Intelligence at work, from the Telegraph (h/t, Protein Wisdom):
To understand the life-or-death significance of what the Pope does and says when he arrives in Istanbul, it is necessary to see this confrontation for what it is. This will involve some traumatic re-adjustment for most of the opinion-forming class in Britain. The first assumption that will have to go is the premise that Islamist terrorism can be understood in pragmatic, politically rational terms: in other words, that it can be addressed with the usual mechanisms of negotiation, concession and amended policy.
The most readily accepted version of this is that a change to our policy in the Middle East will remove the grievances that “fuel” Muslim terrorism. The Cabinet has apparently been advised that all foreign policy decisions over the next decade should have the goal of thwarting terrorism in Britain and that this should involve “a significant reduction in the number and intensity of the regional conflicts that fuel terror activity”. So Britain is contemplating constructing a foreign policy, specifically in the Middle East, that is designed to give in to terrorist blackmail.
Well said. Why is it so difficult to understand that it's not about "grievances"? It's just old-fashioned imperialism, with a religious inspiration. Phony grievances have been used as excuses to rationalize warfare forever. Trojan War, for one.
Editor's note: Speaking of the Pope visiting Istanbul, Tangled Web reminds us of how Constantinople "evolved" into a Moslem city. Yes, 1453 was a very "evolutionary" year for Constantinople: evolution by scimitar. You "evolve" quite a bit when your head is cut off.
Image: Yes, the Hagia Sophia, The "Mother Church," the "Church of Holy Wisdom". Visit it, before you die. It's worth the trip.
