The attack on Oil

Bin Laden, or a potential double, called for an attack on the transmission of Oil to the West. Western Analysts suggest bin Landen is full of it, and only attacks upon the financial infrastructure could truly damage the American economy. This remains a very stupid attitude. Saboteurs blew up Iraq's northern export pipeline for the second week in a row on Saturday, halting oil flows to Turkey's Ceyhan port, oil officials said.
A bomb that exploded overnight blew off a section of the twin pipeline near the oil center of Baiji, they said.(AP) The Pipeline was designed to transmit 500,000 bpd to Turkey. Another domestic oil pipeline was hit near Baiji on Saturday, the latest in attacks that have crippled operations of refineries and helped to create severe shortages of fuels, especially in Baghdad.(AP) New York price for sweet crude was $46.80 Friday, when stockpiles and delivered Consignments suggest Oil price around $34 per barrel truly reflective of Supply conditions (Author's own estimate).

The Muslim World after 9/11

ANGEL M. RABASA CHERYL BENARD PETER CHALK
C. CHRISTINE FAIR THEODORE KARASIK
ROLLIE LAL IAN LESSER DAVID THALER

Arabs constitute only about 20 percent of the world’s Muslims, yet interpretations of Islam,
political and otherwise, are often filtered through an Arab lens. A great deal of the
discourse on Muslim issues and grievances is actually discourse on Arab issues and
grievances.

the decentralization of religious authority in Sunni Islam, which
makes it vulnerable to manipulation by extremists with scant religious credentials

Tribal conservatism—a cultural and not a religious feature—and religious
extremism can be mutually reinforcing. In the absence of countervailing forces—for
instance, a strong central authority—they produce a mix that, in the words of a Kuwaiti
interlocutor, "leads to bin Laden."

support networks have been key nodes in the funding and operations of extremist and terrorist groups.

Radical madrassas (Islamic boarding schools) from Pakistan to Southeast Asia have
been one of the main sources of personnel for radical movements and terrorist
groups. Despite the importance of madrassa reform, few concrete plans have emerged
to design and implement specific changes in these schools, and little consideration
has been given to how they fit within the broader reform of public education systems,
which can help produce more desirable economic, political, and social outcomes.

A complementary element of the strategy of supporting secular or moderate Muslim
organizations is to deny resources to extremists. This effort needs to be undertaken at
both ends of the funding cycle.

Militarily, the United States faces a need to reduce the more obvious aspects of its
presence while working to increase different types of presence, e.g., intelligence, psychological
operations, civil affairs. In some places in the Muslim world, this will
mean continuing to reduce a heavy (and politically sensitive) forward presence and
instead seeking to support operations from consolidated regional locations.

Ungoverned areas throughout the Muslim world, from isolated portions of Indonesia
and the Philippines to large tracks of Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Yemen, can
become havens for extremist and terrorist groups. Political and economic stabilization
in such areas will reduce opportunities for extremism and terrorism to take root.

Some U.S. intelligence and diplomatic capabilities in parts of the
Muslim world have atrophied in the past two years as a result of redeployment to
other areas of this region.

The Report is excellent in identification of all the Problem areas, and totally deficient in adequate Solution proposals. Moderate Muslim elements cannot associate with American presence without being condemned not just by Extremists, but by the general Muslim public. It proposes further American presence in the Arab world though lower key, when such presence only provides targets and condemnation propaganda for Extremists. Tampering with religious madrassas would led to call for greater violence, through charges of corrupting Muslim youth. The United States needs to demand 'Equal time' on satellite Islamic media, rather than try to suppress Extremist access to such media; We need to discount their propaganda with our own effective propaganda, based on revelation of Our own cultural family life. We need to engage Tribal leadership in dialogue, not supplant it with a alien strong central authority.

We need to counter the impact of Terrorist ideology in Islamic society, not try to change Islamic cultural and social patterns. We will fail, and face increasing violence due to overt American interference in Islamic society, until We learn the proper approach to the Islamic peoples. lgl