The Trump administration’s executive order halting immigration from seven Muslim-majority countries was trumpeted as protecting Americans from the threat of terrorism. However it is more likely to end up fueling the narratives of extremist groups fighting the United States. There are reports of Daesh (ISIS) celebrating the Muslim bans. Banning heavily vetted visitors is unlikely… Continue reading The Common Goal of Team Trump and Daesh (ISIS)
There seems to be a lot of young Arab men in Europe who need to be induced to join an army to fight Daesh. Once some sort of ceasefire is organized in Syria, such an army should be part of the picture. Recruitment can start now. Many already have military training, so they can train… Continue reading Let’s not get too excited about Islam
I think if I were a bona fide Christian I would be supporting the execution of non-believers and apostates. These people are leading others to damnation. It is the only decent thing to do! But no, liberalism and softness have drained people of their necessary firmness. I suspect Salafist Muslims fear that this too will… Continue reading New Year Ravings
I left this comment at Project Syndicate in response to some more of Jeffrey Sachs’ usual silliness: Arabs want and need a democratic revolution. They have had enough of the stagnant and oppressive swamp. The rest of the world, particularly the US and its allies should do what they can to assist. In some cases… Continue reading Jeffrey Sachs awful as usual
A couple of recent articles by Jeffrey D. Sachs on the Middle East caught my eye He makes the point that the west has to allow Islamists to participate in government. I agree and I think there is an increasing acceptance of that. He claims that the US was complicit in the the toppling of… Continue reading Jeffrey Sachs on the Middle East
We have had quite a bit of progress on the democratic front in recent decades although there are still some very big and serious challenges. Let us look first at the progress. Latin America is no longer run by military dictators and they are becoming the exception in sub-Saharan Africa. Then of course there is… Continue reading The battle for democracy
Donald Trump bases his call for a ban on Muslims on the fact that many Muslims hate America, that lots of them support violence against Americans and that half of Muslims in America believe that they should have the right to be governed according to Sharia law which authorizes all sort of atrocities. (Trump’s press… Continue reading Trump and the Muslims
Different Wavelength 