I would like to propose for the sake of discussion a new approach to the world of Islam and what is now called the War on Terror. I believe it would be more appropriate to call this war the War of the Desert Warlords. I think that is the first step in wresting the followers of Islam away from politically ambitious extremist.
This conflict is about power; it is not about faith. Those who make war on the West are using us as tools to seize control of the World of Islam. I strongly believe that we are giving the extremists an un-fought victory by not challenging them for the Islamic majority. We can never expect the Islamic majority to them oppose the politically ambitious extremists with the force of arms on our behalf. We can hope for their neutrality. We can hope that they will turn away from the sort of teaching that provides the justification for politically inspired murder. We can also hoppe for improved intelligence from groups that are not inately hostile, and we can hope for a re-direction of Islamic youth, when they are given a chance for building a future for their people and their families.
To achieve the objective of a politically neutral Islamic world, I propose that we take the following steps:
1) Build a Museum in Bosnia commemorating those killed in the Serbian genocide against Islamic people in Srebrenica. We need as a world to recognize and acknoledge that Islamic peoples have also been the victims of religious persecution.
2) Establish a junior college or paraprofessional school system for Islamic women to train them primarily, at least initially, in the field of nursing.
3) Conduct a feasibility study of creating a manmade channel from the Atlantic Ocean to the basin of the Paleo-Chadian sea and create a salt water body of water in the middle of the Sahel. The purpose of this is ultimately to create a new frontier for Islamic settlers.
4) By use of a "set aside", create overseas work opportunities for young Iraqi men in order to get them away from the battlefield, either as cannon foldder or as targets for an attack.
5) Convene a conference of the highest ranking Sunni and Shi'a clerics, preferably in Turkey or Indonesia, to obtain a declaration that celebrates the peace of the mosque as a means of reducing sectarian violence in Iraq and elsewhere.
6) Negotiate a Status of Forces Treaty with the government of Iraq that grants the United States basing rights in rural, isolated areas, and the right to impose free fire zones (technically a cordon sanitaire) on Iraq's borders. This Treaty would contemplate a scheduled withdrawal of U.S. Forces, contingent upon a reduction of the level of violence in the country and the strength of Al Qaeda in the country.
7) Formally adopt a policy of encouraging a system of clan representation in a non-territorial senate in Islamic countries, including Iraq, as a means of encouraging the democratic process and pluralism.
8) Under State Department leadership, develop a water plan for the Jordan river valley which contemplates the use of desalinated water.
9) Establish the Islamic New Frontiers Research Organization in Turkey to serve as the lead organization in representing the Islamic world in certain large scale scientific projects.
10) For the purpose of reducing the cost of military action against the military units of the desert warlords, enter into a joint venture with Japan to build a prototype UCAV carrier of the same size and cost as a light cruiser.
11) Additionally, development should proceed with the construction and deployment of land control robots armed with 50 caliber machine guns. It will be the responsibility of these robotic warriors to maintain the sanctity of the cordon sanitaire that is set up to protect urban areas from guerillas.
Thank you for your consideration of these proposals. Your comments are invited.