It’s Not Just Islam, It’s the Tribal Mentality

Bruce S. Thornton

"The “nothing to do with Islam” mantra took a hit recently in one of the premier organs of liberal received wisdom, The Atlantic. Many have greeted as a revelation Graeme Wood’s article on the Islamic doctrines behind ISIS’s atrocities. Regular readers of FrontPage and Jihad Watch will not be as impressed. For years they have understood the link between jihadism and Islam. In 1994 Andy McCarthy made this connection when he prosecuted the perpetrators of the first World Trade Center bombing the previous year, a connection that the FBI ignored or discounted at the time––a failure, by the way, that has become a pernicious tradition for those charged with protecting our nation’s security and interests. For everyone else who has been paying attention to the rise of modern jihadism, Wood’s article is a dog bites man story.

There is a lesson somewhere in this next excerpt:

Next, loyalty in tribal societies counts only for those within the tribe. Alliances with other tribes or peoples are ad hoc and contingent on the immediate interests of the tribe. They can be abandoned or betrayed if circumstances or perceptions change. Moreover, respect for others beyond the tribe is based solely on their capacity to inflict violence on their enemies. The “strongest tribe,” a status based on its effectiveness and success in conflict, will attract allies, who will abandon the hegemon once it loses that perception of its strength. Thus during Caesar’s wars in Gaul various Gallic and Germanic tribes would ally with the Romans when they appeared dominant, and betray them in an instant if they thought them weak. Likewise during the U.S. Cavalry’s wars against the Plains Indians, many tribes victimized by the Sioux or Apache or Cheyenne would ally with the Americans if they seemed to be winning, then switch sides the moment they seemed weak.

Related, obviously:  Obama: The Weak Horse

 . . . "Obama's bowing to the King of Saudi Arabia; his hopeless incapacity or disinterest in stopping Iran's development of nuclear weapons; his illegal and ill-advised entanglements in the Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, and Libya; his interfering with the rules of engagement in Afghanistan; and his dithering in Iraq -- his countless blunders and misguided ideology -- all send a clear message to our Islamic enemies: Barack Hussein Obama is a weak horse.  America is an easy target."  . . .   Full article.

Troop Withdrawal: Is America the Weak Horse?

Under Health Care Act, Many Tax Filers Are Discovering Costly Complications

NY Times    "When he signed up for health insurance through the Affordable Care Act last fall, J. C. Ciesielski estimated his income at $19,400, qualifying him for a federal subsidy that cut his premiums in half. But Mr. Ciesielski, an actor, earned an extra $2,340 from a voice-over job in December, and that welcome bit of income proved problematic when he did his taxes this month."

A tax preparer told Mr. Ciesielski that because he had not informed the federal health insurance marketplace, HealthCare.gov, of his additional income, he had to repay $118 of his subsidy. Mr. Ciesielski, who is being treated for a brain tumor, looked perplexed as he learned the money would come out of his refund check.

“This is definitely the lowest refund I’ve ever gotten,” Mr. Ciesielski, 34, said as he drummed his fingers on the tax preparer’s desk. “But it boils down to I have health insurance, which I desperately need.”

We’re Doing Great in Yemen Except Our Remaining Forces Had to Flee Yesterday

peacealliancewinnipeg

Independent Sentinel

"From our success stories in Yemen, to Russia doesn’t want Ukraine, to ISIS is being decimated, the administration’s fairy tale foreign policy was regurgitated by James Clapper Sunday on Fox News. Yemen’s third largest town has been seized by Iranian-backed rebels and because of it, our military had to flee. The loss of U.S. intel is enormous.

"The al-Annad base is where American and European military advisers help Yemen battle the country’s local al-Qaida branch through drone strikes and logistical support – it’s a U.S. drone base. Josh Earnest lied about it and that should be that. White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the U.S. had seen no indications of an operational link between ISIS and Friday’s attacks. He said the U.S. was investigating to see whether the ISIS branch in Yemen has the command-and-control structure in place to substantiate its claim of responsibility.

"On Fox News Sunday, CIA Director John Brennan spoke with Chris Wallace on a number of issues from defeating ISIS to Russia needs to respect territorial integrity to our “shared” interests with Iran.

Wallace played a video clip of Clapper having said: “There’s an alignment of some interest between ourselves and Iran, clearly in terms of what ISIL has done there.” Wallace then asked Clapper if he really believed the U.S. and Iran had shared interests."  . . .

Tweets from Iran’s Ayatollah embarrass America’s diplomatic efforts

Legal Insurrection

“We reject US fraudulent offer of reaching a deal with Iran first then lifting sanctions”

"As the arbitrary deadline to strike a deal with Iran draws close, Secretary Kerry says “genuine progress” has been made.

"France is not so sure the negotiations are going well, and neither is Israel. Both nations share concerns that Iran is receiving far too many concessions, saying any rush to relax sanctions is not a deal worth making.

"While talks proceed, and Kerry attempts to assures America with platitudes, Senator Cotton reminds us who we’re negotiating with:

Tom Cotton        ✔ @SenTomCotton

Follow

Take a minute to scroll through @khamenei_ir’s twitter feed today. Further proof Iran is not a rational, peaceful actor. #IranTalks

3:26 PM - 21 Mar 2015

"Regardless of what Secretary Kerry tells the Associated Press, Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei, Iran’s Supreme Leader is not exactly a fan of Obama, America, or any deal that doesn’t remove sanctions. And if you need more proof, look no further than than the Ayatollah’s Twitter feed."  . . .

 Mr. Congeniality has much to say about all this in his numerous tweets in this link.

Her Hineyness Is Peeved

 Earl of Taint   "The very idea…watching that low-bred press rabble question her like she was some commoner. Holding her to account like she was a Republican or something! An insulting, repulsive and shockingly sexist breach of protocol that will not be forgotten."

Earl of Taint

Why I am a Climate Change Skeptic

Dr. Patrick Moore

"I am skeptical humans are the main cause of climate change and that it will be catastrophic in the near future. There is no scientific proof of this hypothesis, yet we are told “the debate is over” and “the science is settled.”

"My skepticism begins with the believers’ certainty they can predict the global climate with a computer model. The entire basis for the doomsday climate change scenario is the hypothesis increased atmospheric carbon dioxide due to fossil fuel emissions will heat the Earth to unlivable temperatures.

"In fact, the Earth has been warming very gradually for 300 years, since the Little Ice Age ended, long before heavy use of fossil fuels. Prior to the Little Ice Age, during the Medieval Warm Period, Vikings colonized Greenland and Newfoundland, when it was warmer there than today. And during Roman times, it was warmer, long before fossil fuels revolutionized civilization.

"The idea it would be catastrophic if carbon dioxide were to increase and average global temperature were to rise a few degrees is preposterous."  . . .Full Article here.

[Editor’s Note: Patrick Moore, Ph.D., has been a leader in international environmentalism for more than 40 years. He cofounded Greenpeace and currently serves as chair of Allow Golden Rice. Moore received the 2014 Speaks Truth to Power Award at the Ninth International Conference on Climate Change, July 8, in Las Vegas. . . .] 

Obama Details His Disappointment With Netanyahu In First Post-Election Comments

MSN  "President Barack Obama is operating under the assumption that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu does not support the creation of a Palestinian state, despite the Israeli leader's post-election efforts to recast himself as amenable to a two-state solution.

" 'We take him at his word when he said that it wouldn't happen during his prime ministership, and so that's why we've got to evaluate what other options are available to make sure that we don't see a chaotic situation in the region," the president said in an interview with The Huffington Post on Friday.

"Though he pledged to keep working with the Israeli government on military and intelligence operations, Obama declined to say whether the United States would continue to block Palestinian efforts to secure statehood through the United Nations. In a phone conversation the two had on Thursday, he said he indicated to Netanyahu that "it is going to be hard to find a path where people are seriously believing that negotiations are possible.' " . . .  Read more...

SYRIAN REBELS BOMB AND KILL SCHOOLCHILDREN - ISIS DECAPITATES KURDS - US State Department aghast at Jews building homes in Jerusalem

Obama’s Contempt for Israel Affecting Iran Policy   "Working with enemies and rejecting allies."  . . .

Wanted, Dead or Dead: ISIS Posts Kill Lists of 100 U.S. Military With Personal Information

Independent Sentinel

"ISIS released lists with the names, photos and addresses of 100 U.S. U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines – many of them pilots, according to the NY Daily News, calling for their deaths.

"The group calls themselves the ISIS Hacking Division posted it on a website Friday evening using a Polish provider."

. . .

“[W]e have decided to leak 100 addresses so that our brothers residing in America can deal with you,” the group warned.

“Kill them in their own lands, behead them in their own homes, stab them to death as they walk their streets thinking that they are safe,” the “Islamic State Hacking Division” added.

"In February, at least four military wives had their social media accounts hacked, purportedly by ISIS. The FBI is investigating."

The Bookworm Beat; — the illustrated edition and open thread

Bookworm Room
"Less talk, more pictures (thanks to Caped Crusader):"

Rand Paul: “Difficult” For Clinton To Run On Women’s Rights While Taking Money From Saudi Arabia

Bookworm Room

BuzzFeed
“There’s a war on women and it’s in Saudi Arabia, and frankly you can be raped in Saudi Arabia and then publicly lashed for inappropriately being in a car with a man.”

"Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul said Friday that former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton “should be ashamed” of the Clinton Foundation accepting foreign donations from countries where women lack basic rights. The potential Republican presidential candidate said it would be difficult to run as the first woman to potentially be president while her foundation takes money from such countries.

“ 'I’m calling today for Hillary Clinton to return the money to Saudi Arabia,” Paul said on Concord News Radio “There’s a war on women and it’s in Saudi Arabia, and frankly you can be raped in Saudi Arabia and then publicly lashed for inappropriately being in a car with a man. I think frankly Hillary Clinton should be ashamed of taking the money and I’m calling today for her to return that money from Saudi Arabia and I’m calling today for her to return the money to Saudi Arabia, to Brunei, to United Arab Emirates, to all of these countries that don’t give women in the basic ability to have the rights in court and voting or on juries.”

"Paul called the Clinton Foundation taking money from foreign countries “an anchor that will drag Hillary Clinton down.' ” . . .

From the "Ain't gonna happen" files: Valerie Jarrett Must Go

Jared Feldschreiber  . . . "But this is a president who is insular... [And] surrounded by people who reflect back to him what he wants to hear... For a man with an Ivy League education, he seems remarkably ignorant of the ways in which past presidents -- Lyndon Johnson and Bill Clinton -- have worked with Congress." Davis also underscores that President Obama has not received the memo put forth by American voters last November with the GOP seizing control of the Senate, giving them full command of Congress. President Obama  believed the elections were a referendum on his policies, even as Republicans gained seven seats in the Senate and maintained a solid majority in the House of Representatives. The schism between Republicans and Democrats has only widened in recent months."  . . .

Former Secretary of State Baker: I Signed Exit Form

NRO

"According to Baker’s policy assistant, John Williams, Baker signed OF-109 on August 24, 1992, the day he left the State Department to serve as White House chief of staff to George H. W. Bush. 

"Baker’s testimony casts doubt on the explanation offered by State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki about why Clinton may not have signed the same form. Psaki told reporters that the department’s most senior employees often do not sign the separation statement verifying the return of their documents because “there’s a long tradition of secretaries of state making themselves available to future secretaries and presidents and secretaries are typically allowed to maintain their security clearance and access to their own records for use in writing their memoirs and the like.”. . .