Republicans vs. Islam

I caught a bit of the Republican Debate this morning - not much before my gag reflex took over - and one recurring theme was that we are "in a war with militant Islam" (Brownback) or a war against "Islamic extremism."(Tancredo) This strikes me as an extraordinary and dangerous propaganda line, one that even Bush has rarely crossed. There is a gigantic step between a war against terrorists who have attacked America and a war against "militant Islam," but there is only a tiny step between a war against militant Islam and a war against Islam in toto.

Because it would be very easy for a war against militant Islam to become a war against Islam, and because it is highly unlikely that any other country except perhaps Israel would join us in such a war, it would be very perilous. The US is much stronger than all the Islamic countries in the world combined, so that isn't the problem. However, such a war would have to be a war of extermination or at least total subjugation. It would be a civil war as well, since the US would fracture into religious groups.

Those promoting such a war are militant Christianists, militant Zionists, and, of course, unscrupulous politicians. The consequence of reigniting the religious wars of past centuries would likely plunge us back into some of the worst of the sixteenth century. It is unlikely that the enemies list would stop with Muslims. Atheists, Jews, Catholics, Hindus and other "others" would be more grist for those bloody mills. It is not impossible that Yugoslavia could happen here.

The American people must decisively reject these reactionary warmongers, or face a likely future of unending war. Remember please, that these idiots have proven incapable of pacifying one small desert country.