Who are the suicide bombers of Iraq? By the radicals' account, they are an internationalist brigade of Arabs, with the largest share in the online lists from Saudi Arabia and a significant minority from other countries on Iraq's borders, such as Syria and Kuwait. The roster of the dead on just one extremist Web site reviewed by The Washington Post runs to nearly 250 names, ranging from a 13-year-old Syrian boy said to have died fighting the Americans in Fallujah to the reigning kung fu champion of Jordan, who sneaked off to wage war by telling his family he was going to a tournament.
Among the dead are students of engineering and English, the son of a Moroccan restaurateur and a smattering of Europeanized Arabs. There are also long lists of names about whom nothing more is recorded than a country of origin and the word "martyr."
Some counterterrorism officials are skeptical about relying on information from publicly available Web sites, which they say may be used for disinformation. But other observers of the jihadist Web sites view the lists of the dead "for internal purposes" more than for propaganda, as British researcher Paul Eedle put it. "These are efforts on the part of jihadis to collate deaths. It's like footballers on the Net getting a buzz out of knowing somebody's transferred from Chelsea to Liverpool."
Shahid trading cards are not unheard of.
I would like to remind everyone of the global nature of the jihad, but the centrality of Saudi Arabia to the worst, but not all, of it. Osama Bin Laden, the muscle hijackers, Wahhabi funding spread out all over the world, Jew-hating da'wa, violently anti-American tracts in the mosques. Constant slanders against the morality of those who live in the West.
Yet the so-called 'martyrs' who came to the United States engaged in any debauchery necessary to blend in with the locals. I'm sure going to a strip club and getting drunk was necessary to keep their covers intact.
Wink wink, nudge nudge.
This is convenient taqiyya for a little fun on the side practiced by the Takfir, al-Qaeda, or other Muslims operating as jihad fighters in Dar-al-Harb as opposed to the traditional meaning where Shia are trying to avoid persecution by the Sunni.
Alcohol is prevalent among the Saudi elite. I'm sure the average Saudi prince drinks far more than I do. Now is a good time for a stiff drink for every Saudi prince.
If King Fahd is actually dead, we'll get to see the smooth transition of power in democratic fashion. Women's rights will be respected, hate will no longer be taught in Saudi education or da'wa, and Saudi Arabia will become a model Jeffersonian democracy.
Or not.
Now the 'royals' - practiced in western "debauchery" - must try to walk the fine line between rabid Jew, America, modernity-hating hypocrites in the Saudi ulema, a population which might vote for government by al-Qaeda, democracy (see previous), and those who wish to reform or modernize some Saudi institutions (more than a high school certainly, and hopefully more numerous than Rhode Islanders).
The new leader might have to grapple with a great deal of dissent in the security services and military - all while keeping the oil flowing.
If Zarqawi is dead, I think this should be Zarqawi's legacy, not some Islamist fantasy where he fought the "invaders".
Zarqawi isn't hopeful. He's outraged. And humiliated. Now he's out to make Iraqis pay for choosing freedom and peace over brutalized religion and ethnic fascism.
The terrorists feel betrayed.
So they kill. Poor laborers gathered to beg for part-time work. Women and children. Police recruits. Low-level officials. Students. And any passers-by who get in the way. Simple Muslims slain by "holy martyrs of Islam" in suicide vests. By the fountains of paradise, Mohammed must be weeping.
Such attacks won't win Iraqi hearts and minds. They're not intended to. Allah's self-appointed executioners are simply plunging deeper into their pagan bloodcult. This week's bombings echoed the 9/11 attack on Manhattan. The purpose was to offer human sacrifices to a vengeful, bloodthirsty god.
Now brave American soldiers, in a fire fight, shot him through the lung and killed him.
Good riddance.
Is the long-simmering feud between China and Taiwan, along with French triangulation/perfidy the most important media story which slipped through the cracks?
There is far more coverage of the 'Runaway Bride' than a story of global geopolitics with enormous import.
Soon after the intial French announcement, Chinese officials met with their arch-enemy Taiwanese officials, took pictures, shook hands, made history, and so on. Too much money at stake in the Chinese trade imbalance to fight over Taiwan, hopefully. France comes out looking like France.
I'd like to know if the military posture over the Straits has changed. Do the Chinese plan to target Taiwan with hundreds of offensive missiles over the long term? Any more Wong Way incidents planned for the future?
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