Are We Chumps, Or What?

I know, I’m supposed to follow the Understandniks exhortation to contemplate America’s sins against the Islamic world. From our presence in the Gulf and our reckless disregard for Moslem lives, all the way back to the Crusades, we’ve hosed them.

I just can’t do it.

Our presence in the Gulf, of course, is largely to prevent the local whack-jobs from waging war against other Islamic states and therefore throwing the world's gas station into chaos. Do they think we enjoy hunkering down in isolated desert bases, sweating, and watching "cleaned up" versions of "Leave it to Beaver" reruns? Do we thank God for the chance to sail into local ports to refuel, worrying that somebody might have explosives packed in their dinghy? Are we really such suckers that we enjoy having the corpses of our soldiers dragged through the streets of some God-forsaken Heck hole to enjoy the privilege of keeping Moslems from starving?

As to our disregard for Islamic lives, let me list some of our government’s help to the Islamic world:

Keeping the Soviets from occupying Iran (1947?)
Keeping the Soviets at bay against Turkey (1947?)
Rescuing Egypt from the French, British, and Israelis (1956)
Sending an aircraft carrier to help Pakistan survive yet another war with India (1971)
Imposing a ceasefire in the 1973 Arab-Israeli War before the Israelis captured Egypt’s 3rd Army and marched on Cairo (1973)
Rescuing the PLO from Israel (and losing 250 Marines in a suicide bombing)(1983?)
Rescuing Iraq from the Ayatollah Khomeini (1980s)
Keeping the Iranians from sinking Kuwait's oil tankers (1987-88)
Rescuing the Saudis from a threatened Iraqi invasion (1990)
Rescuing Kuwaitis from Saddam (1991)
Rescuing the Kurds from Saddam Hussein (1991)
Assisting with floods in Bangladesh (1991?)
Saving countless Somalis from starvation (1992)
Rescuing Bosnian Moslems (1995)
Rescuing Kosovo Moslems (1999)
Rescuing Afghanis from the Taliban/Al Qaeda dictatorship (2001)
Sending aid to help earthquake victims in Iran (2002)

These are just the things off the top of my head. I’m sure I have some of the years wrong too, but the point is still valid nonetheless. Did we do this out of pure altruism? Of course not. But does that diminish the fact that we helped Moslems?

No. If we truly hated Moslems, we would not have carried out these acts. "Let 'em rot!" would have been our excuse to do nothing.

The thing that really gets me is the assertion that we should feel guilt for the Crusades. First of all, we weren't there. We didn't exist. Shoot, only the Indians knew that North America even existed and they didn't inform the Islamic world of the continent's location.

But aside from that quibble, what of the Crusades? Does the West really have to feel guilty over this? Let's see, Islam forms in the heart of the Arabian peninsula and rides out on jihad overrunning the fragmented, weak, dying remnants of the Byzantine Empire, and swarms into the Balkans, Spain (the Moroccans are still clearly stinging over this as the Parsley Island episode indicates), and into France. I'd almost forgive them for invading France, but on principle I have to condemn it. (Kudos to the French for defeating the Moslems at Tours, by the way). Eventually, Europe pushed the Moslems out of Spain and checked them in the Balkans. Europe even managed to take back the Holy Land in the Crusades for a couple centuries.

The West "took it back."

That's right, Islam conquered it. "We" took it back and then lost it again. And now we are condemned for trying to take back what was ours. That is, if they'll forgive the expression, a lot of chutzpah. I'd say we have our own grievances to neurotically fixate on to obscure the fact that we have failed our citizens on almost every level of cultural, economic, and political well being. Oh wait, we haven't failed on any of that (maybe culturally, given the Osbourne’s and Anna Nicole Smith show). Silly me. Never mind.

Now, I'm not holding a grudge for any of Islam's past actions. I'm even ready to give them a pass for the Barbary Pirates pouncing on our shipping just as soon as we kicked the British out of our country. We hit them back and we'll just call us even on that one, ok? I think we can all just get along. But why do we need to apologize for what we didn't do, keep helping Islamic countries and people despite their condemnations, ignore what they've done to us, and generally wallow in guilt over our military, economic, and cultural superiority? If the self-proclaimed jihadists really think the Moslem world can take the West on, I bet even the French would give them a Tours II walloping.

Me, I don't think there is a clash of civilizations between Islam and the West. Islam is probably no more intolerant than Christianity was until a couple centuries ago. I am loathe to condemn an entire religion and culture (ours is better, but I wouldn't force them into our way, except when they move here: see Mark Steyn for a good piece on cultural—not ethnic—superiority) because some nuts are gunning for us. We just need to kill the nuts. But I am tired of people trying to make me "understand" why the Islamic world hates us and why I should somehow "understand" the rage that led to September 11th. I'm all for understanding the enemy. But I won't try to understand in order to rationalize it. Let's just stomp who we have to stomp and when they complain, we'll say, "You know, we just haven't gotten over that Islamic invasion of France, way back when. You'll just have to understand our just rage." Ok, I'm not still upset over the France thing, but the Barbary Wars? Now that still inspires just rage. I bet Islamic academics and university students overseas will hold teach-ins to explore our anger, right?