Anti-war conservative asks: Are liberals worried about Jihad?

Question

I am a conservative but am anti-war. I don't think the war in Iraq is the best way to deal with Jihad.

I do believe that the White House thought they were doing the right thing at the time but they proved to be amazingly incompetent for not realizing that they were stepping into a Sunni-Shiite conflict.

The war in Iraq will never succeed because of Islam. The "religion" is a political ideology. Sunni and Shiites hate each other more than they hate Westerners.

But, do liberals worry about Jihad? I'm afraid they are against the war because it was started by Bush & Co. but think the neo-conservatives created the Jihadist Myth.

Jihad is alive and real and has been fighting against the West for 1,400 years since Islam was founded.

Liberals... what do you think of Jihad? Should we let a pan-Arab war break out? Should we stop Muslim immigration to USA?

(I know you hate Bush. I know you're against the war. Just let me know what you think about Jihad.)

Answer 1

First, I think a clarification is in order:

Yes, many liberals like me hate Bush. But you're confusing cause and effect, my friend. Our opposition to his policies is not born of hatred. Rather, we learned to hate him because for years we have opposed his policies (in particular the war in Iraq). It's fashionable to say that our judgment is so clouded by our hatred of Bush that we spend more time fighting him than the terrorists, but believe it or not we do have actual reasons for criticizing the president.

As for Jihad, we are under no delusions that it is not a real phenomenon or that terrorist attacks such as September 11th only kill conservatives. We do not, however, believe that the Jihadist movement is driven entirely by Islamic fundamentalism. People may be convinced that Jihad is sanctioned by God, but religious extremism alone cannot account for its popularity.

We believe that many Muslims have legitimate grievances against the United States and those countries it supports financially and militarily (and that's not just Israel. That includes many Arab countries as well). If left ignored, these grievances will inevitably result in greater recruitment for Jihad and terrorist acts. This is not a justification of terrorism, but one explanation.

Military intervention is incredibly destructive regardless of the relative precision of our weaponry. Those people whose homes are destroyed, and whose lives have been disrupted will not be comforted by the idea that they are collateral damage in a broader War on Terrorism. They will be outraged, and the object of their outrage will not be the terrorists who were the real target, but the country responsible for the destruction. In such a climate, Jihad is very appealing because its results are much more immediate and effective than non-violent responses. The fact that Jihadists are told that they are doing God's work certainly helps cement their convictions, but their basic motivation is to respond to oppression, however misguided that response may seem to us. It is for that reason that no amount of military intervention will do anything other than fan the flames of Jihad.

Answer 2

The USA's decades long exploitative foreign policy and attitude toward the middle east is the cause of the popular discontent that created the jihad movement. Jihad as we define it today has not existed for 1400 years. It is a phenomenon created by an intereventionist foreign policy and an exploitative attitude toward controlling their resources namely oil in the middle east.

If the popluations weren't dirt poor and their leaders filthy rich because they and the big western oil companies kept all of the nations oil wealth, while they lived in mud hits, they wouldn't hate us and declare jihad against us.

What do we to about the Jihad? Support free elections and a parlimentary system without invading their countries or proping up corrupt dictators that will sign billion dollar deals that screw the people out of the benefit of their nations resources, while the dictators pocket the tens of millions dollars worth of scraps big oil throws them from their billion dollar tables.

As the saying goes, we are making enemies faster than we can kill them. If we were fair and even handed, then we'd have friends whom we didn't anger to that point.

It'a all about fair trade not free trade. That's the liberal line, from this liberal at least.

Answer 3

I do NOT hate anyone , but some actions I do hate. I do not think that we should let the arabs war to kill each other, no, because to many innocents are dying over it already. Jihad can be taken care of within the SUNNI LEADERSHIP !! If the LEADERS would do their Jobs, they can stop the JIHAD, its the wanting to end it, that they need. They need to appreciate LIFE more than Death, but they HONOR DEATH instead of life, unlike the westerners. They are like stuck in these crazy idealogies that death is more important than living life.
I think Jihad is pure evil and pure ignorance. I think that negativity creates it, the hatred of how their life is, etc..there is NOTHING good about their Jihad, be it LOCAL OR GLOBAL.
I do not hate George Bush, but I do not like the war either, and yes, I believe that muslim immigration should be looked at very very close before they let one into our country !!! I also think they should kick out all illegal foreigners that are not in danger in their own countries !! Make them come here LEGALLY, My grandfather had to !!

ILLEGAL IMMIGRATION IS FOREIGN INVASION !!!!!!!!!!! Statistically speaking approx. 24,000 American citizens have been killed by foreigners HERE on our soil in the states since 9/11 !!!
They need to pack em up, and get them out, they dont like our countries people anyways, apporeciate others lives, or our laws, etc. and are here for MONEY only !!

Answer 4

I think Islamic fundamentalism is a foreign policy problem and a law enforcement issue. As far as daily life goes, I'm not scared of terrorists. I think that's our government's job to be concerned with them.

I think they could be doing more to fight terrorism more effectively, but I think there's larger problems facing our country than terrorism.

And I don't appreciate the scare quotes around the word religion when used to describe Islam. It's a beautiful faith that, like most other major religions, has been used to exploit and focus people's anger.

Answer 5

In my humble opinion, Liberals don't wan to fight Jihad. They wan to understand and embrace Jihad as just another way we deal with situations.

Some people just feel that this is the way to handle things and that we should accept this culture and try to give them enough space so they don't hurt themselves.

Answer 6

I do believe that we should protect ourselves here,and get out of Iraq-because like you stated: They have been fighting for 1400 years and nothing seems to work with these people except violence-so let them kill themselves, instead of wasting time, energy, and most importantly LIFE seemingly for nothing.

Answer 7

Of course there are things in life worth dying for. If you think nothing is worth dying for, it's the same as saying nothing in life is worth living for.