The Mumbai Situation

As many might have read this morning, the deaths of American hostages within the borders of India at the hands of the terrorist organization which decided that it would be a great idea to move into the region has sparked what could be the last fuse to the ignition of a war that will encompass the whole of the Middle Eastern regions of the world. The Chesler Chronicles put it beautifully:

Islamic fundamentalists have declared a major, global war against the West and against non-Wahabi Muslims. To date, the world has refused to treat the Islamic/Islamist assault as the full-fledged religious war that it really is. No, it is not a traditional war which means that we will require non-traditional, as well as traditional means to fight it.

A further point made by David Altman is something that we will need to seriously consider before starting up the war engines, however. As presented (ironically) in the infamous work Patriot Games, this political writer brings out the deadly edge that any well-organized terrorist organization has over that of the more conventional nations:

Today, a new, different terror army, with several branches is being developed. This army includes all the elements of a military, but exploits the approach of the terrorist. The terror army enjoys the advantages of feeling exempt from any international law or convention, and of being exempt from international pressure or accountability. In addition, they handicap the power of their opponent through exploitation of the claims of internationally accepted values of human rights, correct treatment of prisoners of war, and prevention of harm to civilian populations - though none of these values apply to them, but only to their opponent.

And I'll leave this very open (and, I admit, slightly controversial) topic open with the following quote:

“We want to eradicate Britain and America,” Ay’atulah Mahsoud, the emir of the Pakistani Taliban, has said, “and to shatter the arrogance and tyranny of the infidels. We pray that Allah will enable us to destroy the White House, New York and London.”