And now for something completely different...

When will people understand that this War on Terror is not going to be over even if we pull every single American troop back to the US? The individuals who support the 'insurgency' in Iraq are in denial of the worst sort. Iraq was "safe and peaceful until the Americans came" and "the occupation...is the cause of all these tragedies" are just two examples of the depth to which some people have stuck their heads in the sand.

This is not a war over land, or money, or oil(as much as some people would like to believe). This is an ideological war. There are people who feel that Western cultures, America in particular, are evil and need to be destroyed. It's no coincidence that America is specifically listed in interviews such as this while no mention of England, or France, or Germany is made. If the occupation is where the problem lies than all allies should be listed, not just America.

My personal favorite part of the above linked transcript is at the end where Al-Siba'i goes from saying it's bad to not recognize civilians and 3 seconds later says that there is no such thing as a civilian according to Islamic law. This would be the same Islamic law that he earlier chose to denigrate by saying the religious scholars are wrong and Al-Zarqawi is right. Is it any wonder that non-muslims can't keep it straight when the muslims themselves argue left and right over whether or not it's okay to kill?

Another obstacle to reconciliation between western and islamic countries is readily evident when you look at the familial differences between them. In western cultures women are considered equal to men. They are not made to cover themselves in burkhas. They are not property. They are allowed to own property, vote, and hold jobs. Most islamic countries either don't allow or actively discourage any of this. Then there's so-called 'honor killings.' For those who aren't familiar with this despicable practice, an honor killing is where a woman is killed by a male member of her family for bringing 'dishonor' upon the family. In one recent case the 'dishonor' was caused by a young girl holding a job and dating someone who wasn't muslim so her brothers killed her. They are not in jail and feel they did nothing wrong. The only person in the US who can understand that is the BTK criminal.

These Islamic faith is not a "Religion of Peace" as many would have it called. It not only promotes violence against non-muslims but enables violence against it's own believers with it's cavalier attitude towards women and fanatical reliance on 'honor' as a justification for actions.

Can those of the Muslim faith embrace peace? Just as Christianity, one of the bloodiest religions of all time, can turn to peaceful co-existence, so too can Islam. The question is not whether or not it's possible. The question is when the muslim world will get fed up with such a miniscule percentage of their population as the Islamic representatives for the world. When the muslim world no longer tolerates terrorist acts and joins the world in fighting extremism of that sort will we be able to see the end of terrorism.