Jinn of Current Events

John Bragg: We must teach them that their cult of death will not bring them victory, only death. We must meet the challenge of those who demand martyrdom--we must supply it wholesale to any and all who ask for it. We must prove that there is no power in being a martyr for jihad. We must kill jihadists in great numbers, and thereby convince the rest that God will not bring them victory, that even God Himself will not save them from America if we are provoked. 

CNN: Iraq was gloating Sunday over the global outpouring of opposition to a possible U.S.-led war against the country, saying the rallies by millions of people signaled an Iraqi victory and "the defeat and isolation of America." 

David Pryce-Jones (The Telegraph): Ignorance, fear and lack of respect for Arabs - these were the most obvious traits on display in [the] demonstration against a war in Iraq. Could so many people really think that it is better to leave Iraqis under Saddam Hussein's vicious tyranny than to liberate them from it? 

The Observer: America is to punish Germany for leading international opposition to a war against Iraq. The US will withdraw all its troops and bases from there and end military and industrial co-operation between the two countries - moves that could cost the Germans billions of euros. Expect private boycott initiatives too (e.g. last week I convinced my mother not to buy a new German car next month). 

Amiland: Much celebration has surrounded the fact that yesterday's anti-war protests in Berlin were the largest ever in Germany. ... Organizers and police say that more than 500,000 demonstrators crowded the city center... Speakers in Berlin recalled that in January 1991, about 200,000 anti-war demonstrators massed in Bonn, the former capital city. Then, as now, the biggest applause line in Germany was "No Blood for Oil." But the previous record holder for peace demonstrations in Germany was in 1982. Also in Bonn, about 350,000 people gathered in June of that year to protest the deployment of Pershing rockets and cruise missles to German soil. What to make of the fact that deployment of the Pershing rockets led to the downfall of the Soviet Union? What to make of the fact that the 1991 Gulf War led to the liberation of Koweit, and the shocking discovery of Iraq's WMD programmes? 

The Telegraph: Iraq's foreign minister, Naji Sabri, has rebuffed the controversial plan drawn up by France and Germany last week aimed at avoiding military action in the Gulf. The peace proposal, which argued that extra time and resources should be given to the United Nations weapons inspectors, also called for the deployment of 1,000 armed UN peacekeeping troops. 

FT: The US on Sunday dismissed millions of anti-war protesters around the world and European-led efforts to delay a conflict with Iraq, saying they strengthened Saddam Hussein, the Iraqi leader, and made war more rather than less likely. 

Barbara Amiel: The most revealing aspect of the anti-war march in London was what you did not see. You did not see any messages to Saddam Hussein or criticism of Iraqi policy. These earnest seekers of peace, with so many signs denouncing George W Bush and Tony Blair, had nothing to say to Saddam Hussein; no request to please co-operate with the UN inspectors. But they had hateful messages against both the USA and Israel.