Dina Temple-Raston, author of The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in an Age of Terror was heard this ME to decry the use of secular incentives to promote jihad: Jihadi Cool: Terrorist Recruiters' Latest Weapon. She worries her audience with the thought that the appeals are "clearly aimed at young people nursing resentments and looking for thrills." I was reminded of this poster recently seen in a Long Beach window.
Friday, March 26, 2010
The Thrill of War
Dina Temple-Raston, author of The Jihad Next Door: The Lackawanna Six and Rough Justice in an Age of Terror was heard this ME to decry the use of secular incentives to promote jihad: Jihadi Cool: Terrorist Recruiters' Latest Weapon. She worries her audience with the thought that the appeals are "clearly aimed at young people nursing resentments and looking for thrills." I was reminded of this poster recently seen in a Long Beach window.
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4 comments:
NPR goes to extreme lengths to portray our "enemies" as not committed to something they joyfully give their very lives for (what a foreign concept at NPR where job preservation is job one!). Instead we get people on Radio Times telling us that most "terrorists" are sexually abused, alienated young men. Or that Jihad Jane was simply a bored American looking for a "thrill".
The truth (as I see it) is that we are facing very hard men (and some women) actively engaged in a battle over what they see as centuries of domination and humiliation by "the West" or Christianity. This is a serious situation and to mis-lead Americans on the nature of the battle being waged and the nature of those doing the killing and dying is not helpful.
I believe there are threats out there but they don't come from anything other than a way of thinking that we can not understand. While the planners are planning NPR is creating "straw men" (and women) which we can easily destroy. This also has the added benefit of assuring Americans that there are no legitimate matters to be talked of AND (perhaps most importantly) Americans have played no part at all. We are, as always, innocent victims of crazy people.
edk
A War Closer to Home:
WHYY has an item on every newscast concerning "flash mobs". (It took the place of Dow/S&P reports lol)
These are people that, in as little as 2 hours and as close as 2 blocks could have experienced this frightening and unexpected activity!
Now, they do love them TV and movies about people of color acting badly because it is "safe". After all those people aren't gonna come out of the screen and get us. But now? We are not so sure. And believe me: They are demanding that SOMETHING, anything be done to prevent WHYY staff, supporters and corporate sponsors from having reality step too close to their fanciful lives where everyone is well-behaved, well-educated, and well-off. After all we only deal with People Like Us (the PLUS) so take your youthful alienation and join a terrorist group or something!
edk
Interesting story. Actually reminds me of the flood of adds on TV posting some athletic young man or woman morphing into a marine while handling a gun or performing some exciting exercise, and includes some nice vehicles for effect, while some rock and roll music is playing in the back ground. Additionally, the well documented affects of the mental developments of military personnel into "soldiers" maybe on par with the jihdi camps.
@edk
I found your comments enlightening. The idea that those people who have enjoyed the US hospitality and support of its surrogates have displeasure with the US is curious. Consider the most demonized: Binladen, almost all of his proclamations include comments about US support for despotic regimes and states that violate a number of UN resolutions. Can you guess which ones? I find the answer comes to me quite easily. What is interesting is there is no mention of the "centuries of domination".
xelcho
xelcho:
I am not quite sure how to "read" your post but . . .
http://www.firstthings.com/article/2007/01/the-crisis-of-islam-holy-war-and-unholy-terror-10
edk
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