Speaking at the Council of Foreign Relations on March 13, CIA Director John Brennan said that “the Islamic State had ‘snowballed’ beyond Iraq and Syria, estimating that at least 20,000 fighters from more than 90 countries have gone to join the militant group, several thousand of them from Western nations, including the United States.”
“Left unchecked, the group would pose a serious danger not only to Syria and Iraq, but to the wider region and beyond, including the threat of attacks in the homelands of the United States and our partners,” said Brennan.
Left unclear in his speech is why the Islamic State—which Obama and his crew regularly insist has nothing to do with Islam—is “snowballing”; why 20,000 “fighters” (AKA “Muslims”) are joining it.
Almost one year ago to the day, however, at the same Council of Foreign Relations gathering, Brennan did explain what makes Muslims from all around the world join the Islamic jihad (then under the rubric of “Al-Qaeda”). After assuring all in attendance that al-Qaeda’s ideology is “a perverse and very corrupt interpretation of the Qur’an”; that “al-Qaeda has hijacked” Islam; that “they have really distorted the teachings of Muhammad”—Brennan still confirmed that, even so “that ideology, that agenda of al-Qaeda has gained resonance and following in many parts of the world.”
When asked why such a “perverse and very corrupt” understanding of Islam—one that has “distorted the teachings of Muhammad”—so resonates among Muslims, the CIA responded by saying that it was being “fed a lot of times by, you know, political repression, by economic, you know, disenfranchisement, by, you know, lack of education and ignorance, so there—there are a number of phenomena right now that I think are fueling the fires of, you know, this ideology.”
Interestingly, if you watch the video clip of Brennan’s speech, you will note that he only “you knows” in the above quotation (four times) and right before it, when he says that al-Qaeda has “distorted the teachings of Muhammad, you know, for violent purposes.”
The rest of his talk is relatively smooth.
Could Brennan be self-conscious of his own equivocations—hence all these stilted “you knows” in one sentence?
Could he be aware of the Rand Corporation report on counterterrorism, prepared for the Office of the Secretary of Defense in 2009? It found that “Terrorists are not particularly impoverished, uneducated, or afflicted by mental disease. Demographically, their most important characteristic is normalcy (within their environment). Terrorist leaders actually tend to come from relatively privileged backgrounds.”
Or consider the following excerpt from Understanding Terror Networks, by Marc Sageman, a former CIA officer who worked closely with jihadi groups in Afghanistan (emphasis mine):
There was a definite shift in degree of devotion to Islam in adulthood by the mujahedin [jihadis], preceding their recruitment into the jihad. This is not surprising given the fact that the global Salafi jihad is a Muslim revivalist organization. Of the 155 mujahedin on whom I could find relevant information, all but one were considerably more devout right before joining the jihad than they had been as children. More than 99 percent were very religious at that time, often donning Afghan, Pakistani, or traditional Arabic garb and growing beards…
“Devotion to Islam” is what causes Muslims to join the Islamic State. Despite this very obvious fact, Obama officials constantly deny it, offering more “sensible” motives. Thus during a recent interview on MSNBC’s Hardball, State Department spokesperson Marie Harf said that one of “the root causes that leads people to join these groups,” a reference to the Islamic State, is a “lack of opportunity for jobs.”
“Political repression,” “economic disenfranchisement,” “lack of education and ignorance,” and now a “lack of opportunity for jobs.” These, according to the Obama administration, are why countless, nameless Muslims from all around the world are waging jihad—not the commonsensical fact that jihad is integral to Islam, doctrinally and historically.
A final point of interest. This widespread tendency to project Western cultural explanations onto non-Western people is the height of arrogance and ethnocentrism—precisely what progressives and multiculturalists constantly warn against. Yet the irony is that such “open-minded” proponents of cultural relativism are also the ones most prone to ignore Islamic teachings. When Brennan, Harf et al insist that jihadis are really not motivated by religion but rather are products of political, economic, and social forces, is this total dismissal of the “other” and his peculiar motivations (in favor of familiar, Western paradigms) not the epitome of cultural arrogance?
Some Muslims joing ISIS so that they can cut off the heads of people they don’t like. Some Muslims join ISIS to keep their heads from being cut off. Other Muslims get their heads cut off.
John Brennan is a professional liar. He is CIA. That is what they do. I’m sure he is a nice guy however, he dances with the broad that brung him.
Brennan may be a Muslim who is practicing Taqiyya to protect Islam from criticism.
Every time the lies of the Obama Administration about Islam are discussed I always post to illustrate with verifiable evidence from the Qur’an and the public record that Obama is lying to the world about Islam. To do this I post a portion of my 7500 word n report, “Barack Hussein Obama: Islam”s American Friend, written for an American news website.” I will include a link to the full report at th e end of my post.
Excerpt from Barack Hussein Obama: Islam;s American Friend:
(Copyright Wolff Bachner 2014 and 2015)
Perhaps we may find some answers and bring this insanity into focus by recalling the moment when Obama spoke to the nation to declare Islam the “Religion of Peace” after the Boston Marathon Bombings. Standing behind his podium with the Great Seal of the United States affixed to the front, quoting from what he lovingly called ‘The Holy Qur’an,” Obama recited “Whoever kills an innocent, it is as if he has killed all mankind.” Not only did Obama leave out most of Sura 5:32 that gives the actual context of the passage, he didn’t even use the complete sentence to promote his falsehood.
Sura 5:32 in its entirety reads:
“We decreed upon the Children of Israel that whoever kills a soul unless for a soul or for corruption [done] in the land – it is as if he had slain mankind entirely. And whoever saves one – it is as if he had saved mankind entirely. And our messengers had certainly come to them with clear proofs. Then indeed many of them, [even] after that, throughout the land, were transgressors.”
In other words, Jews are forbidden by G*d to commit murder, except as punishment for murder or religious corruption.
Sura 5:32 then concludes by accusing Jews of being “transgressors.” In other words, this Sura is also calling Jews criminals who deserve to be killed for rejecting Islam.
Of course, Obama fails to inform his audience that the law mentioned in Sura 5:32 telling Jews not to murder is taken directly from the Jewish Talmud nor does he have anything to say about the constant claims by Islamic leaders, Imams and Clerics that Jews revel in killing Muslims.
The verse in the Talmud (Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a) that Sura 5:32 plagiarized reads as follows:
“For this reason was man created alone, to teach thee that whosoever destroys a single soul of Israel, scripture imputes [guilt] to him as though he had destroyed a complete world; and whosoever preserves a single soul of Israel, scripture ascribes [merit] to him as though he had preserved a complete world.”
Talmud, Sanhedrin 37a is very specific legalistic discussion of the crime of murder that makes no mention of anything as vague as the Islamic catch-all crime of “mischief in the land.” Unfortunately for many victims of Islamic jurisprudence, “mischief in the land” includes insulting Mohammad or members of his family, insulting or cursing Allah, defiling or deliberately damaging a Qur’an, rejecting Islam, leaving Islam for another religion, preaching another religion in the presence of Muslims, adultery, homosexuality, practicing atheism, practicing polytheism including belief in the Christian Trinity, converting a Muslim to another religion, a non-Muslim striking a Muslim in a nation under Sharia law, waging war against Islam, refusing the pay the Jizya, possessing religious texts and symbols of other religions, baptizing, and an astonishing assortment of trivialities used to crush the spirit of non-Muslims and scare Muslims out of ever leaving Islam. We should also mention that every example of “mischief in the land” listed here is punishable by death.
Since Sura 5:32 is part of a series of verses, we must also read the next verse, Sura 5:33, which tells us what Muslims are permitted to do to corrupt mischief makers like the Jews:
“Indeed, the penalty for those who wage war against Allah and His Messenger and strive upon earth [to cause] corruption is none but that they be killed or crucified or that their hands and feet be cut off from opposite sides or that they be exiled from the land. That is for them a disgrace in this world; and for them in the Hereafter is a great punishment.”
Simply put, President Obama read a small part of a sentence originally from the Talmud instructing Jews not to murder, and told the world the passage is Islamic law instructing Muslims not to murder, thus, according to Obama, proving Islam is a totally peaceful religion.
The President lied to you and misrepresented the true teachings of Islam. Does Barack Hussein Obama, the son of a Muslim father who first learned the Qur’an in Islamic Indonesia as a child, really expect us to believe he is not aware of the entire contents of Sura 5:32 and 5:33 or is he doing what so many other Islamic apologists have done and rewording the content of the Sura to deceive non-Muslims?
Link to full report: http://islamexposed.org/2014/04/14/barack-hussein-obama-islams-american-friend/
Brennan is a lying Muslim practicing Taqiyya. It is not violent Muslims who kill and rape in the name of Allah who are perverting Islam, it is the peaceful Muslims who do not rape and kill in the name of Allah who are perverting Islam.
One Cultures ‘psychopathic thug’ is another Cultures dedicated/very pious altruistic enforcer.
CIA director on ISIS: They aren’t Muslims – they’re “psychopathic thugs”
CIA director (John Brennan) determines by his argument a culture which has continued from the seventh century to create “psychopathic thugs” should be allowed to continue to do so because CIA director (John Brennan) denies the reality such “psychopathic thugs” on such a scale require culture be it religious or secular to create such politically motivated violence.
Social psychology, system analysis, and critical thinking determine such behavior under an Islamic/Muslim cultural ‘rational’ model as indeed rational – under a Western ‘rational’ model insane.
I repeat such Muslim behavior because it is on such a scale over time and space can be proven to be rational behavior under the Islamic/Muslim cultural ‘rational’ model. These are no outliers.
“Every set of beliefs introduces its own logic and its own constraints.
..to a decision scientist, “rational” means “consistency with some model.” Rational decisions are not necessarily dispassionate, nor well reasoned, nor selfish. They are not even necessarily good decisions, from others’ perspectives. They simply are consistent.”
“Distinguishing Spiritual from Temporal Power, Inventing the Individual, The origins of Western Liberalism, Larry Siedentop, 2014
When you claim to have rationally derived a point of view or behavior this is only from your perspective, individual, group, culture, nation.
“psychopathic thugs” so many in the one place with millions around the world supporting this specific form of ‘pathology’ the CIA head I know for a fact is playing from the World Health Orgainsation (WHO) script the ‘Harm minimisation violence program’ which has been developed for pragmatic reasons because the reality which psychology informs humanity as the truth means holding the so called Muslim liberal-moderate (reflecting in decreasing degrees Others own ethics and values) end of the Muslim behavioral variance who are the actual source of these very same “psychopathic thugs” and ‘hate preachers’ who ‘brainwash’ them into such a state to account.
What is the truth which the CIA Head is very well aware of as he must have at least one social psychologists on the CIA payroll:
“Without the ceaseless pulsating heartbeat of our “categorization engine, we would understand nothing around us, could not reason in any form whatever, could not communicate to anyone else, and would have no basis on which to take any action.
….
“every culture constantly, although tacitly, reinforces the impression that words are simply automatic labels that come naturally to mind and that belong intrinsically to things and entities” who then provides the “basis on which to take any action.” ?
SURFACES AND ESSENCES, ANALOGY AS THE FUEL AND FIRE OF THINKING, Douglass Hofstadter, Emmanuel Sander, 2013
The reason-‘rational’ utilized to frame an individuals actions, the actions of ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, Iranian, Saudi, … religious elites, Muslim adherents are sourced from where? From a completely different “categorization engine” which in no way enables the same analogised reality?
Clearly it does for the ISIS actions we see now as more abhorrent than humanity have ever previously experienced have occurred just a short time before in the same manner and stretching back to the seventh century: I am confused (not really)? To be crucified, or not to be burned alive, that is the question— Whether ’tis Nobler in the mind of Islamic religion to have Other suffer nail and sword of outrageous crucifixion, Or
“Culture uses artifacts, rituals and text to develop and reinforce a shared sense of identity among members. It is the filter through which we see and understand our current reality (Edgar, 1980). These are the structures of identity that help people organise and make sense of everyday life (Wark, 1997). They also establish boundaries between groups (Oyserman & Lee, 2007)”
Psychology Burton, Western, Kowalski, 2012
Cultural codex – a cultures “artifacts, rituals and text” form the basis for a cultures categorization which seek to form “precise and sharp boundaries” for adherent action.
“Culture is not only what people think, it is also what they do. Ideally, cultural explanations would also strive to be mutually non-contradictory with relevant approaches from the social and natural sciences. This means taking into account both the nature of the individual mind as well as the dynamics of social interaction. Thus, ‘cultures’ should be understood as historically accumulated collections of beliefs and practices which are socially produced and aimed at meeting psychological needs. …..
Culture, although it cannot ‘do’ anything on its own, provides a framework through which people are motivated to act. Subsequently, incidents of violence are individually and socially understood through narrative, that is, through the stories which are developed by participants, observers and the institutions which deal with them (such as the courts and media). These narratives, in turn, can express motivations or justifications for further violence or, alternatively, for its avoidance or suppression.”
Wood, J. Carter (2007). Conceptualizing cultures of violence and cultural change. In: Carroll, Stuart ed. Cultures of Violence: Interpersonal Violence in Historical Perspective. Palgrave Macmillan.
“Culture, of course, is related to violence in general and not only to structural violence. For example, culture influences the determination of “thresholds” which pressure on a person must overcome in order to move that person from being controllable, or even positive, to being negative (that is, into violence).”
The Culture of Violence, Chp 3. On the relationship between violence and culture – Galtung’s concept
State and non-state actors are increasingly using culture to ‘justify’ carrying out violence against women.
“In the first place, ideologies provide a perspective, or ‘lens’, through which the world is understood and explained. People do not see the world as it is, but only as they expect it to be: in other words, they see it through a veil of ingrained beliefs, opinions and assumptions. Whether consciously or subconsciously everyone subscribes to a set of political beliefs and values that guide their behaviour and influence their conduct. Political ideas and ideologies thus set goals that inspire political activism. …. a, unifying set of political ideas and values can develop naturally within society, or it can be enforced from above in an attempt to manufacture obedience and exercise control. The clearest examples of such ‘official’ ideas have been found in fascist, communist and religious fundamentalist regimes.”
Source: Political Ideologies Andrew Heywood 2012
Something must exist in the Islamic Muslim cultural codex, “narratives” – “rational model” which enables these “precise and sharp boundaries” enabling adherent “action”/”political activism”, otherwise the Muslim terrorist ‘would understand nothing around them, could not reason in any form whatever, could not communicate to anyone else, and would have no basis on which to take any action.’.
From psychology, sociology, philosophy, political science the exact same finding yet rather than face this truth a madness of more than Kafkaesque proportions is conjured in its place which enables those not only in the Western political elite, but the Intellectual elite, and perversely the Health elite as well to create and perpetuate a system which determines any citizen raising objection as having a mental illness, an irrational fear Islamophobia, a bigot and even inciting not only the Muslim terror itself but the counter-terror which inevitably rises to meet it.
This despite the clear fact the Islamic/Muslim cultural code/’narrative’ is able to be, and has been analogised since the seventh century, consistently reflecting the exact same behavior humanity tragically see before us yesterday, today and tomorrow, of burning cages, tyrannical political constructs, the subjugation and abuse of girls (See excerpt of British Serious Crime Report in attached) and women from restriction of opportunity to female genital mutilation, sexual slavery and the growing political power and terror method to control political space within Western Nations – burning buildings, broken bodies and lives. And this governing elite having no regard for morality to determine others of having a mental illness becomes normative.
It is the most appalling abuse of power and frankly quite upsetting because in the end if this persists the only way through will be over the top of these lying gatekeepers which is exactly why the Right (made up of ordinary citizens in the main across the political spectrum who previously held no such views regards the necessity of utilising violence to achieve political change in direction) are rising across the world.
What this pathological altruist elite are offering humanity and in particular Western citizens is a choice in the end between two ideological tyrannies one religious one secular. Violence clearly is not the answer yet this is going to occur increasingly in both directions. This elite are going to ‘manage’ ‘complexity’ towards the destruction of their own culture and all along the way blame and punish everyone else they possibly can for their manifest failure.
Why would CIA director (John Brennan) blatantly lie that these “psychopathic thugs” were not Muslims where science would determine and has determined otherwise? How is it possible despite the evidence these Muslims are being described as “aren’t Muslims – they’re “psychopathic thugs”” this is how it is made possible it is the same as always as humans we will tend to look for anything which will excuse our behavior or someone elses if it is not perceived to be in our ‘interests’ at the time to face the truth:
Social psychology would inform a reality terror is to continue because the mental schema for terror are developed within the liberal-moderate end of the Muslim behavioral variance – so if these ISIS members are “psychopathic thugs” what pray tell are the families, communities and institutions which will consistently constantly produce them – ahhh yes ‘Not Culture’ – not possible is it?
Certainly from a Western rational model the Muslim behavior looks insane and CIA director surely you have at least one systems analyst on the payroll to tell you this is not unusual for Other to see another cultures behavior as insane even psychopathic compared to their own but it does not mean they are irrational under their own rational model – am I getting through to you?
So will facing the truth solve this problem or basing it on assumptions which clearly one would hope are known to be completely false? No critical thinkers on the CIA payroll – surely one.
Given ‘a decision scientist determines, “rational” means “consistency with some model.’ – and as the the actions of ISIS, Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, Iranian, Saudi, … religious elites, and Muslim adherents are “consistent” with the Islamic/Muslim “rational model” then ISIS members under the Islamic/Muslim “rational model” are not “psychopathic thugs” ISIS along with Boko Haram, Al-Qaeda, Iranian, Saudi, … religious elites, and other Muslim adherents are and always have been Muslims and as such all ‘rational’ from their own Islamic/Muslim cultural codex(model) perspective.
What to do now we are all aware of the truth of the matter – we have to choose if we want to continue to ‘manage’ terror as it inevitably escalates, as it has in time and space everywhere else, with only ever lulls in terror and major schism, under the pretence the matter is too ‘complex’, or confront the reality diametrically opposed values simply cannot exist within the same space and inform peace and security and seek therefore to remove the codex from the Public Square which is the root cause of the conflict on the basis you cannot change what a citizen believes is truth but you can definitely change how a citizen gets to believe what is truth.
Yes it means having a very frank inter-cultural discussion and it does not mean initially increased violence may not be a part of the process yet at least this way tyranny may be avoided in the long run because by not confronting diametrically opposed values in the same space as Lincoln rightly pointed out one or the other would in the end take the space. You really want to enable time for the worst scenario to occur this is all the current policy promises?
Also as we have seen when you start to base your public policy on a lie and the citizenry have to pay dearly for that lie, like will rise to negate like, tyranny to negate tyranny, so in essence by not facing the truth and the initially difficult inter-cultural discussion the probability of tyranny winning in the end derived from either side increases as time passes as the failure of policy becomes more manifest and the frustration of the citizenry with their present cultural gatekeepers escalates.
It’s frightening how little American politicians and officials knows about Islam and Muhammed! It’s not as bad as in the most denialist european elites, like the crazy and soon to collapse “anti-racist” immigration consensus of Swedish political elites: https://youtu.be/UHsXWYaTlik
But the denialist ostrich policy of American liberals is far more dangerous. It’s going to get a lot of people killed!
Obama and Brennan know the truth about Islam being a religion of jihad, they just lie about it because they prefer Islam to Christianity. Obama said that it is his duty to protect Islam from slander, but as Robert Spencer has indicated, Muslims consider anything negative that is said about Islam to be slander, EVEN IT IS TRUE.
Quick question.. The State Department was tossing out the 20,000 fighters number a year ago.. other reports used it back then, adding that new recruits, are arriving everyday. By late last year I was seeing numbers as high as 40,000.
Last November Fuad Hussein, the chief of staff of the Kurdish President Massoud Barzani put the number at closer to 200,000
I suspect someone isn’t being completely honest
Seems to me the biggest draw is the opportunity to rape, pillage and plunder. Sort of the same reason lots of peoples and armies have gone of to war for in the past.
http://beforeitsnews.com/blogging-citizen-journalism/2013/03/muslim-cia-chief-brennan-rufuses-to-take-oath-of-office-with-bible-2446078.html…..He is a Muslim Convert
Having read the Kora’hn in the only language outside Arabic available I have come to the conclusion Islam is the product of a madman’s ravings. The evidence is borne out in Sharia law, the saudi royals and gulf states and all other islamic nations. According to mohammed it is dignified to be ignorant and live in poverty. Precisely how the majority of followers of Islam live! I suggest as well as reading Mr Ibrahim’s books about Islam also read Sujit Das ‘Islam dismantled’. A modern psychological analysis of the mind set of mohammed — clinical psychological assessment ‘Malignant narcissist’ — mohammed! I have deliberately used lower case when referring to mohammed since I personally believe mohammed warrants little respect or acknowledgement for his satanic ravings affecting the world right now.
Once again the administration is way off target. Economics have almost nothing to do with it. Most of the leaders come from the middle to higher levels of society and the Muslims from western nations who are flocking to Syria to join ISIS are far from poor. They simply are religious fanatics. Our president can say anything he desires about Christians (the Crusades, Christianity justified segregation, etc.) without a worry because Christians won’t react violently but he kisses up to Jihadists with every remark on the subject. Of course, the lackeys in his administration follow suit. I am counting the days until he leaves office.