FIRE WITH FIRE

I have been following Watcher's thread for over a week and admire your insight and writing style. Although you have good points and make good sense in a humorous way, [sic] Whack A Mole, I remind you that the history of European pacifism preceded two major world wars, so I would be reluctant to call the present US isolation solely a result of Cowboy Politics. No, the isolation also stems from Europeans who are more interested in looking after their present welfare than protecting their future. The problems of terrorism and proliferation will not simply go away if we in the West ignore them. History shows that the exact opposite will happen. Engagement is the only effective reasoning that will bring about order.

I also agree with Watcher that respect, assimilation, and education are keys to peace. However, hard work, honesty, and integrity are keys to prosperity. And prosperity requires the desire for peace. Therein lies the failure for peace in the Middle East - prosperity is sacrificed for cross-border raids into Israel, murder, and senseless homicide bombings of innocent people.

Hezbollah and Hamas allow their hatred and desire for revenge to prevent them from settling down into prosperous lives. And the "fingerprints" of Iran are all over these conflicts - nothing that shouldn't be expected from a country whose head of state denies the Holocaust and calls for the extermination of an entire country that includes over six million people. Does the world forget that Adolph Hitler not only called for the extermination of the Jewish race; he succeeded in murdering six million of them?

As an observer of world events these past two decades, the pattern that has become evident to me is that Islamic extremism has followed Muslim migration patterns. That is, where people of the Muslim faith immigrate into host countries, the pattern of segregation, dissension, and violence follow. One of your recent commentators (Nasrallah lebanon) claimed that Islam is a religion of peace, but there has been far more documented violence committed in the name of Islam in recent decades than any other religion.

Nasrallah lebanon appears to lay out an educated and convincing essay regarding which people (Arab or Hebrew) has the right to claim heritage to the land of Palestine. However, Nasrallah lebanon's references to the Holy Scriptures of the Old Testament (Judaism) and New Testament (Christian) had a number of errors by omission and commission. We will have to engage on the specifics at a later time. Perhaps the most compelling evidence is the fact that the prophet Muhammed was a warrior with blood on his hands as opposed to Jesus who allowed his blood to be shed to save the sins of the world. Given the violence that follows Islam around the globe, it is clear to me the difference it makes when people choose to follow a warmaker instead of a peacemaker.

I will close by affirming the right of Israel (or any country for that matter) to respond militarily to ongoing and overt acts of war. Given the inflammatory rhetoric from their Islamic enemies, there is no doubt that the Nation of Israel is fighting for its very existence.

Thank you Silver Eagle for your comments. You have made some excellent and crucial points in regard to Muslim extremism spreading with the Muslim Diaspora into Europe. You have also nailed another very important point about eccomomic opportunity and prosperity in these adopted countries for new immigrants.

On one other very important point however, you have painted the entire Muslim population with a very broad brush. A brush that I think should be instead used to paint only the Islamic extremist faction and not the entire Muslim community.

Beyond that you have made some excellent points about historical aggression and violence toward the Jewish people and that we should take notice of these current day warnings.