Mind Control: Military Blocks Juan Cole’s Site

Cole’s comprehension of the complexities of Islamic and Arab World thinking stands in stark contrast to the former senior FBI official who opined a couple of weeks ago that, “well, one crime scene is much like any other,” and who could not offer any explanation of the differences between Sunni and Shia Islam.

“To: Patrick Lang
Subject: RE: Anyone like Juan Cole in the FBI?

Sir:

I am in ———————.

FYI- Juan Cole’s site is being blocked at Ft —– and other installations by the thought police.

——————————-.

Fred”

Well, folks, I received this from an active duty officer with experience in the field.

Just how stupid can we become?

Eliot Cohen has an OP/ED in the W Post today in which he“examines his conscience” on the whole subject of the“thinking” that has governed the war. The occasion for this is the imminent deployment of his infantry officer son to the war that he helped create AND screw up.

He has learned something. It is clear that others have not.

Anyone like Juan Cole in the FBI?

In discussing the identities of the perpetraters of various terrorist outrages, commentators seem to fall into two groups:

1- those who are at great pains to explain that those who do such things are not true Muslims at all, but rather some strange breed of human who “hate freedom” and whose basic motivation is a native savagery and

2- representative examples of that part of the world’s population who are simply incapable of logical thought and “crazy.”

This quotation from Juan Cole gives a glimpse into the variety of philosophy and political thought that leads people like the London bombres to do what they do. Cole’s comprehension of the complexities of Islamic and Arab World thinking stands in stark contrast to the former senior FBI official who opined a couple of weeks ago that, “well, one crime scene is much like any other,” and who could not offer any explanation of the differences between Sunni and Shia Islam. Pat Lang

“If the communique issued by Qaeda al-Jihad in Europe is authentic, then this attack cannot be linked to Zarqawi. They say they are taking revenge for British troops’ “massacres” of Muslims in Afghanistan and Iraq. But Zarqawi’s Salafi group would never celebrate “Arabism” or speak of “heroes” (abtal) when referring to the “holy warriors” or mujahidin. Urubah and batal, Arabism and hero, are typical of the vocabulary of secular Arab nationalism– in, say, the tradition of Gamal Abdel Nasser. That message is coming from a group of terrorists that is much more comfortable with this language than are typically the extremist Salafis like Zarqawi. “Hero” would seem a term of humanistic pride to them, and Arabism would seem narrow and idolatrous as a competitor with Islam. There are Muslim thinkers who meld political Islam and Arabism– this is common in Egypt, e.g. But they belong to a different religious and intellectual tradition than Zarqawi. ” Professor Juan Cole