Well, I don't know what to make of old Harry. If I were a Republican talk show host I might start with the Mormon thing. Does Reid hunt varmits? Further evidence that the religion of our leaders ( or our peers ) matters not. I want to defend the guy for some reason. In this country the military is subject to the oversight of the congress. Not a bad thing depending on who has been elected. Let me say this for Harry and his party. Most of what the administration has told us about this war has been wrong at best.

we will stand down when the Iraq's stand up
the insurgency is made up of dead enders
the insurgency is on it's last legs
this is a country with enough oil to pay for it's own reconstruction
weapons of mass destruction
uranium from Niger
welcomed as liberators
the media isn't telling the whole story

I think the media and some dems have had it right on this war. Looking back the media was telling us this was a mess before the administration was. I'd say the media was presenting something much closer to the truth two years ago than Bush was. Is it really time for congress to get nasty with the president/ Probably not, but unless Americans decide they want to win this war and get there butts over there and get it done, we might as well go home. Winning a war requires national leadership and national sacrifice, not tax cuts. If this war is even half as important as Bush says it is why don't we have 800, 000 boots on the ground instead on 120,000? We are a country of 300 million and its not like we don't have the money. We can always borrow it from China or maybe Americans could get behind a war tax. What could be more patriotic. If this war is so important and civilization depends on it why aren't we giving it everything we got. Let's occupy that country for the next 40 years. Think of it like the Philippines or Puerto Rico instead of the West Bank and Gaza.

 

Walmarts in Syria and other thoughts

"The U.S. House members, who included Virginia Republican Frank Wolf, Pennsylvania Republican Joe Pitts and Alabama Republican Robert Aderholt, also said they had raised with Syrian officials the issue of stopping the alleged flow of foreign fighters from Syria to Iraq." source: http://www.thestate.com/372/story/24186.html Nancy Pelosi is merely heading this congressional delegation on their fact-finding trip to the Middle East that includes visits to Israel, Syria, Jordan, Lebanon and Saudi Arabia. I'm wondering why there is no mention of the Republican congressmen that are accompanying Pelosi in the article above and no remarks from the President scolding his own party members. I hope the congressional delegation will at least mention to Assad that there will be problems if he entertains any ideas of arming some of the estimated 800,000 Iraqi refugees in Syria and sending them back across the border. Fortunately for Syria many of Iraq's best and brightest have come and are doing so well that Syria economy is benefiting. Why should we talk to a country that is hosting a large refugee population from a country we invaded? "as many of the refugees have come from relatively wealthy strata of Iraqi society, and their presence has acted as an economic stimulus and an important source of foreign exchange inflows. Syria, for example has recently revised upwards its real GDP growth figures for 2004 and 2005 (to 8.6% and 4.5% respectively) and has altered its current-account figures for those two years to show a surplus rather than a deficit through adding some US$2bn in to its export figures in both years. These exports are mainly from the non-oil private sector, and turn up in the accounts as originating from “other countries”. The possibility that these funds relate to transfers into Syria from Iraq cannot be ruled out. "sourcehttp://joshualandis.com/blog/?p=163 We might not like them, but they are more than worth talking to. If we could only open up a couple Walmarts and Mc Donalds there, I'm sure the Iraqi engineers, scientist and businessmen that fled to Syrai could help with the logistics and infrastructure Walmart would require...Too bad about Iraq, but at least somebody is benefiting from that mess. They will need to make sure our Embassy in Damascus isn't bombed again, but maybe we talk about supressing their radical Jihadists while were there.

The more I think about the relationship America has with muslims at home and abroad the more confused I become. I've let the contradictions swirl around me for some time, but I still am left with these nagging thoughts. Muslims make up such as small percentage of our population. There are about as many Muslims in America as there are Episcopalians or American Indians.

     I realize there is a great deal of alarm over the Islamification of Europe, but ccountries like England, France and Holland are taking in more immigrants from eastern and southern europe than from the muslim world. 250,00 Poles moved to England last year. Ireland is hosting large populations of guest workers from the Baltic states. Europe is unsettled, but muslims are just a part of the adjustments taking place. Muslims are still very much minorities in Western and Central European countries, making up roughly 5 percent of the European Union's total population. Most people immigrating from muslim countries come to Europe to escape social conditions as well as seek economic opportunity. In the United Kingdom there are 42,079,000 Christians and 1,591,000 Muslims not to mention 559,000 Hindus and I don't know how any Mormons.

     The Muslim population in the U.S. stands at just under 2%. The vast majority of Arabs and people with Arab ancestry in America are Christians. I'm not sure who we are worrying about here. Is it the Somali refugee population? The doctors, engineers and high tech workers who have come here for their education from places like India, Pakistan and Bangladesh. The wave of Iranians that settled here after the Islamic revolution. Who do we round up to deport or shoot? People of Arab ancestry? Bosnian and Somali refugees? The cab drivers fleeing violence in the Sudan who's family was killed because they were the wrong kind of Muslim. Is anybody going to go after my old hippie uncle who converted to Sufi Islam after listening to one to many Richard Thompson Albums. Are we going to place immigration restrictions on Christians fleeing persecution in Muslim countries. Are we going to continue to do business with places like Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and Dub? This whole thing is silly! It is Osama Bin Laden who thinks this is the 12th century, we should know better. Muslims in this country are cab drivers, doctors, computer scientists, engineers, janitors, entrepreneurs and neighbors. In the end they will probably assimilate as well or better than any other immigrant group. Speaking out against regimes in Iran and Saudi Arabia is one thing. Coming after my neighbor who fled the war in Bosnia, came to America, married and got job with the airlines... I think we all need to take a collective deep breath and decide what kind of people we are. What kind of Americans are we? Do we judge a man by his race religion or creed?
    
     I can't say there hasn't been and won't be problems. In NC a  Muslim student used his SUV while attempting to run over his fellow college students in protest of the treatment of Iraqi prisoners. A Muslim US Army Staff Sergeant was convicted of attempted murder for lobbing a grenade in a tent of officers. His reason? To protest the treatment of Muslims in the Middle East. A Muslim Army Chaplain was convicted of sneaking out correspondence for prisoners being detained at Guantanamo Bay. Dare we forget other Muslims such as John Mohammed (the DC sniper), the shoe bomber, or the English Muslims who attempted to blow up the the London transit system. It took French authorities five days to quell the rioting of French Muslims who were protesting their indifferent treatment by the French government. At the same time one cannot overlook contributions made by people who practice the Islamic faith. In NYC today over 7000 muslim medical doctors, nurses and care givers are taking care of their patients. In West Virginia a muslim engineer is finding safe and effective ways to tunnel through seams of coal. In Detroit last summer a Muslim fire fighter rushed into a burning building and save a 5 year old child. In Plano, Texas Christian, Muslim and Jewish Groups Unite for a Blood Drive. here are some other examples of individuals doing good.What should America do about these Muslims?

Khalizad, Zalmay U.S. Ambassador to Iraq

Kathrada, Ahmed hero in South Africa’s struggle against apartheid

Kathwari, Farooq President and CEO of Ethan Allen Interiors

Khairullah, Muhammad - Mayor of Prospect Park, New York

Khaled, Amr honored by World Health Organization for anti-smoking work

Khan, Capt. Humayun Muslim Soldier killed in Iraq 6/04

Khan, Fazlur Rahman architect Sears Tower in Chicago

Khan, M.J. wins Houston City Council seat

Kronemer, Alex documentary film maker

Mahasa, Zakiya-First American Muslim Woman Judge

Majlis Ash’Shura of Philadelphia and the Delaware Valley has adopted a tough policy of public shunning of Muslims who abuse their spouses or abandon their families.

Mohammedi, Omar T - Appointed to New York Civil Rights Commission

Momin, Mohamad Abbas Muslim student from UNC dies saving womans life

Moore, Daniel (Abdal-Hayy) poet

     Is their problems with this Religion sure. Are their bad muslims among us? Yeah! I hate to be in the position of defending Muslims. I don't really care for Islam, but these people are Americans and we are all in this together until we ai'nt.

     Chinese civilization was not strengthened by exclusion of foreign influences in the 18th century and 19th centuries. Again it is Osama and Company that want to exclude western influence from their imaginary Caliphate. They want to create the pure muslim kingdom. Their are those among us who want to create the pure Christian/Western kingdom. I think the American way has to do with inclusion and incorporation. The global economy isn't going away. Islam is not going away. There is no point in building walls and preparing for the final great conflict. We need to engage the Muslims among us and the Muslim nations of the world. Commerce beats colonialism in the 21st century as the Chinese are setting out to prove. We would be better off getting McDonalds, Walmart and Hollywood into Iran than we would be putting sanctions on them. I have no admiration for the misogynistic societies of Iran and Arabia, but I'll be happy to have their best and brightest come here to practice medicine. I'd like to buy their oil as well. Qaseem Uqdah, a former Marine Corps gunnery sergeant who heads the American Muslim Armed Forces and Veterans Affairs Council in Washington, D.C., counts upwards of 15,000 soldiers, sailors, airmen, marines and Coast Guard members. I support these troops too!
    
     Capitalism on a global scale requires America to seek every competitive advantage we have available to us. America's ability to include and incorporate is a competitive advantage. Immigrants from Muslim countries come here highly educated and motivated. They bring some cultural contributions, but their real contribution is to science, engineering and our economy. Pakistani doctors, Computer programmers from India, Malaysian Industrialists, Bankers from Dubai. Dubai could teach Americans a little about limited government. Most of these people have come to escape the barbaric features of their own society.
I want many things from the Islamic world. I want their best and brightest to study in American schools and apply their talents here. I want oil from the middle east and textiles from Indonesia. I want manufactured goods from Malaysia and banking in Dubai. I want coco beans from West Africa and coffee from Sumatra. I want to sell flour in Turkey and cell phones in Singapore.I hope my country won't have to go to war again to get these things...