Every Time Americans Burn Qurans...

...Osama bin Laden wins.

The 9/11 attacks were acts of asymmetrical warfare. As such they were not aimed at destroying America. The smart terrorist knows he cannot accomplish such things -- the asymmetry of power is too great. The aim of the 9/11 attacks was to create a Bogey Man -- us. Osama bin Laden wants a holy war, and to get that he needs to unite worldwide Islam. The quickest way to unite people is to provide a common enemy. So bin Laden poked the sleeping lion. And, right on cue, the lion roared and lashed out, and made many previously neutral or friendly Muslims fear it and hate it.

When we torture Muslims in Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib and anonymous shipping containers in Afghanistan, we give aid and comfort to bin Laden. In waging a war on a country that had nothing to do with the 9/11 attacks, we gave aid and comfort to bin Laden. When we slaughtered more Muslims in Iraq than Sadam Hussein ever did, ditto. The word whispered in the madrassas was always that the United States was the enemy of Islam. These days, there is more evidence to point to when these claims are made.

And so when ordinary Americans take up the invented hatred and burn the Quran, that too, gives aid and comfort to Osama bin Laden. Offhand, I'd say there's a word for Terry Jones.

Islam is not the enemy of the United States, nor is the United States the enemy of Islam. Because if we are going to start holding unrelated people accountable for the beliefs and actions of their co-religionists, then let us first remember a few notable Christians, such as Tomas de Torquemada, Adolf Hitler, and Timothy McVeigh. If religions are responsible for all of their believers, then nobody's hands are clean.

Autumn is Acumen In

Can't say it was much of a summer, especially in these parts. Nonetheless, fall is definitely on its way. Blackberries are ripe in the brambles, cherry leaves are turning yellow, and in the evening sky you can hear geese calling to each other like the hounds of the wild hunt. Hal picked most of the pears before they fell, and now I must formulate a plan for what to do with a half bushel of ugly but tasty red Bartlet pears, before they turn to mush. Pear tart, maybe?

Got a bit more red paint on the house, myself, and the dog. Happily, the house got the bulk of it.