Eman al Obaidi has been told in part. The Daffy goons claimed that she was released but her family have stated that this is not the case, so now Eman is amongst those who have disappeared.

The New York Slimes takes up the story of the people who are looking for their relatives who have been taken during the fighting against Daffy goons. You can read the story here.

It has to be remembered that some of the rebel fighters are in fact Islamists. They have their own motivations for fighting; and some of them fought in Iraq too. However, these are not the majority of the rebels. The numbers are simply too big to believe that all of these people are Islamists and AQ associated individuals.  These rebel fighters have been brave and I have seen few critical reports (I did see one in Der Spiegel, where it was claimed that the rebels were killing the Daffy loyalists, but who knows if the story was accurate… it could be…). The journalists who have been with the rebels have observed the humane treatment given to the wounded government soldiers. For some there has been an opening of the eyes, as these people finally realize that the Daffy goons in charge have lied to them.

Since Daffy seized control in Libya thousands of people have disappeared, never to be heard from again. This is the same thing that happened under Saddam Hussein. The people were thrown into prison and tortured, before they were killed. So it is no surprise to hear that Daffy troops have captured these rebel fighters and then sent them to Daffy prison.

Some of the people who have been captured have been journalists. One team of 4 worked for the NY Slimes. They were missing for up to a week. The woman in the team has mentioned that she was abused, and that the whole team was terrorised when they were captured. She did not mention if she had faced being raped. Other teams of journalists have also gone missing. At the same time I heard that Daffy had captured the 70 members of an Italian tugboat. I have seen no reports about this incident and have no idea if they have been released. Neither have I heard that he actually released the Dutch SAS team that were captured. On the other hand, the rebels released the British SAS team as soon as their identities were verified. It shows the difference between the two sides, and this is one of the reasons that I have thrown my lot with the rebels.

The Lockerbie bombing is another reason for despising Daffy Duck and wanting to see him removed from power. Daffy ordered that bombing. On top of that there is the murder of the British policewoman outside of the Libyan Embassy in the 1990s. A staff member of the embassy was taking pot shots at the demonstrators who were there, and he deliberately shot and killed the policewoman. The man, who was covered by diplomatic immunity at the time was identified, but there was insufficient proof. He has been captured by the rebels, and the story has been brought up again. This time, a man who was a student in London at the time, has also fingered this man as being a Daffy spy who spied on the students and wrote reports about their activities. The man claimed that he was in the hands of the police when the policewoman was killed. However, that has not been confirmed. The man’s fingerprints were found on the window sill where the gun had been situated and fired on the protesters.

Therefore, I am scanning the stories coming out of Libya. I remain alert with regard to the signs of Islamism. From what I have been reading I have seen no evidence to support the idea that the coalition has been working with people who are Islamists and associated with Al Qaeda. Instead, I hear of people who are praising David Cameron and Nicolas Sarkozy. To my mind it is a case of wait and see if they are on the level when they say that they are not associated with AQ.

Revolution comes to the Middle East

It started in Tunisia when a shopkeeper set himself alight. From Tunisia it spread to Egypt, Yemen, Morocco, Oman, Syria, Jordan and to Libya. The starting point in at least 2 countries seems to be convenient for the “revolutionaries”, rather than being started by those plotting behind the scenes.

From what I understand, the revolution in Tunisia began with a man setting himself alight in protest over demands to pay protection money. According to his family he was not involved in any groups demanding change. His was a one man protest. However, people behind the scenes seized the opportunity to start the protests that led to the demise of the Tunisian President. (when I have time I really should look up reports about the events that led to the overthrow of the Tunisian President).

In Egypt, it was a day of rage organized by young people that set the ball rolling. Now wait a minute… look at that language… “a day of rage”. Why does that remind me of Communists, Weather Underground, SDS, Code Pink and followers of Che Guevera from Cuba? ( I will touch on this again at some point). Yet Egypt is a lot more complex than these Communist plotters. The reason for the complexity is the Muslim Brotherhood, and El Baradei who was endorsed by Muslim Brotherhood (I will also touch on this point in another post). What started as a trickle became a stream and Hosni Muburak was pushed from power.

At the same time protests began in Jordan, Morocco, Syria and Yemen, but one thing stood out to me, and that was the reaction from Libya when the protests began. Let me explain it this way, buried in the middle of one news report was information that a Daffy Duck official who was in Africa at the time, heard about the protests elsewhere and rushed home.  I was not sure what way Daffy was leaning, but the world was soon to find out what Daffy had in mind. The first thing he did was release 100 prisoners who had been held because they had links to Al Qaeda. He intended to use them as an excuse for a crackdown.

The protests in Libya deserve a post of their own so I will deal with what I have learned since the first early protest. It started out small, a protest because of the arrest of a man who had links to the families of the 1000 plus political prisoners who had been killed in prison back in 1996. The Daffy goons fired shots at this small group of protesters and at least one was killed during the first protest. Just like in Egypt this was the root cause for the swelling of the crowds who were protesting.  Daffy decided to take the route of a brutal crackdown. The protesters managed to take out the fort in Benghazi. At the same time the justice minister and an army unit arrived in Benghazi. Instead of fighting with the protesters they joined them. Protests broke out in other cities, all the way to Tripoli. The crackdown has been brutal. Despite the calls by the protesters for a no-fly zone to be implemented the world dithered. The push has come from Nicolas Sarkozy and David Cameron, with the great Duh Won having to be dragged into making a decision to back the UN resolution that put in place the no fly zone. This was at the  11th hour when Daffy’s thugs were on the outskirts of Benghazi and Daffy was threatening to show no mercy. (The full story will be given in later posts). Finally, the French began the action, with French aircraft swooping in and hitting the Daffy tanks.

Now, everything is not as it seems. Whilst I continue to back the “rebels” in Libya, I am well aware that the rebels are made up of a very intriguing mix of individuals. It appears that the people who have formed the National Transitional Council are professionals who have had no experience in government, yet they have pulled this coalition together to present a front to the world that says “we are pro-West”, but amongst those who are fighting, there are Islamists, and yes some who are associated with AQ, they have even gone to Iraq to fight. One thing that should be considered here is that these young men went to Iraq as mercenaries for AQ. Yes, they are even Islamists, but are they the majority? Or are they just a small group? The potential is there for AQ or other Islamists to try and gain a foothold in Iraq. Time will tell about what will happen next. In the meantime, the people in Benghazi have made a deal with Qatar to market the oil that is being produced.

To me, it seems that there is a good reason to treat each of these “revolutions” with suspicion. Who is behind them? In Bahrain, where there has been a somewhat brutal crackdown, it appears that the hand behind the curtain belongs to Iran. I suspect that perhaps an Iranian puppet master is hiding in Egypt (even though there has been one set back to the puppet master’s plans) and that perhaps either Iran or Muslim Brotherhood have been active in Yemen, Bahrain, Syria and a few other countries. The only difference is Libya, and this is due to the fact that the events happening right now are tied to events that occurred in 1995-1996.  It is somehow tied to the shooting of the British policewoman outside of the Libyan embassy in London. I will try to elaborate on this hunch in a future post.

Should we be concerned about these revolutions in the ME? I think that we should be concerned, rather than welcoming with regard to the revolutions. I admit to my own unease when I see that even in Libya there are photos of Che Guevera being posted around the place. It could be that these people are totally ignorant about Che Guevera’s brutality which is matched by the brutality of Daffy Duck, even so the photo disturbs me. Yet, for now I will put this down to the fact that the rebels are indeed a very disparate group of individuals who have different aims.