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Why Iranians Take Hostages
Dear James,
Why
Iranians Take Hostages
http://www.expertclick.com/NewsReleaseWire/default.cfm?Action=ReleaseDetail&ID=16030
Why Iranians Take
Hostages
By Alan Caruba
I often fear that the vast ignorance of Americans and others around the
world concerning the history of Islam condemns them to be pawns in the
hands of the Iranians and other Muslim leaders who reflect why Islam
came to be and how it has conducted itself since the death of its
founder.
The recent "incident" in which 15 British sailors were taken hostage by
the Iranians (and you can substitute any radical Islamic group such as
Hamas, Hezbollah, or al Qaeda committing other similar acts) and the
subsequent "diplomatic" effort totally ignores the fact that these same
Iranians took American diplomats hostage in 1979. Our subsequent failure
to mete out a severe military retribution has brought us to the current
prospect of a nuclear-armed Iran.
You may have noticed that, every time the United States leaves a war
unfinished, we end up having to deal with the same bad people whether
they are the North Koreans, the Iranians, or, in the case of Iraq, the
return in 2003 after the botched victory in 1991. The only purpose of
war is to leave one's enemies utterly without the will to repeat their
bad behavior. By contrast, we have excellent relations with Japan and
Germany.
It should be noted, too, that the Iranians have shown absolutely no
regard for the Geneva Convention, having paraded their hostages on
television and forced them to make false statements under threat of
death. The loudest voices about the proper adherence to the Convention
have, of course, been raised against the United States.
The powerful hold that Islam has on the minds and hearts of Middle
Eastern Muslims is deeply rooted in its very beginnings. This "religion"
that Mohammed invented had as its purpose a justification for looting
other towns and tribes in the name of Allah. Thievery, banditry, the
sale of slaves, the imposition of taxes and tribute, were all set in
place when in March 623 Muhammed said, "I was ordered to fight all men
until they say 'There is no god but Allah.'"
Islam, which translates "submission", is all about war, the division of
the booty that results, and the subjugation of those who are conquered.
This explains why, alone among the three major monotheistic religions,
Islam has produced absolutely nothing that one can call progress.
Centuries later, in November 2001 Osama bin Laden announced "I was
ordered to fight the people until they say there is no god but Allah,
and his prophet Muhammed." Not a single new idea has issued forth from
Islam since its founding.
Islam divides the world between itself and what it calls "the world of
war" by which it means all others who are not Muslims. The entire early
history of Islam under Muhammed was one of looting and pillage as, one
by one, those who responded to his banner, calling him a prophet,
realized that there were profits to be had in conquering those around
them.
On Mohammed's death, Islam almost immediately divided into warring
parties over who would inherit his mantle as caliph. The Sunnis and the
Shiites are still fighting one another over that. Islam is one long
history of war, treachery and deceit.
In his book, "Islamic Imperialism: A History", Efraim Karsh relates a
story of the struggle between the Abbasids and the declining Umayyads,
two Muslim dynasties in 883 AD. The leader of the Abbasids, Abul Abbas,
called himself "the bloodshedder." Karsh relates:
"In an attempt to prevent any backlash from supporters of the fallen
dynasty, the Abbasids embarked on a murderous spree. In Mecca and Medina
scores of Umayyads were rounded up and murdered in detention. In the
Iraqi garrison town of Wasit the governor laid down his weapons in
return for a personal guarantee of safe conduct by the caliph, only to
be treacherously murdered. In Palestine, the newly appointed governor of
Syria invited a group of eighty prominent Umayyads to a banquet,
slaughtered them all, then sat calmly among the corpses to finish his
meal."
In the aftermath of the 1991 defeat of the Iraqis who were driven from
Kuwait by a coalition led by American forces, Saddam's generals met in
Safwan to accept surrender terms. What they got was a promise of U.S.
withdrawal and the right to use their helicopters for "transportation."
What they did was use those helicopters as gun ships to slaughter
thousands of Shiites and Kurds who showed any inclination to resist the
further rule of Saddam Hussein. The result of that miscalculation were
"no-fly zones" over two thirds of Iraq that were maintained for twelve
years until the second invasion in March 2003.
Today, as the U.S. media puts the various battles between Shiites and
Sunnis on the front pages, Americans wonder why are these two Muslim
groups are blowing up each other's mosques? Why are they murdering each
other? Why are Iraq's neighbors, Iran and Syria, maneuvering to secure
whatever they can gain from the effort to (1) rid Iraq of the
American-led coalition forces and (2) pick up the spoils of a divided
and easily conquered Iraqi nation?
An easy reading of Islamic history and a common sense response to
today's events tell us that the Iranians will continue to probe for
weakness among its enemies, the Americans, the British, the other
members of the European Union, and of course, those Gulf nations who
will have to confront an nuclear armed Iran if they are permitted to
continue. Any failure to respond to their outrages will earn their
contempt and further rumblings of war.
"We will continue to export our revolution throughout the world.until
the calls 'there is no god but Allah and Muhammad is the messenger of
Allah' are echoed all over the world." Iran's Ayatollah Ruhollah
Khomeini in 1979.
Want to hear the call to prayer in your neighborhood? All we have to do
is leave Iraq.
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