Comments on: No (Quranic) Justice in Peace

By: Bob Schmitt

Bob Schmitt — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 04:08:03 +0000

This is one of the issues the International Network to Promote the Rule of Law (INPROL) was established to address. For more info: http://www.inprol.org
INPROL is a nacent association of legal, law enforcement, and academic professions with experience in transitional justice issues. If you are interested in these kinds of issues, you might want to consider engaging over there.

By: demophilus

demophilus — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 18:51:09 +0000

Having a military bureaucracy engage with a fractured society on a religious level is a hard nut to crack, at best. At worst, it’s a fool’s errand. Props to LTC Leonard and his cohorts for seeing that.
But there are varying degrees of engagement, including passive observation. According to quantum mechanics, observation is never passive; it is itself a form of engagement.
If you’re already engaged, even if you’re only observing, maybe you need to do so in an informed manner.
So, I can see Big Green wanting to avoid doing sharia law, or avoid picking sides in sharia disputes. But IMHO, it should still be studied. And, it’s not as if we don’t have the resources or means to interface with or observe religious law.
JAG cadre in-theater would pretty much have to study it, if only to understand how we’re perceived. And, comparative religion shouldn’t be too much of a stretch for chaplains.
Apart from that, knowledge of local religious law and legal actors should be part and parcel of the whole “human terrain system”, and whatnot. That shouldn’t just be a COIN tool; it probably plays a big role in SASO.
So kudos to these guys and gals for looking before they leap, but the journey of a 1000 miles starts with the next few steps.

By: Camp

Camp — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 01:54:11 +0000

TB,
That’s very very true. People stand, staring out over the precipice, while forgetting what’s under their own feet.

By: TB

TB — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:37:58 +0000

Camp,
Someone once told me: “If you need a new idea, open an old book.”

By: Camp

Camp — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 19:26:48 +0000

By: Byron Skinner

Byron Skinner — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 18:36:42 +0000

Good Morning Folks,
Two years ago I had a chance to sit down with some of the Majors and Lt. Colonels from Ft. Levenworth, it was at an 11th. Cav. reunion in Louisville and they were our invited guests, over a few beers and jaw bone this topic. I haven’t read the new manual yet persnaly but from reviews it appears that these young officers have comeup with the begaining of what warefare will look like the rest of the century.
Now the big problem will these up and comming young officers be snuffed out by the Generals and Admirals who have been corrupted and bough off by the industrial complex that makes $trillion weapon systems that will never be used. The odds are strinkly against these young officers who unlike their superiors have been in combat and know the enemy first hand, not through political talking points.
The half bakes opinions of the Neo-Con sales organization for the mega defense contractors like Cato, American Enterprise and Heritage etc. will be had nuts to crack. Will a President or Congress have the guts to back theideas in this manual, unliely but hope should never die.
ALLONS,
Byron Skinner