I don’t believe I’ve ever added a blog to my blogroll for a comment made by the blogger on another blog before but John Burgess’s recent comment to this post on Dean’s world is so on-the-money, succinct and elegantly stated that I’ve been moved to do so. The comment is so good that I’m, er, borrowing it:
Mary asks if anyone can definitely “tell me, with absolute certainty, why Bosnia should be cited as a primary reason for 9/11?”
I can.
It’s because they have conflated Serbs–who do bad things to Muslims–with Americans–who either do bad things to some Muslims or who support Israel which does bad things to some Muslims. That some of these actions may be justifiable, warranted, even moral does not make a difference in the UBL analysis.
Anyone who is a non-Muslim, doing bad things to Muslims, is automatically put into the same group of “anti-Muslims”. Forget nuance, forget shades of gray. UBL and his ilk deal with a bipolar world: you’re with us or against us.
Since the US cannot possibly belong to the UBL-sanctioned world, it is by definition, part of the “anti-Muslim” world and thus must be swept from wherever it stands.
There’s no room for negotiation, for how can one negotiate about what one side sees as “God’s will”? There’s no compromise. These guys need to be stopped, permanently.
But these guys are a tiny fraction of the Muslims, less than 1%. Why alienate the other 99% on your way to getting rid of them?
John’s opinion is worth taking seriously. Here’s a snippet from his description of himself from his blog:
I’m a former US foreign service officer who has had two tours in Saudi Arabia, 1981-83, 2001-03. I’ve had the chance to see the country with my own eyes and to meet with a wide variety of Saudis. I read and speak Arabic and have spent the bulk of my career in the Middle East, with assignments in Tunisia, Egypt, Syria and Bahrain in addition to those in the KSA. I’ve also had assignments in London and New Delhi, as well as Washington.
John’s blog has been a constant resource for me for some time. It provides a window to information that is rarely seen elsewhere in the English language blogosphere. It is also non-agonistic, an increasingly rare quality in the blogosphere these days.
John has also been an occasional, extremely courteous, and very helpful correspondent.
I’m giving John the highest honor I can bestow: a position on my blogroll. Welcome, John, and to everybody: check out Crossroads Arabia.
David, Thanks very much!