Politics

Политика Исламофобии

Dec 4, 2015 Ian Buruma

НЬЮ ЙОРК – Есть много дорог к политической катастрофе: жадность, высокомерие, харизма при демагогии, и, пожалуй, наиболее опасная из всех, страх. Когда люди паникуют, они могут начать истерику, а массовая истерика чаще всего приводит к массовому насилию. Когда политики убеждают людей, что они сражаются за свою жизнь, что выживание - это вопрос того, кто выживет «мы или они?», то все что угодно становится возможным.

Адольф Гитлер объединил все эти элементы политической катастрофы: гордость, харизма, жадность, и убежденность в том, что «арийцы» и евреи ведут между собой борьбу за выживание. Конечно, ни один из демагогов в сегодняшнем западе – от Дональда Трампа в Соединенных Штатах, до Марин Ле Пен или Герта Вилдерса в Европе – не сравним с Гитлером. Никто не пропагандирует диктатуру, уже не говоря о массовом убийстве. Но нет сомнений, что они успели активировать политику страха.

Трамп, к примеру, поддерживает жадность, открыто хвастаясь его богатством, и каким то образом утончил диковинное высокомерие и противоречивое позерство в причудливую форму харизмы. С одной стороны, он обещает исправить все мировые проблемы, и показать Китаю, России, ИГИЛ, или кому либо другому, кто в доме хозяин. С другой стороны, он утверждает, что его огромная и мощная страна не может принять отчаявшихся беженцев из Сирии, потому что (как он предупреждает) мусульманские просители убежища могут совершить «один из великих военных переворотов всех времен».

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0 Comments on this paragraph, 29 Comments on this article

Venkatraman Anantha Nageswaran Dec 14, 2015

A very underwhelming piece of arm-chair ('liberal') intellectualism with no solutions on the table.

(1) Armchair ('liberal') intellectualism is good at spelling out what it opposes. But, it has nothing useful to propose.

Examples: "The only way to combat revolutionary Islamist violence is to gain the trust of law-abiding Muslims in the West. This will not be easy, but arbitrary arrests are surely the wrong way to go about it."

"Most French citizens are now so frightened of Islamist attacks that such measures are widely supported. But they are almost certainly counter-productive."

So, does he have other answers? He does not. IF he had not, he would have proposed them.

The one that he does not propose which others in the 'Comments' Section have done is to suggest that for the Western world to become trusting of their immigrant Muslim population is for moderate Muslims to denounce and distance themselves from acts of terrorism and from terrorists acting in the name of Islam. They should cease and desist from moral support and financial support, directly or indirectly through seemingly innocuous sounding and seemingly charitable organisations.

Education at Madrasas has to be demonstrably different. The onus is on Muslim governments. Mr. Buruma has nothing to tell them.

Perhaps, Mr. Buruma could be excused for not having seen a Pew Research document (http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/12/07/muslims-and-islam-key-findings-in-the-u-s-and-around-the-world/) that was published on Dec. 7. His article appears to have been written earlier. Nonetheless, he could have done some homework. There is so much information on the Internet that it would have not taken much effort to convince himself that it takes two to tango.

Matters like these that have festered for as long as they have, can hardly have a one-sided narrative.

Finally, his last paragraph about Obama and other 'rabble-rousers' is disingenuous. There would have been no room for the provocations of Donald Trump and others but for the policy failures of the so-called 'moderate' politicians and their approaches.

Mr. Buruma needs to think a lot harder. If the actions of the French police are counter-productive as Mr. Buruma writes, Op.-Eds. such as these are counter-productive too.
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Wulfe Straat Dec 13, 2015

The only real "bad ally" that the US has is Israel, which sells our top-secret military technology to China and undermines our efforts at bringing peace to the Middle East, wasting our treasure in ever more conflagrations.

If we had "moral realism," we would stop the IDF from murdering SEMITIC women and children in their yearly turkey shoots across Gaza. We all know the Gazans are unarmed. Why is it necessary to kill so many women and children in each of Israel's freak-outs, using American weaponry supplied by American taxpayers.

It's disgusting that the Israelis have bought and chained our Congress. Israel tells our representatives and senators how to vote. Yes, Israel is the only real "bad ally" that the US has, since Israel works against the US, chipping away at our vision of a moral and peaceful world. There's real devilry in Israel's heart. Recognize the Devil for who he is: Netanyahu!
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Lawrence Lipp Dec 7, 2015

Regarding whether the West is at war with Islam, I think it hinges on how willing the general Islamic population would be to accepting certain Western Liberal values and changing their culture. By certain liberal values, I specifically mean that they have to treat women and gay people equally (or at least start moving in that direction).

If, the general Muslim population is willing to make these changes (or wants to), but is only stuck in an unequal society because they are forced to live that way by armed terrorists, then the West is NOT at war with Islam; we are at war with terrorists.

If on the other hand, the general Muslim population would not be willing to make these changes even if there were no armed terrorists, then the West is at war with Islam (to an extent).

This doesn't necessarily mean that we have to go into Muslim countries and protect women and gay people...I personally think we should...BUT...for practical reasons, I can accept that we protect Western values at home and allow other countries to do what they please.
If you are a Liberal, can you really sit by and allow women to be mistreated in other countries? If so, I believe you are a hypocrite...or mildly racist since you care about freedom for Americans (white people) but not about freedom for non-Americans (non-white people). If you don't believe me about this, ask Bill Maher!

(I secretely hate that I agree so strongly with Bill Maher on this issue)

Regarding whether the general Muslim population is will to accept certain Liberal/Western values, the best information I have comes from the following Pew survey:
http://www.pewforum.org/2013/04/30/the-worlds-muslims-religion-politics-society-exec/

I sit on either side of the aisle depending on the issue (I am for Nationalized Healthcare and pro-choice and I am pro-capital punishment and see value in protecting certain aspects of the Second Ammendment). I also hate PC Culture.

On this specific issue, I am willing to say we (The West) is at war with Islam if we need to be to gain equality for Muslim women and other persecuted groups within the Muslim world...I just hope we don't need to be.
- Daniel Huyghue Dec 9, 2015
  
  Beautifully said. Could not agree more.
  
  What is the so-called majority Muslim mainstream, and how do they differ in principle from the minority of radical extremists, when they turn a blind eye to the underlying excuses for religiously-driven violence, such as widely accepted conspiracy theories against the West and Israel, trumped up and misdirected grievances against the very Western countries where they were born (and which ask little while affording them broad freedoms) and (here you hit the nail on the head), often a fundamental refusal to subscribe sincerely to core western values in their own cut-off communities, especially as concerns human rights for women and gays.
  
  While I struggle to resist the easy rhetoric of clash of civilizations, I must admit admit to a growing sense of despair towards many seemingly modern Muslims, who benefit from our liberal ideals and yet seem ashamed to defend these values in their own cultural context. Perhaps Western Muslims suffer from an identity crisis that I cannot understand. If they don't feel comfortable questioning and reforming from inside, then doesn't that just prove the sad conclusion we all want to resist? In the end, I am certain of only one thing: the mainstream Muslim majority cannot have it both ways.
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Curtis Carpenter Dec 7, 2015

It's hard not to get the sense that something profound is happening that none of us has the wit to understand. There seems to be a great surplus of things to hate, and a rapidly evaporating pool of things to love.
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Cary Fraser Dec 7, 2015

The African-American writer James Baldwin made an observation which is applicable to the current moment in American political life:
"It is very nearly impossible... to become an educated person in a country so distrustful of the independent mind."
Kudos to Ian Buruma for raising these issues and one hopes that intelligent voices will continue to challenge the absurdity that Trump embodies in American political life.
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Francesco D'Allessandro Dec 7, 2015

A dictionary definition of a demagogue: "a political leader who seeks support by appealing to popular desires and prejudices rather than by using rational argument".

To accept this interpretation of the word we would have to include nearly all of our contemporary crop of politicians ranging from President Obama to Hollande, as well as presidential candidates such as Trump or Hillary, for in one way or another they all harp on about the electorate's trepidations whether in migration issues, the economy, crime or terrorism.

Now that said Islamic extremism is not a bogeyman invention to instill consternation within the populations of the West. It truly is a tangible matter that must be resolved sooner than later. If one follows the pattern we can obviously discern that our Westphalian system is under siege. So please Mr. Buruma let's not ascribe the maladies affecting the West as sheer rabble-rousing from certain political sectors. Stating so misleads the debate!
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j. von Hettlingen Dec 7, 2015

Ian Buruma says, there are "many roads to political disaster: greed, hubris, the charisma of the demagogue, and, perhaps most dangerous of all, fear." He warns against the danger of escalating Islamophobia. Although the sense of insecurity is legitimate after heinous terrorist attacks that have killed innocent civilians, it is morally wrong that demagogues hijack our fear for political gains. The rise of far-right or far-left parties has much the panic-stricken public to thank for. It's true that "hysteria often leads to mass violence," and Americans are no strangers to hysteria, that had in the past led to the lynching of individuals or groups seen as hostile to the public: communists, socialists, ethnic minorities etc.
In recent years, following attacks launched by Islamist terrorists, politicians have seized the opportunity to demonise Muslims, saying we find ourselves in "a life-or-death battle" and it's all about “us or them.” Although Donald Trump, Marine Le Pen or Geert Wilders can't be compared to Hitler, they "are definitely stirring up the politics of fear."
While European politicians are less crude in their anti-Muslim demagoguery, their American peers, presidential candidates like Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Marco Rubio have literally unleashed a toxic current of Islamophobia, that is creeping into the liberal mainstream. This prompted Hillary Clinton, the front-runner for the Democratic presidential nomination, to distance herself from Obama, who is seen as a "weakling." She seeks to talk "tough" and promise "more military action."
This shows the danger that mainstream politicians have to pander to voters, who are impressed by demagogues. Looking across the Atlantic she is watching the otherwise unpopular François Hollande, who has declared "a national state of emergency and war on ISIS, to "assuage public fear." The Paris attacks happened weeks before France holds regional elections, which will have an impact on the 2017 presidential elecition. The far-right party, the Front National is hoping that a strong performance will boost Marine Le Pen's chances to become France's first female president.
The flipside of a state of emergency is that its measures give state authorities a number of exceptional powers, such as the right to set curfews and limit the movement of civilians, including arrests without warrants. Public places can be closed and suspects will be monitored like in a police state. However "counter-productive" these measures may be, they are "widely supported. Most people are gripped by fear and can live with these restrictions.
The war against Islamist terrorism can't be won only by eradicating ISIS. Buruma says the West has to "break the spell of Islamist revolution for frustrated, bored, and marginalized young people," and to convince them that the West is not waging a war on Islam. Unfortunately many view all Muslims as Fifth Columnists and make no effort to create a climate in which common values can be shared. Perhaps this Islamophobia is transient and will go away, as soon as the Middle East regains stability.
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Zsolt Hermann Dec 7, 2015

The article gives an honest assessment of the situation but without a solution in sight.
The main problem is neither radical Islam nor the right/far right ideology trying to fight it.
The problem is in the middle.

Our Western society has been gradually deleting, erasing all traditional humane and moral norms, foundations in the name of liberalism, equality, political correctness, multi-cultural society where everybody miraculously and romantically becomes the same.
We have succeeded with the "whitewash" but we haven't found new values, foundations for ourselves or the hoped for Hollywood happy ending.

Today our societies are aimless, simply chasing cheap, immediate pleasures, the masses are brainwashed to pursue blind consumerism, yearning for and buying products, pleasures they do not actually need for money they do not have.
And to make such a pointless "double slavery" tolerable they are "entertained" with the Roman style "circus and bread", alcohol and legal drug use.

This "zero society" without any future prospects has become so intolerable that people started desperately searching for values, solid foundations and in the lack of other choice they are joining the loud, hardcore extremist ideologies offered from different (religious or political) sources.
As radical Islam marches on, the reawakening of Nazism both in Europe and in American has also become a real probability, we can see for example the result from France from yesterday.

There are no political, economic or military solutions for this war, crisis as this is about ideologies, values.
The only solution is building a new human society on true, traditional human and moral values. And as fitting for a global humanity this time we have to do it not by competing with each other, not at the expense of others but in a mutually complementing way.
We have to unite even if this new unity has to be built despite, on top of inherent differences and mutual distrust that will not go away.

Of course for such "supernatural" unity, mutual cooperation we need a new education program as the only way of making fundamental changes with positive motivation, attracting people willingly without coercion.
- Edward Ponderer Dec 7, 2015
  
  I couldn't agree more Mr. Hermann. Our society in this regard flags two artistic memories--one in film and one in song.
  
  The former was the scene in the 1960's make of H. G. Wells's THE TIME MACHINE. A young woman lost her footing and is being swept away to drown. She reaches out a desperate hand to those who could easily save her, but rather look on in mild curiosity without lifting a finger. The time traveler is aghast and after yelling a useless chastisement that is merely shrugged, he dives in himself to save the young woman's life. -- Really, the time traveler needn't have bothered traveling about 180 millennia to find such a society, he need only needed to go as far as the 21st Century.
  
  The latter was the song, Outside Of A Small Circle Of Friends (oh in this society to even have a circle of true friends--for from there at least we might rebuild the world!):
  
  "Look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed
  They've dragged her to the bushes and now she's being stabbed
  Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain
  But monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game
  And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
  Outside of a small circle of friends
  
  Riding down the highway, yes, my back is getting stiff
  Thirteen cars are piled up, they're hanging on a cliff
  Maybe we should pull them back with our towing chain
  But we gotta move and we might get sued and it looks like it's gonna rain
  And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
  Outside of a small circle of friends
  
  Sweating in the ghetto with the panthers and the poor
  The rats have joined the babies who are sleeping on the floor
  Now wouldn't it be a riot if we really blew our tops?
  But we've got too much already and besides they've got the cops
  And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
  Outside of a small circle of friends
  
  Oh there's a dirty paper using sex to make her sales
  The supreme court was so upset, they sent him off to jail
  Maybe we should help the fiend and take away his fine
  But we're busy reading playboys and the Sunday New York Times
  And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
  Outside of a small circle of friends
  
  Smoking marijuana is more fun than drinking beer
  But a friend of ours got captured and they gave him thirty years
  Hey maybe we should raise our voices, ask somebody why
  But the protests they're all such a drag, and besides we're all too high
  And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
  Outside of a small circle of friends
  
  Oh look outside the window, there's a woman being grabbed
  They've dragged her to the bushes and now she's being stabbed
  Maybe we should call the cops and try to stop the pain
  But monopoly is so much fun, I'd hate to blow the game
  And I'm sure it wouldn't interest anybody
  Outside of a small circle of friends
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Rodrigo san Jorge Dec 6, 2015

Ian, great essay, but the number of gun-related deaths in the US is actually worse than your figure. Today it stands at 12,317 so far in 2015 and we still have three weeks left!
- Max Isert Dec 7, 2015
  
  Important to keep in mind in this context, Mr. Jorge, is the following data:
  ''Gun deaths are shaped by race in America. Whites are far more likely to shoot themselves, and African Americans are far more likely to be shot by someone else. [...] Gun homicides, especially mass shootings, tend to spark demands for change. Although suicides account for almost twice as many gun deaths as homicides nationwide, they tend to be quiet tragedies, unnoticed outside the hushed confines of family and friends.'' - http://www.washingtonpost.com/sf/feature/wp/2013/03/22/gun-deaths-shaped-by-race-in-america/
  
  ''The use of firearms in suicides ranges from less than 10% in Australia[23] to 50.5% in the U.S., where it is the most common method of suicide.[24]'' - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suicide_methods#Firearms
  
  The gun debate in the USA is not as straightforward as many people believe it to be: ''America’s pattern of gun deaths is split across black and white, with the vast majority of whites dying from suicide and a similar proportion of blacks dying from homicide. A similar split occurs with more homicide in diverse urban cities and more suicide in the rural areas that are predominantly white.'' - http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/special/national/gun-deaths/
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hari naidu Dec 6, 2015

Donald *Duck* is the making of a totalitarian personality; eg. Hitler & Mussolini. Is he fomenting fascism - a la America - in order to polarize the electorate; because *Hussein* Obama is not the answer (any more!). Yes he is doing it in order to dominate the media and front pages - without paying for it.

I recall this guy was bankrupt not once but umpteen times because of Manhattan real estate adventures. Yet, now, he's allowed to preach to the disillusioned demographic WASPs and other true believers - *yes we can dethrone the dems* and win the WH - the real estate he wants to add to his acquisitions.
Amazingly - American political system - GOP/RNC - are behind the dysfunction in US body politics.
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Richard Solomon Dec 6, 2015

I wish Americans could be trusted not to be 'that stupid.' Remember the election in 2004? Bush won by appealing to the voters' fears even though it was already pretty clear that the invasion of Iraq was fraught with failure. That appeal along with a hapless, very poorly run campaign by his opponent John Kerry gave us four more years of a destructive policy that helped make things significantly worse in the Middle East. So, don't place too much faith in the 'intelligence' of the average American. You're likely to be sorely disappointed.
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David Palmer Dec 6, 2015

Please post corrected version. Thank you.

Dear Mr Buruma,

There is overwhelming evidence there has been an increasing problem with Islamist extremism in 'Muslim' communities within Western Europe - due to the world-wide spread of Islamic fundamentalist ideology. A major factor contributing to the rise of right wing 'nativist' parties is attempts to close down reasoned debate on policies to tackle the problem with scaremongering accusations of the thought crime of 'Islamophobia'. You are simply continuing that irresponsible denial. I quote:

"So the more a Western government allows its policemen to humiliate and bully Muslims in the name of security, the more ISIS is likely to win European recruits"

1. 'humiliate and bully Muslims' is classic hyperbolic 'newspeak' which gives succour to the Islamist narrative by strongly implying all security measures are directed at all Muslims. This legitimates Islamist grievance myths of Western persecution. Be specific. How else do you tackle terrorist networks in the here and now without security measures?
Islamist terrorist networks appear to have operated unchecked in Mollenbeck, Brussels to organise terrorism since before 9/11, hardly evidence severe state repression.

2. At the same time you reveal the real depth of the problem. You imply, by your generalities, that any and all security measures will mean more recruits to Islamic terrorism. We clearly therefore have major problem in Europe with sections of the Muslim population who hold values and ideas which can lead them to quickly, and easily, turn to violence against their fellow citizens.
Thousands of Muslim European nationals have gone to fight for ISIS, and many allowed to return unchecked. There is considerable certainty that some will soon be involved further terrorism - evidence of poor security considerations by government, not repression.

Simplistic 'multi-culturalist' ideology - which you propagate - has contributing to these problems. Back arguments with facts mot moralistic newspeak. We need solutions, not denial.

David Palmer
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Max Isert Dec 6, 2015

To be precise, instead of having Islamophobia, we should actually have Sunniphobia.

This according to the 2011 National Counterterrorism Center Report. These numbers were before the rise of Boko Haram and Islamic State. According to new reports the number of fatalities have nearly tripled since 2011, to over 30,000 terror related fatalities in 2015. A majority of the victims are Muslims: https://fas.org/irp/threat/nctc2011.pdf
'' Sunni extremists accounted for the greatest number of terrorist attacks and fatalities for the third consecutive year. More than 5,700 incidents were attributed to Sunni extremists, accounting for nearly 56 percent of all attacks and about 70 percent of all fatalities. Among this perpetrator group, al-Qa‘ida (AQ) and its affiliates were responsible for at least 688 attacks that resulted in almost 2,000 deaths, while the Taliban in Afghanistan and Pakistan conducted over 800 attacks that resulted in nearly 1,900 deaths.
Secular, political, and anarchist groups were the next largest category of perpetrators, conducting 2,283 attacks with 1,926 fatalities, a drop of 5 percent and 9 percent, respectively, from 2010.''

2014/2015 numbers according to the Economist: http://www.economist.com/blogs/graphicdetail/2015/11/daily-chart-12
''Last year 32,700 people were killed in attacks worldwide, nearly twice as many as in 2013. And this year the toll may turn out to be even higher.''
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David Kinder Dec 6, 2015

Nice! you penned this right after an attack occurred in the U.S.???? No American will take your opinion seriously!!!!!!!!!!!!
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David Morgan Dec 5, 2015

Shgould read 90 percent
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David Morgan Dec 5, 2015

France has the largest Muslim population in Europe, and over 90 percent live in ghetto like areas on the outskirts of cities with few prospects of education or employment. This is the breeding ground for discontent and a recruitment bonanza for Daesh and its ilk. Here is a well-known fact only one percent of Muslims are terrorists, however, 00pecent of terrorists are Muslim
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Max Isert Dec 5, 2015

Trump was popular and leading in the polls before the Paris and San Bernadino terrorist attacks.

''Finally, freaking out over Trump-the-fascist is a good way for the political class to ignore the legitimate reasons he’s gotten this far — the deep disaffection with the Republican Party’s economic policies among working-class conservatives, the reasonable skepticism about the bipartisan consensus favoring ever more mass low-skilled immigration, the accurate sense that the American elite has misgoverned the country at home and abroad.'' - http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/03/opinion/campaign-stops/is-donald-trump-a-fascist.html
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Petey Bee Dec 5, 2015

Great article. Slightly disappointed with this bit of wishful thinking at the end tho: "Obama has consistently resisted the temptation to unleash more wars." Obama and Clinton tried to "unleash more wars" in Syria in 2013, but were, ironically, stopped from doing so by resistance from conservatives in the US who, at the time, "didn't want the US to go to war in support of Al Quaeda". Times have changed a bit since 2013, but not much. Oh there was Libya too.
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M M Dec 5, 2015

Your article has several inaccuracies, for one your concluding paragraph. Quote” Obama has consistently resisted the temptation to unleash more wars” etc., are you serious? All these wars that erupted since he became US President were “Acts of God” or due to “Climate Change”? The political / financial leaders that have held on to power since 2005, that are “dictating” irrational policies / inappropriate legislations and promoting war adventurism on the so-called elected representatives and the population at large, what do you call them other than “Dictators”? “Real Democracy” around the world has gone down the drain since this US Administration has come to office.
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Steve Hurst Dec 5, 2015

'When people panic, they can become hysterical, and hysteria often leads to mass violence.'

What like Bush going to war you mean

'When politicians convince people that they are in a life-or-death battle – that survival is a matter of “us or them” – anything becomes possible.'

What like France and the UK both deciding bombing IS is a solution

'...indeed, they have no problem allowing people to enter a school or a bar bearing concealed weapons. But even a relative handful of Muslim refugees is too dangerous to contemplate.'

Lone wolf mentally ill people with guns are indeed a problem... however islamic jihadists are networked and a programmed activity. You cannot compare the two

'Western restraint is usually a better strategy than hasty military intervention driven by domestic fear'

Indeed it may be, however restraint has now created 1.5million migrants walking into Europe in a year with the same to follow, maybe more year upon year off into the future. A migrant flow which is already proven to be a vehicle for jihadists

'...when it comes to civil wars in the Middle East..'

When it comes to civil wars in the Middle East it is clear neighbouring states feed the situation and are part of the problem - hence making it far more difficult to bering a resolution.

'...bombing ISIS strongholds ... won’t break the spell of Islamist revolution for frustrated, bored, and marginalized young people in French slums.'

What will, because the homebred jihadist is the problem, they are local, knowledgeable, speak the language, supported. Dealing with them is the problem nobody wants to talk about, other than hugging them as some sort of bizarre solution - which by the way wont work very well. As soon as they are invited to face this issue the panjandrums shut up and disappear
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Nurbek Achilov Dec 5, 2015

Supportive of this article. Generally, terrorism is nothing about religion, it is more about sickness - moral sickness, which comes from education, hunger and indignities. Republicans seems far from being educated. Their behavior is dangerous for minorities and I do not think minorities will support Republicans in this elections.
- Nurbek Achilov Dec 7, 2015
  
  Any terrorist moved by the interests to find better solution for his own life, it is nothing about religion. A terrorist only can lead others with religion understanding that the follower lacks education and knowledge, or have personal or financial problems. So, in that sense, it is really an issue of moral foundations. The world cannot fight with implementors, it is impossible without solving educational and social problems. Terror initiators are usually linked to politacal groups and leaders, who finance them to achieve political games. It is really an international issue.
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- Steve Hurst Dec 5, 2015
  
  Unfortunately IS terrorism does have a religion involvement and pussyfooting around and saying it doesnt does not help resolution
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David Kinder Dec 5, 2015

I challenge the author to show any quote where Ted Cruz said we should allow only Christian refugees! If you are going to have an intellectual discussion, please leave your obvious political opinions out of the discussion and use researchable facts to prove your point. Lying only diminishes the conversation!
- Rodrigo san Jorge Dec 6, 2015
  
  Cruz's position has been made obvious, David, but using inference and innuendo. Just take a look at Karl's interview on World News Tonight.
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Hissam Kamal Dec 5, 2015

Good analysis.

If I were a peace-loving Muslim (or atheist) and French (or US or European) citizen I would want my country to uphold its civil liberties and rule-of-law but avoid a 1984-type permanent state-of-emergency.

In the face of domestic threats, I would want police and communities to take very real and hard action to ensure people do not cross the line and commit any acts of terror at home, whilst allowing civil liberties.

At the same time, I would want my country to avoid stoking-up a war overseas, one that undoubtedly causes "terror" on non-combatants and combatants alike. Especially when the strikes do not seem to have the ability to stop the domestic threat and that they play in to the hands of domestic war-mongers and regional powers (incl. the Persian and Arab Gulf States) that are trigger-happy and unstable.

An incentives-based analysis should be taken to achieve immediate, medium-term and long-term goals in the spirit of "fraternite egalite and liberte".
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