Expected to know and knowing what to expect

WASHINGTON, D.C. (5/4) - We do not know what to expect next.  We live at a time when the unpredictable has become the expected and no matter what it is from 9/11 to the abuse of PoWs, the defense is, it could not be anticipated. Terrorists attacks, corruption and scandal appear to be among the few things we can really count on. We do not have the Oracle of Delphi to help make decisions for us and must rely upon our leaders to protect us and make the right decisions. What other unexpected things are in the making?

Dotting "I"s and crossing "T"s

In these crucial times, we cannot be talking about trying to connect the dots after the damage is done. In these crucial times, mistakes in policy, planning and expectations have exponential impact.  We live in a time of instant history and our nations actions reverberate quickly around the world - while problems fester slowly to a boil.

This is a time in which our survival, our ideals and our image requires dotting "I"s and crossing "T"s .  That is the job of our President, Congress and the military.

As the US seeks legitimacy for the US occupation of Iraq and the passing of sovereignty, a most unexpected mar bubbling under the surface for months boils over. At a time when it appears that America is more hatred than anytime in history, the abuse of Iraqi PoWs provides a great setback to the American  efforts to gain respect and restore its image.

The abuse of the PoWs could have been anticipated and should have been expected. According to William Cohen, former Secretary of Defense under Clinton, when America went into Haiti, General Henry Shelton said one of the first things he did was to establish a secure facility to house prisoners. Holding prisoners is a staple of war. Hatred and frustration by soldiers is to. The "I"s and "T"s  were not dotted.

The same is true of 9/11. All the warnings were there. The August 6th PDB should have been enough to alarm and to react.

Although the argument is repeatedly made that hindsight is 20/20, this argument does not justify a failure to sufficiently react to what the Bush administration actually knew at a level commensurate to the potential threat of harm.  The same is true about the PoW abuse.

The issue is not so much of one in not being able to connect the dots, it is one that centers around the neglect to react.

The American people entrusted the President, Congress and the military with the responsibility to react to warnings that concern our safety and that would include at a minimum the duty to fully consider all reasonable potential problem which affect American image and are necessary to protect us.

Bubbling under and boiling over

Other problems are a brew. There is an undercurrent of anti-Islam religion which has seeped around the world. It is not wise for the Bush administration to be associated with it. Whether it is a tangible or real association does not really matter. It is the perception created in the Islamic world that does. In this age of Internet, rumor and innuendo travel fast and dispelling impressions, that some already believe is difficult, if not impossible. There is fuel for Islamic concern.

For example, William Kristol, who many consider a harbinger of Bush policy, wrote an article about the "Mission Accomplished" speech by Bush aboard the USS Abraham Lincoln on May 1, 2003. The article was entitled "The end of the beginning" - a line from the Bush speech taken from Churchill. In the Kristol article, Kristol stated, "the Middle East or the Islamic world--is the heart of the problem."  He said that Afghanistan and Iraq were "mere battles."

Another example of Bush association  with those that may have anti-Islamic slants involves Paul Wolfowitz, Deputy Secretary of Defense. Wolfowitz is reported to be a former member of the Board of WINEP. WINEP was established, at least in part, to lobby the Presidency for Israel.

According to one expert, "Well before most  Americans took note of radical Islam as a potential threat to their security, ...WINEP and its associates were promoting the notion that Israel is a reliable US ally against the spread of Islamism."

Whether right or wrong, their are many around the world that believe, for these and other reason, that the alliance with Israel is based at least in part on an anti-Islamic bias. These associations, even if considered remote, exacerbate the perceived war on Islam as the real war on terror.

Messianic message

Bush, a born again Christian, is criticized by some for his use of religion which some say is "messianic." Bush repeatedly talks providing "God's gift of Democracy" to the Middle East and of "making history." He has created the impression in some that he believes he is on a mission from God. 

"To hear President Bush speak of late, you might think he was mounting a pulpit, not a podium. With war on the horizon, the Providence of God is especially on his mind. 'Events aren't moved by blind change and chance," he said at the Presidential Prayer Breakfast, echoing similar sentiments expressed in his State of the Union address. "Behind all of life and all of history, there's a dedication and a purpose, set by the hand of a just and faithful God.'

On the other side, Islam. Yesterday, Nation of Islam leader, Louis Farrakhan, spoke in Washington at the Press Club. The speech was broadcast on C-SPAN, by satellite, and across the world on the Internet. He was critical of the Israel US alliance and questioned the motives of the Bush administration support for Israel.

Farrakhan had sent two letters to Bush before the war on Iraq warning,

"Since the destruction of the Caliphate of Islam by corruption within the ranks of Islam, and European machinations; the rise of nationalism among Muslim nations has made it difficult and nearly impossible to unify the Arab and Muslim world on the question of Jihad. However, Mr. President, if you follow what you have in your mind, which many of those around you are encouraging you to do, then, you will do what Osama Bin Ladin and no Muslim extremist could ever do.

You will unite the Muslim world in hostility against America and Great Britain, and, you will use your great position of power inadvertently to call for a Holy War against the West.

You will force the more moderate Islamic regimes either not to side with you, or to side with you at the risk of being overthrown by growing Islamist forces within their countries.
 
The coalition that you are gathering will fall away from you and you will have to pursue this war alone. I am afraid that this extended war may take a turn that you and your advisors least expect, and involve America in the greatest of all wars, the War of Armageddon, in which no nation will be left out, including Russia and China.”

Bush did not respond to either of the two letters from Farrakhan literally or by changing his conduct. The warnings about inciting a greater jihad uniting Muslims in a war against the west either was not read or taken seriously. 

Farrakhan spoke in detail about Project New American Century (PNAC), the ties to the Bush administration and the apparent impact on Bush policy. He accused Bush of "denounc[ing] rogues in order to cover the real purpose."

Farrakhan was not alone in his warnings nor his concerns about PNAC. Many had the same concern before the war on Iraq. It is known around the world. You only need to go to any political chat room on the Internet to confirm this.

Dangerous circumstances

The impressions by some that the clash of civilizations is a war of the Gods pitting Christianity versus Islam is very dangerous. It is very dangerous that many see a purpose beyond the war on terror and mere democratization of the Middle East. It is dangerous that many perceive that actions of the Bush administration as colonialism.

Now the die is cast and we are inextricably involved in a what many believe to be a war of the Gods. What is perceived as a Christian army now occupies a Muslim nation. Christians and Muslims both believe their God is stronger.

Just stating that there is no war on Islam is not enough when certain associations do not provide distance from the issue. Farrakhan shows that there is a battle for the hearts and minds of Islam is going on right here in America right now. This is just the tip of the iceberg.

Arguing that "they" want to destroy us all because and our way of life is shallow justification for taking actions which obviously incite the problems of religious fervor and more clearly defines the sides. We should be trying harder to tame the flames, not fan them.

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