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Информация о материале
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Автор: Daniel Pipes
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Категория: english
New York Sun
August 17, 2004
http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2021
http://daily.nysun.com/standard/ShowStoryTemplate.aspPath=NYS/2004/08/17&ID=Ar00701&Section=Foreign
In a striking admission, George W. Bush said the other day that that
"We actually misnamed the war on terror. It ought to be [called] the struggle
against ideological extremists who do not believe in free societies and
who happen to use terror as a weapon to try to shake the conscience of
the free world."
This important concession follows growing criticism of the misleading
term "war on terror" (how can one fight a tactic?) and replaces it with
the more accurate "war on ideological extremists." With this change, the
battle of ideas can begin.
But who exactly are those ideological extremists? The next step is
for Mr. Bush to give them a name.
In fact, he on occasion since September 11 has spoken candidly about
their identity. As early as September 2001, he referred to the enemy being
"a fringe form of Islamic extremism" which seeks "to kill Christians and
Jews, to kill all Americans, and make no distinction among military and
civilians, including women and children." This Islamic extremism also is
heir to "all the murderous ideologies of the twentieth century," including
"fascism, and Nazism, and totalitarianism."
In January 2002, Mr. Bush was more specific yet, adding that the terrorist
underworld includes "groups like Hamas, Hezbollah, Islamic Jihad, [and]
Jaish-i-Mohammed." In May 2002, he pointed out that a "new totalitarian
threat" exists whose adherents "are defined by their hatreds: they hate
… Jews and Christians and all Muslims who disagree with them" (implying
that they are Muslims). Those adherents, he noted, feel entitled to kill
"in the name of a false religious purity."
A year later, in May 2003, the president provided details about the
Islamists' goals, observing that "nineteen evil men—the shock troops of
a hateful ideology—gave America and the civilized world a glimpse of their
ambitions. They imagined, in the words of [Ramzi Binalshibh, the Al-Qaeda
leader accused of directing the 9/11 operation], that September the 11th
would be the ‘beginning of the end of America.'"
The terrorist acts of the past two decades, Mr. Bush noted in April
2004, are the work of fanatical, political ideologues who "seek tyranny
in the Middle East and beyond. They seek to oppress and persecute women.
They seek the death of Jews and Christians, and every Muslim who desires
peace over theocratic terror."
Last month, Bush for the first time used the phrase "Islamic militants,"
perhaps his most explicit reference until now to the Islamist threat, saying
that until he closed a so-called Islamic charity based in Illinois, the
Benevolence International Foundation, it "channel[ed] money to Islamic
militants."
Rolling these comments into a single summary statement establishes
how Mr. Bush – and by extension the whole of the U.S. government – sees
the enemy: A false doctrine of Islamic purity inspires a totalitarian ideology
of power and domination. In its ruthlessness, murderousness, and global
ambition, it resembles the Nazi and communist ideologies. The extremists
who advocate this doctrine see America as the chief obstacle to achieving
their goals. To defeat America, they initially seek Washington's retreat
from the outside world. Ultimately, they hope to bring about a collapse
of America as it now exists. Toward this end, they are prepared to murder
any number of Americans.
This is a fine description of Islamism, its mentality, methods, and
means. It also shows that Mr. Bush draws the subtle distinction between
the personal faith of Islam and the political ideology of Islamism (or
militant Islam).
In this, he parallels what a number of Muslim leaders – including even
some Saudis – have said. Following acts of terrorism in Riyadh in May 2003,
Interior Minister Prince Naif publicly attributed this violence to "ideology"
and "fanatical ideas." And if Naif – himself an Islamist – attributes the
problem ultimately not to acts of violence but the ideas behind them, surely
Americans can say no less.
Mr. Bush has already alluded to America having to confront its third
totalitarian ideology. Now he should name that ideology. I hope he will
surround himself with a group of distinguished anti-Islamist Muslims, foreign
and domestic alike, and formally announce America's acceptance of leadership
in the war against Islamism.
Only with such specificity can the civilized world start on the path
to victory over this latest manifestation of barbarism.
To comment on this article, please go to http://www.danielpipes.org/article/2021#comment
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