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Iraq Elections
Grasshopper:
I think that broadly speaking you're right. But religion can add a dangerous element of fanaticism to the equation.
Look at the Twin Towers pilots for instance. I think it's unlikely they would have carried out their act if they hadn't believed (in their own twisted way) that they would be rewarded in the afterlife for what they did.
The same thing applies to the second world war kamikaze pilots. They were fighting for their emperor who they believed was a god. They also believed they would be rewarded in the afterlife.
SeaMonkey:
--- Quote from: Grasshopper on February 13, 2005, 02:35:55 pm ---I think that broadly speaking you're right. But religion can add a dangerous element of fanaticism to the equation.
Look at the Twin Towers pilots for instance. I think it's unlikely they would have carried out their act if they hadn't believed (in their own twisted way) that they would be rewarded in the afterlife for what they did.
The same thing applies to the second world war kamikaze pilots. They were fighting for their emperor who they believed was a god. They also believed they would be rewarded in the afterlife.
--- End quote ---
You are 100% correct in my view.
Ideology is a great way to whip up your minions into a frenzy. However that act, I would have to say, did little to further Islam, here or abroad.
In the case of 911, it was about gold, land, oil, and liberty, from the view of the instigator.
DrewKaree:
IRAQIS PAINT FINGERS PURPLE TO PICK UP WOMEN
Phony Voters Pack Baghdad
mr.Curmudgeon:
George W. Bush: "Oops!"
Iraq Winners Allied With Iran Are the Opposite of U.S. Vision
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A21679-2005Feb13.html
"Yesterday, the White House heralded the election and credited the U.S. role. In a statement, President Bush praised Iraqis "for defying terrorist threats and setting their country on the path of democracy and freedom. And I congratulate every candidate who stood for election and those who will take office once the results are certified."
Yet the top two winning parties -- which together won more than 70 percent of the vote and are expected to name Iraq's new prime minister and president -- are Iran's closest allies in Iraq."
mrC
fredster:
...and it further says
"There's the assumption that the new government will be close to Iran or influenced by Iran. That's a strong and reasonable assumption," Khouri said. "But I don't think anyone knows -- including Grand Ayatollah [Ali] Sistani -- where the fault line is between Shiite religious identity and Iraqi national identity."
Get the part, "nobody knows". Also catch the source - "This is a government that will have very good relations with Iran. The Kurdish victory reinforces this conclusion. Talabani is very close to Tehran," said Juan Cole, a University of Michigan expert on Iraq. "In terms of regional geopolitics, this is not the outcome that the United States was hoping for."
Note his home page - http://www.juancole.com/2004_09_01_juancole_archive.html
Not exactly an impartial source of info is he? A Bush critic quoting a bush critic. It's a chorus of sock puppets.