by Bruce Thornton City Journal From the days of ancient Athens, the citizens of democracies have been querulous warriors. Key democratic institutions such as free speech and citizen control of the military ensure that ordinary people take an active interest in the progress of war, freely (and often loudly) offering criticism and demanding results. Such criticism typically … [Read more...]
Osama Bin Laden as Robin Hood?
American Thinker Are Osama bin Laden and other "salafi" Muslims being true to Islam's tenets or are they simply "freedom fighters" articulating their grievances against Western imperialism through an Islamic paradigm? The debate in the Islamic world over this question has profound consequences for the war on terror. That same debate is underway in the English speaking … [Read more...]
Studying the Islamic Way of War
National Review Online Translations of this item: Italian Portuguese At the inaugural conference for the Association for the Study of the Middle East and Africa (ASMEA) back in April, presenter LTC Joseph Myers made an interesting point that deserves further elaboration. Though military studies have traditionally valued and absorbed the texts of classical war doctrine … [Read more...]
Osama Bin Laden: Man of Love?
Middle East Strategy at Harvard In many ways, Michael Scheuer is the paradigmatic case of an otherwise knowledgeable and experienced Western adult who takes Al Qaeda's word at face value. According to his book, Imperial Hubris, his credentials and thus authority to speak about Al Qaeda and its goals are impressive: "For the past seventeen years, my career has focused … [Read more...]
Interview on the Al Qaeda Reader
Blog Talk Radio: The Gathering Storm http://raymond.uhurunetwork.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/10/263.mp3 … [Read more...]