20080911

'Educating about global jihadism is our central obligation in the war on terror' - "Future Jihad" author, Walid Phares


Author Walid Phares explains, in an excerpt adapted from Future Jihad: Terrorist Strategies against America, the events of 9/11 in the context of the Jihadists' war to restore the Caliphate that ruled the Islamic world (and significantly, parts of what we now call the West) for over a thousand years.
Beheadings, mass graves, and the statements made by the vast networks of jihadists and other radicals have brought home the weighty question of future holy wars against the United States and the West. Americans are now preoccu­pied by two wars: the jihad that has been launched against them and the war on terrorism that has been directed at the jihadists.

I show that the jihadist strategies include a deep infiltration of America's government, defenses, and its youth. Jihadi doctrines do not rule out the ac­quisition and the possible use of weapons of mass destruction.

The war is expected to last more than a decade. I argue that the United States is mobilized domestically for this war but is not yet fully secured. It will take mass cultural adaptation to fight jihad. America must win the war of ideas - it must capture the minds of the women, youth, and elite that form the foundation of the future. Americans must learn a higher, more difficult truth about the terrorists - and also about what and who allowed the jihadists to be successful until September 11 and beyond - so that they can begin the actual resistance. Washington's perception and planning for the global war on terror­ism is only beginning. Many aspects of our response to and understanding of the jihadists need to be changed or developed: our national education, our jus­tice system, our intelligence agencies, our political alliances around the world, and our spending policies. Some myths will have to be broken, and many realities must be unearthed.
Six extraordinary films each offering unique perspectives on the tragic events of September 11, 2001 and their aftermath, are presented without commercial interruption during this week of remembrance (courtesy SnagFilms). These documentaries remind us how powerfully the medium of film can capture our darkest days, while also exalting the perseverance of the human spirit and our collective ability to endure and to heal.

The critically acclaimed 7 Days in September is presented to an online audience for the first time. With material from almost 30 filmmakers, director Steven Rosenbaum turns the tragic events of September 11, 2001—the memories of which are forever jarred in our psyches—into a moving portrait of emotion, loss and even kindness. Although the film uses footage of the horrific attacks on the World Trade Center and the resulting catastrophic loss, it also hones in on New York City’s tremendous ability to rebuild, through will and compassion.

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