How many times have you heard some Euro-sophisticate sniff at our ways of dealing with extremist Moslems? We are lacking in our appreciation of the nuance of the Islamic world, they say. Europeans, based on their role as colonial masters of Moslems, know how to talk to the wogs in a way they understand.
Prince Charles of Britain is the most recent, saying that we are too "confrontational" with Islam:
The prince is expected to use his face time with Dubya to preach tolerance of Islam. London newspapers report that Charles has privately voiced serious concerns about the supposedly confrontational way the United States has approached Muslim countries since 9/11.
Slamming three planes into our military and economic centers with a fourth intended for our government on 9/11 isn't confrontational at all, I suppose. Yet our near constant refrain that Islam is a religion of peace as we take extreme pains not to taint an entire religion for the crimes of jihadis is confrontational. I guess you need blue blood and plenty of free time to think of that.
If only we'd listen to the Euros, we'd do much better.
Like, oh, for example, the French:
The French government was reeling after nearly a week of suburban rioting outside Paris spread to other areas around the capital, laying bare what observers said was the country's failure to address deep problems of poverty and immigration.
Gangs of stone-throwing youths clashed with police and torched 180 cars overnight in several towns north and west of Paris in an escalation of dusk-to-dawn violence that has raged since last Thursday following the death of two teenagers in the northeast suburb of Clichy-sous-Bois.
Yep, being the colonial master of Moslems gives the French deeper insights into governing and understanding Moslems. And don't forget the credit France surely earned for sucking up to Saddam and running interference for him in the UN right up until V Corps and I MEF converged on Baghdad in April 2003.
Interestingly enough, the Agence France-Presse article mentions "Moslems" only twice. Once in the 12th paragraph to note the riots are in a Moslem suburb (but who knows who is actually rioting there); and then later down to explain that Moslem immigrants are upset over a whole host of French government failures. You have to assume that since Moslem immigrants have justifiable grievances, they are the ones rioting and not just agnostic immigrant "youths" torching cars.
I guess the press of a sophisticated state sees no reason to mention their religion.
Let's see if the French can subdue this resistance faster than we evicted the jihadis from Fallujah last November.
I wish them luck. Really.
