Since they offer nothing in terms of protecting the US from an Islamic onslaught, it may serve us well to know what type of country we will have after President Russ Feingold and the Democratic-controlled Congress tell us all to convert to Islam to appease our enemies...
By Shannara Johnson
According to a recent poll conducted by Opinion Dynamics--and reported by FOX News--67% of Americans believe that the U.S. will be unable to stop a civil war from breaking out in Iraq. 3% think there is already a civil war going on. 31% say the U.S. should pull out troops gradually over the next year, while 27% vote for a complete pullout by the end of 2006.
Few Americans still believe that the U.S. occupation has improved the situation in Iraq.
Constant news on Shiite/Sunni kidnappings and the increasing power of Islamist fanatics in the country have left us exasperated and confused. And the new "U.S.-friendly" Iraqi government seems questionable, to say the least.
To assess how bad the situation really is, real-life examples usually tell a better story than numbers.
On August 7, NPR journalist John Hendren reported that "Shepherds in the rural western Baghdad neighborhood of Gazalia have recently been murdered. . . for failing to diaper their goats. Apparently, the sexual tension is so high in regions where sheiks take a draconian view of Sharia law that they feel the sight of naked goats poses an unacceptable temptation."
But it's not only goats moving their uncovered behinds in a sensual way that irks fervent believers. Produce, too, has gotten a bad reputation.
In East Baghdad, said Hendren, "[a] grocer and three others were shot to death and the store was firebombed, because he suggestively arranged his vegetables. I couldn't believe it at first. . .
But an Iraqi colleague explained matter-of-factly that Shiite clerics have recently distributed a flyer directing grocers how to display their food. Standing up a celery stock near a couple of tomatoes in a way that might--to the profoundly repressed--suggest an aroused male is now a capital offense."
Even though Hendren has seen a lot, the latest developments have left him speechless. "I've learned a new oxymoron: religious assassins. I've watched friends move repeatedly to stay ahead of attacks by insurgents. And now Iraqis are dying over goat panties and naughty veggies."
But to be fair, this kind of erratic behavior doesn't pertain solely to our new friends in Iraq. Some of the U.S.' oldest--and chummiest--friends are acting no less bizarre.
Zoom to Saudi Arabia. In March 2002, when a fire broke out in a school near Mecca, armed Saudi policemen stopped 15 girls from leaving the burning building because "they were not wearing the headscarves and abayas (black robes) required by the kingdom's strict interpretation of Islam," reported the BBC. "One witness said he saw three policemen beating young girls to prevent them from leaving the school..."
(Male) passersby who were trying to help were hindered by the police--known as the Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice--and warned that "it is sinful to approach them." All fifteen died in the blazing fire.
"The religious police are widely feared in Saudi Arabia," stated the BBC article. "They roam the streets enforcing dress codes and sex segregation, and ensuring prayers are performed on time.
Those who refuse to obey their orders are often beaten and sometimes put in jail."
With friends like those, who needs enemies?
Isn't time we told Congress that we want to drill our own oil so that our petrodollars stay out of the hands of 8th century cut throats?
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