Wednesday, September 13, 2006

1946 INTELLIGENCE ESTIMATE

This is a fascinating analysis done by the Defense Department in 1946! It noted that radical Islam would be a force in the future. I wish the CIA were as capable today of such forsight.

The first of these urges originates within the Moslems' own sphere. The Moslems remember the power with which once they not only ruled their own domains but also overpowered half of Europe, yet they are painfully aware of their present economic, cultural, and military impoverishment. Thus a terrific internal pressure is building up in their collective thinking. The Moslems intend, by any means possible, to regain political independence and to reap the profits of their own resources, which in recent times and up to the present have been surrendered to the exploitation of foreigners who could provide capital investments. The area, in short, has an inferiority complex, and its activities are thus as unpredictable as those of any individual so motivated.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

It looks to me as if that report conflates political Islam with Arab nationalism. If the report is a good picture of political Islam, however, it gives the lie to the belief that Islamists are motivated mainly by dreams of conquest.

berekkah said...

hey Dr. K-

do you happen to know when and why the spelling switch from "Moslem" to "Muslim" came?

just curious.

blessings-
Rebekkah