| Thursday,
September 9, 2010 .Actually I will be late today, too: I have
appointments at JPL for some research on works in progress.
About to go to JPL.
I remain astonished about the size of the flap about the burning of the
"Korans". I say it that way because under every doctrine of Islamic scholars
I know of, the clear statement in the Koran that no translation is a
Koran means that only infidels believe they are burning a Koran and thus
being blasphemous when they burn a translation. And yes, that's a quibble
but so is the flapdoodle.
Of course the burnings are a tactical error. Never do your enemy a small
injury. This will infuriate the Muslims in the same way that lobbing a
missile into the Mosque of the Two Aspects in Medina would infuriate them,
while doing nothing to intimidate them; that is, if you are going to engage
in acts of terror, make them effective. Don't galvanize the enemy with small
insults. And for those who are unable to figure it out on their own, I am
not advocating the bombardment of Medina. I'd be far more likely to assent
to assisting the Israelis in dismantling the Iranian nuclear establishment.
Note also that I have not yet done that, either. Not that anyone is asking
my assent or advice in that matter.
The Burnings are a tactical error, but it is not our tactical error, and
escalating their importance with all this attention is not wise. I make no
doubt that someone throws away a used Koran translation every day, as
someone almost certainly throws a worn out Bible into the trash quite
frequently.
As to the safety of the Legions, the best way to protect them from the
Afghanis is to withdraw them as soon as the Taliban was thrown out of Kabul.
You can say, but we didn't do that -- which is the point. If a fifty person
congregation is determined to have a public burning of documents they call
Korans, there is nothing the Republic can do to stop them, and the best
public policy is to take no notice. Meanwhile, certain instructions ought to
be delivered to all the junior officers and non-coms in Afghanistan. These
would not be official orders, and ought to be restricted to those commanders
and sergeants who can be trusted to understand what to do and to whom to do
it. Rom Emmanuel is not the only person who understands that some crises can
be used to advantage. Poppy fields come to mind.
It would be better if that small Florida congregation had not announced
it's "International Burn a Koran Day", or, given the announcement, it had
been ignored; but that option is no longer open. The question is what should
we do now, in both the Koran burnings and the mosque on the "sacred soil" of
the 9/11 disaster.
What we must not do is appear to be intimidated. That requires a subtlety
that may be beyond the current civilian controllers of our Legions.
=========================
I have
posted some important mail. I am now off to JPL
==============
1700: Back from a tour at JPL with the local NASW people.
Lots of interesting stuff happening, and I'll do a report with pictures
shortly. I am astonished at how many people out there still remember me. I
haven't been there in a long time, not since Dan Goldin was Administrator.
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