Aw, jeez...
I just read this quote and it made me cringe:
"Suicide bombings in and Iraq' are perhaps understandable because there is an 'opponent' there," Yusuf Kalla said after prayers in the capital Jakarta on the Muslim holy day. "But here in Indonesia, it makes no sense. Why do they kill their own people, who have done nothing wrong?" he asked, calling on Islamic leaders to condemn the practice as being "not in line with the religion we hold." (bold emphasis mine)
It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, huh? From his persepective in the South China Sea, it seemed that most who died in the suicide bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan were "opponents". But not so...exploding in the middle of a market place, or next to a group of children isn't targeting "opponents". It is targeting innocents. Just like exploding inside of a cafe.
But then when it happens in his country, he cries 'time out" and "unfair." Yeah, buddy...I don't get it either. If you try to justify suicide bombers in some way, then you can't be surprised if it turns up in your own backyard.
"Suicide bombings in and Iraq' are perhaps understandable because there is an 'opponent' there," Yusuf Kalla said after prayers in the capital Jakarta on the Muslim holy day. "But here in Indonesia, it makes no sense. Why do they kill their own people, who have done nothing wrong?" he asked, calling on Islamic leaders to condemn the practice as being "not in line with the religion we hold." (bold emphasis mine)
It's all fun and games until someone gets hurt, huh? From his persepective in the South China Sea, it seemed that most who died in the suicide bombings in Iraq and Afghanistan were "opponents". But not so...exploding in the middle of a market place, or next to a group of children isn't targeting "opponents". It is targeting innocents. Just like exploding inside of a cafe.
But then when it happens in his country, he cries 'time out" and "unfair." Yeah, buddy...I don't get it either. If you try to justify suicide bombers in some way, then you can't be surprised if it turns up in your own backyard.
posted by CaliValleyGirl at 8:04 PM
2 Comments:
I don't read that he's trying to imply that all those killed in the suicide bombs are opponents. I think he's trying to deliniate that in Iraq and Afghanistan there physically is a perceived opponent for those causing the bombings. I don't take it to read that he's saying that all those folks harmed in those countries literally are opponents. Change your bold text to the word "there" instead to see why I read it that way. However... Where I think he's missing a large chunk of logic is that he and the power structure his government represents is ALSO a perceived opponent for those who bomb. I have to question the postulation that the Bali bombings were solely done out of hatred for the US, given that area's religious violence and history. And why he doesn't grasp that is befuddling to me. Those suicide bombers do care that innocents get hurt. It gives them the power of fear - it gives them the power of intimidation, which is the aim. It doesn't matter particularly WHO they're fighting, be they powers from abroad or powers at home. How can he be in charge and not understand that? That's a wide gap of logic he's missing.
Yeah, I agree with you. I think he is just shocked that it would happen in Bali, but his shock means that he misunderstands the motivations behind suicide bombings, and that rarely are they "strategic," in a military sense.
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