Politics and Culture

50-50 that they'll follow their advice. 50-50 that we do abandon our allies.

Why is it OK to kill Osama bin Laden's son without trial, but not OK to put him in prison?

U.S. officials believe Usama bin Laden's son, Saad bin Laden, was killed in a U.S. airstrike in Pakistan.

Sources confirmed to FOX News late Wednesday that officials believe the younger bin Laden was killed by hellfire missiles from a U.S. Predator drone strike earlier this year.

I think I'm just being descriptive when I say that Obama's "please don't kill us" speech to the Muslim world was a bizarre twisting of religious doctrine, historical fact, and logic. Others have commented on the first two. I'd like to address the last with an example:

Resistance through violence and killing is wrong and it does not succeed. For centuries, black people in America suffered the lash of the whip as slaves and the humiliation of segregation. But it was not violence that won full and equal rights. It was a peaceful and determined insistence upon the ideals at the center of America's founding.

This same story can be told by people from South Africa to South Asia, to Eastern Europe to Indonesia. It's a story with a simple truth: violence is a dead end.

So, violence is wrong and ineffective.

But I do believe that a woman who is denied an education is denied equality

Attacking schools for girls with poison gas, as the Taliban did in Afghanistan, therefore, is wrong.

The Taliban doesn't do that in Afghanistan anymore. Why? Did we come to a diplomatic agreement with the Taliban.

No, we used violence. Violence that was justified because we had no other choice:

Over seven years ago, the United States pursued al-Qaida and the Taliban with broad international support. We did not go by choice. We went because of necessity. I'm aware that there's still some who would question or even justify the offense of 9/11. But let us be clear. Al-Qaida killed nearly 3,000 people on that day.

This, my friends, is what happens when people value slick baritones and smooth swaggers over plain old sense.

According to this CNN article:

# Obama wants to repair U.S. image in Mideast, Muslim community
# President's speech in Egypt will call for open dialogue with Muslims
# Middle East observer say Muslims want to see action from Obama

I have the same opinion I do when it comes to European opinion: Why should we care what Muslims think of us and Muslims shouldn't care what we think of them? Why don't Muslim leaders come to the United States and try to ingratiate themselves to us?

I think that in many indicators of national decency, we come come out pretty well, relative to Muslim nations.

On to President Obama's goals:

Our image should be fine in the Muslim world. We use blood and treasure to liberate Muslims from tyrants. We're pretty nice to Muslims, overall. What's to repair?

With which Muslim countries that don't brazenly wish to destroy us or one of our allies and who illegally seek nuclear weapons, don't we have an open dialogue?

What action would Muslims like to see from us? Really, think about it.

Hint to Obama: What really upsets radical Muslims is gay marriage, celebrating LGBT month, trying to change their laws on the issue, abortion, women's rights, pornography, and the social issues you want to "get past."

In Iraq, American soldiers were criticized for not stopping looting. In Georgia, Russian troops actually loot.

This reminds me of a story a Hungarian soldier told me about the times he would play cards with Russian soldiers. When the Russians would lose, they'd offer machine guns, rocket launchers, and armored personnel carriers as barter. They'd hide them first.

The Saudis are increasing oil production:

JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia (CNN) -- Saudi Arabia will increase its daily oil production to 9.7 million barrels from 9 million to counter the sharp rise in international oil prices, Saudi King Abdullah said Sunday.

The country's petroleum minister, Ali I. Al-Naimi, said that the increase will take place in July.

It would be Saudi Arabia's highest production rate since 1981.

Al-Naimi also said the government will invest in oil projects that would allow the nation to produce 12.5 million barrels per day by the end of the year.

Do you think all of the talk from Americans about drilling for oil off our coasts and in Alaska had anything to do with the decision? Thanks, Chris.

A would-be suicide bomber fell down a flight of stairs and blew himself up as he headed out for an attack in Afghanistan, police say.