Al Queda Hates other Muslims

Wow, no shit. People act like this is a big deal, Al Queda attacking diplomats from Arab countries. Do we get excited about this because we desperately want Arabs to fight their own fanatics? This is a just a logical step for Al Queda - something they've done before, in attempts to assissinate Egyptian and Saudi leaders. Why do we act like this is a new tactic?

Arabs have been aware of the Islamist problem for a long ass time - like since it started in the 1920s. The problem is that they've never been able to eliminate or completely isolate the Islamicists. In the past they've been too harsh and it served to legitimate the Islamicists. In recent times, they've been too soft, acting like big time pussies when Al Queda ever threatened to do anything.

Most Arab governments are incompetent, impotent, pathetic autocracies and their incompetence empowers Islamicists. Islamicists promote a retarded message, us versus them/rejection of modern values/a completely miserable world view, and hence, have never been able to capture the popular imagination.

For years this has made the Middle East a cesspool of clumsy, stupid, governments chasing around insane, but determined fanatics, allowing each side to claim misguided "victories." We were perfectly okay allowing this state of affairs (what business of this is ours?), so long as the oil flowed from Saudi Arabia to allow the world economy to function.

9/11, of course, changed the status quo, and yes, we need to get rid of the fanatics, but we also need to get rid of the conditions which encourage and allow for fanticism to thrive. Hence, Iraq.

The other option, of course, is to cite the recent Kelo case and seize Saudi Arabia by eminant domain, claiming the world's oil for the public good and....jesus, this idea doesn't sound all that bad. We could take the oil refineries, leave Mecca and Medina to the crazies, pay them some money to chill out. Oh, if it were only so easy.