Coalition of the Good (Muslims and Arabs)
Arab countries may be joining together to form a Coalition of the Good, as a counter balance to President George W. Bush's Axis of Evil or maybe the Coalition of the Willing. The suggestion came from a Sheik Fadlalla, but I didn't catch his full name. I'm not knocking the idea, he may be on to something. However, I cannot find anything in the news, media, or on the web about this. I'd like to hear more.
I don't think Iran will be included in that Coalition of the Good, since they have imprisoned bloggers, journalists, and innocent Americans. Incognito reminds me that today, August 5, has been set aside to support those imprisoned Iranian student activists and bloggers. Karen also reminds me that "August 5th, 2007 is the 101st anniversary of the Iranian constitutional revolution." We pray for those in Iran who would choose freedom, democracy, and individual rights -- but don't see any hope for those things in their near future.
On the war in Iraq, I ran across a blog (Cheat Seeking Missiles) that asks this question, "Can intellectual firepower and studied perspective lead us to the right course in the War on Terror, or is gritty truth and a boots-on-the-ground understanding what will give us the best chance?"
Real Clear Politics lets us ponder this today by putting the two perspectives side-by-side. Logging in with the intellectual perspective is political science prof and Canadian liberal parliamentarian Michael Ingatieff, writing in today's NYT Magazine. Giving the grounded boots viewpoint is Michael Yon, writing in today's NY Daily News. [snip]Yon knows, from having the stink of al Qaeda's brutality burn his nostrils, what will come next: first bloodshed in Iraq, but then, flushed with victory and still committed to spreading Islam by the sword, bloodshed everywhere.
That is the perspective Bush has in fighting this war, a perspective he's had since its first days, and one he articulates even now. Ingatieff and the Left don't get it. They think the war will be over when we say it's over, and they couldn't be further from the truth, for all their intellectual heavy lifting. (read it all here, you really should)
Yes, there is "Progress in Iraq and Afghanistan", but only military success. The political situation is at rock bottom. One suggestion offered today, was for the United States to 'suggest' to the Iraqi people that their government was not working and the solution might be to move the 2009 elections up to this year and get a new government installed.
In related news in the Middle East:
Pakistan Urges US/UK to Withdraw from Afghanistan
Karzai hopes summit will thaw relationship with Pakistan
Other reading:
Sawdi $ in our Universities? NoT, Woman Honor Thyself
OTA Weekend, 123Beta
_______________________________________________________
Sharing the news and Trackposted to The Virtuous Republic, Rosemary's Thoughts, Big Dog's Weblog, The World According to Carl, Shadowscope, Cao's Blog, The Amboy Times, Leaning Straight Up, Republican National Convention Blog, and Dumb Ox Daily News, thanks to Linkfest Haven Deluxe.
Comments