How to be a Christian terrorist

 Suppose we concede that we have an irrational policy given that most attacks against the US have been by Muslims (or at least nominal Muslims).

It’s not clear, however, that we should make such a concession. Were all of the attackers Muslims in more than name? Here’s another way of putting it: did their Muslim beliefs motivate them or was it some other, say political, belief?

The Munich terrorists, for example, self-identified as Palestinians, not Muslims; their motivation was political not religious. I won’t belabor the point. Any time there is violence committed by an Arab, the West usually labels the perpetrator, “Muslim terrorist.” Socio-political considerations simply fall by the wayside.

Afghani rage: religion or autonomy?

Eleven years into the Afghanistan war and a few days after the disastrous burning of the Korans, US officials have mandated sensitivity training for US troops. Now with over thirty Afghans and two US servicemen dead, sensitivity training seems too little, too late.

One wonders, though, whether Afghani rage is motivated by the violations of their religious beliefs or, rather, by violations of their sovereignty and dignity. NATO air strikes have killed innocent children, Marines have urinated on the bodies of dead Afghans, night raids have terrorized citizens, and the American military continues to be accused of torturing detainees at secret locations (where detainees are denied basic human rights).