OK. Now you know. The ones "over there" are also protesting terrorism, and they are outraged that it is not being noticed in the West. Since there are bound to be follow up BBC stories today, listen in. It is an annual and international exercise to gather Islamic clergy in Cairo at a formal conference at an Islamic university - with Christian clergy - to address problems between the two worlds. Islamic clerics are speaking out and they are more than a little upset it is not being noticed in the West. Don't take my word for it - listen to BBC and tune in on the major speeches - which are in English because it is the common language of the world. If the major clerics internationally are denouncing terrorism, and are offended to be identified with it, your objection becomes moot.

But 9/11 was not. You must respect America, or get a cruise missile crammed up your tail. I am sure Saddam respected Islam, he killed thousands and gassed Muslims, but hey, that is acceptable to Allah, right?

Regardless of how many people are holding hands in Cairo and singing "Kumbaya" however sincerely, you are wrong that therefore my "objection becomes moot," and this is why: I am not and never have condemned all moslems, or all moslem clergy. Get it through your head that you are about the only person posting on StrategyPage (and I say "about" because I'm not going to take the time to re-read the couple thousand pertinent posts to confirm you are alone) who thinks anyone posting on StrategyPage equally condemns all Moslems and/or the religion of Islam for the actions of the Islamist terrorists and their facilitators. Displacedjim

ElCid, You seem to think I'm motivated out of a need for vengeance. I don't want to extract vengeance. I want to punish. We can't make them sorry, or even contrite. We can make them dead. If there are Muslims that want to help us kill terrorists, we've been paging them for 1400 years. Better late than never, but geeeez.

Up until now moderate Islam has done very little to confront fudamentalism. Only because we have started rubbing their nose in it and forced Muslims to face the facts about fundamentalism have things moved a little in the right direction, but not much. Until this changes Muslims will continue to hear scathing criticism pointing out faillures of Islam (rubbing their noses in it). And I really don't care if that's unsensitive or "disrespectful" of their religion. You don't win people over by accepting BS from them.

>>Up until now moderate Islam has done very little to confront fudamentalism. Only because we have started rubbing their nose in it and forced Muslims to face the facts about fundamentalism have things moved a little in the right direction, but not much. Until this changes Muslims will continue to hear scathing criticism pointing out faillures of Islam (rubbing their noses in it). And I really don't care if that's unsensitive or "disrespectful" of their religion. You don't win people over by accepting BS from them.<< Maybe I'm from an alien planet, but maybe, just maybe they ought to try to win us over? Show us how to be mute and complacent while our neighbors, friends, and relatives blow up schoolchildren for fun and a orgiastic afterlife? No? Let's put to rest this absurd "Islam is the religion of peace" meme. If Islam is the "religion of peace," shouldn't Islamic "extremists" be extremely peaceful? Why should we bend over backwards to apologize for knocking sand off a mosque wall with our breath, when the motherf*ckers DANCED in the streets celebrating the September 11th attacks, and have commemorated it with open celebrations every year since? "Tolerance is the virtue of a man with no convictions" - G. K. Chesterston

"Why should we bend over backwards to apologize for knocking sand off a mosque wall with our breath......" If it were up to me we should shoot at the mosques, simple. THEY chooce to turn their religious sites into targets NOT US. And I would show footage of the fundamentalists using the site during live press conferences to justify my actions. However I differentiate between shooting back and leveling the place. US snipers are good enough not to have to level the place, yet still kill all the fundamentalists inside (either by lead poisoning or starvation since nothing would go in or out). This would also give a better impression to the Muslims, showing some strength and decisiveness. Instead of getting dispised for falling for the simplest moral equivalency trick. PS Paging 1400 years ago. Have you been using your "rumoured" time device while drunk?

>> Just one more thing, man.. it's a commendment.. a commendment of GOD, you understand that? Do you understand the potential gravity that it means to kill someone when God tells you.. you shall not kill? >> Actually the commandment in the original Hewbrew is "thou shalt not MURDER" (tirzach) and not "thou shalt not kill" (taharog). Blame the miscommunication on the first guy who translated it from Hebrew to Greek I guess. All other translations went in sequence instead of from the source (hebrew -> greek -> latin -> german -> english) As for how much you know about it... you are speaking of the 6th commandement. the 5th is "honor thy father and mother..."

"As for how much you know about it... you are speaking of the 6th commandement. the 5th is "honor thy father and mother... " -- Avner Like a very high proportion of any actively anti-God/anti-religion agnostics/athiests I've talked with, I'm guessing Hellfire was raised in the Catholic tradition. The Catholic numbering of the Ten Commandments places "Thou shalt not kill" at number five. See this link for a side-by-side comparison of Catholic and typical Protestant numbering of the Ten Commandments: http://www.falwell.com/?a=news&news=prstencom Displacedjim

The people of the American south tolerated the KKK, who supposedly spoke in the name of Christianity. They turn their faces away from cruelty, brutality and murder, They told themselves that it was rare, and that it didn't really reflect the Southern culture. They were right that KKK extremists did not really reflect Southern culture. They were wrong to tolerate the extremists. The American South bacame a better place when they no longer did. I say this to illustrate the fact that vicious hatred is not a trait of Islam, but is rather an endemic evil to all mankind. Islam is a great, world-wide religion, and it has fostered magnificent civilizations, but it tolerates extremists who are just as vile as the KKK, and who have dwarfed the KKK's despicable acts. Islam will be far more respected when the hideous, extremist Islamists in its midst are exposed and put away like the vicious animals that they are.