Sunday, November 19, 2006

Hmmmmm, and the Ottoman Empire was chopped liver?

The below is from Democrat Underground. org. Our Damn Good Team really knows its shit!. The casual observer might have thought that the Ottoman Empire provided the ground for common cause for Islam, oh, let's say, up to 1850. But that casual observer is silly, and definitely not one of the Very Best Men. After all, Our Team knows that common cause in Islam requires the word "Caliphate", not "Empire". The Ottomans never found the magic word, and so just could not have the right stuff. .... What would we do without Our Team on our side?.

"Bush fascists want a Pearl Harbor on Iran...

"The former senior intelligence official added that the C.I.A. assessment raised the possibility that an American attack on Iran could end up serving as a rallying point to unite Sunni and Shiite populations. “An American attack will paper over any differences in the Arab world, and we’ll have Syrians, Iranians, Hamas, and Hezbollah fighting against us—and the Saudis and the Egyptians questioning their ties to the West. It’s an analyst’s worst nightmare—for the first time since the caliphate there will be common cause in the Middle East.” (An Islamic caliphate ruled the Middle East for over six hundred years, until the thirteenth century.)"

13 comments:

My Frontier Thesis said...

The Machiavelli in me: If the attack on Iran goes down, and all Muslims unite to fight America, then it won't be so hard to distinguish between combatant and non-combatant...

Right, right, right: back to reality. Carpet bombing still isn't all as fashionable as it used to be.

Tecumseh said...

AA -- yes, the Ottoman Empire held sway till about 1850. Actually, to be more precise, till 1877, when they got whupped by Carol I.

Arelcao Akleos said...

Ah, but the vision you conjured up MFT...yes, you have read deeply of The Prince

Arelcao Akleos said...

Interesting, AI. I see that the word of the Russian Wolf was as exquisitely Metaalic then as it is now.
Is Carol I honored in contemporary Romania?

Tecumseh said...

MFT: How about daisy cutting?

Arelcao Akleos said...

Daisy Cutting has a nice Eco feel to it. Yes, let's do Daisy Cutting.

Tecumseh said...

AA: Yes, I think Carol I is still pretty much well-viewed. If you get a chance, drop by his castle up in the mountains, it's quite nice.

My Frontier Thesis said...

Now just for a refresher: is the daisy cutter the biggest we got? I remember seeing some big-ass mother-f'er getting tested off the coast of Florida not long ago. Is that bigger? We should always bring our A-game, in any case.

Arelcao Akleos said...

Our A + game would be nukes, but that would be elitist. I think "Big Blue" is our A-game, and that was used in Afghanistan at least once. It was very very effective. Which, naturally, led our military being told they could not use it in Iraq. When Sadr was first acting up, a little touch of Big Blue over his command might have done wonders for the enemy believing we might actually do more than bark.

Arelcao Akleos said...

It's a graceful looking Castle, AI. Lovely. Is the food good in the area?

Tecumseh said...

Food is good, yes. There are some nice climbs up the mountain, too.

Tecumseh said...

When Sadr was first acting up, a little touch of Big Blue over his command might have done wonders...

Yep. But I still remember long discussions with JJ on this topic (and also on Fallujah 1), when he was tirelessly promoting the Alan Alda approach. Sighhhh....

Tecumseh said...

Here is a nice trek to do.