Captain's Quarters Blog


« CFR Explains Basic Oil Economics | Main | A Flash Of The Obvious »

May 5, 2006
Danish Resolve Stiffens Over Cartoon Threats

Denmark responded yesterday to the many attempts at intimidation directed at their country since the publication of the editorial cartoons portraying Mohammed, announcing that they plan to maintain their deployment in Iraq to defy the terrorists:

Danish Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen said yesterday that the furor over cartoons of the prophet Muhammad had "strengthened our resolve for the long haul" and that Danish troops would remain in Iraq.

In an interview with The Washington Times in his Copenhagen office, Mr. Rasmussen brushed off a Danish television report of plans to cut Denmark's 530-man deployment in Iraq by nearly one-fifth in July.

"It is clearly our intention to stay in Iraq as long as we are requested by the Iraqi government, as long as our presence is based on a U.N. mandate, and as long as we believe we can make a positive difference on the ground," the center-right Danish leader said. Mr. Rasmussen and his conservative coalition, which includes the Danish People's Party, faced heavy criticism for their initial response to global Muslim riots in February, which were prompted by the publication four months earlier of editorial cartoons of the prophet Muhammad.

But the most recent polls show that conservative parties have benefited from the controversy.

"This cartoon affair will not change our basic policies. On the contrary, it has only strengthened our resolve to assist countries that are in the midst of very difficult social transformations," Mr. Rasmussen said yesterday.

In fact, while much of Europe has struggled to maintain support for the Iraq project, the Danes have shown remarkable resolve. Conservatives have made gains according to most political polls, and the calls from the left to abandon the mission in Iraq appear out of step with the nation as a whole. The threats against Denmark and the cartoonists have created a backlash against Islamists terrorists, and Danish pride will not allow them to win a moral victory by intimidating them.

It's a lesson that many nations could learn. In the wake of even more reports of European nations paying ransom for kidnapped hostages, the Islamofascist modus operandi should be clear. They plan on making Islam dominant through extortion. That has been the entire strategy from the inception of the movement thirty years ago, and arguably for centuries before that. Islamist terrorists want to change Western culture through the threat of violence -- and by and large, they have been successful so far.

Let's recap. First, they have adopted explicit extortion in the form of kidnapping in order to get Western governments to pay tribute to their cause. At least Italy and Germany have done so, giving them millions of dollars in financing. Next, they have fomented riots in order to intimidate the West into ceasing depictions of Mohammed for political criticisms, specifically in editorial cartoons. They may not have succeeded with the Danes, but they won in spectacular fashion in the US, where media outlets simply refused to show the drawings that formed the core of the dispute -- despite having no such compunction where Jesus or other religious imagery is concerned. (South Park demonstrated this brilliantly with Viacom, its own network.) The Islamofascists staged attacks to drive the US out of Southwest Asia, and when that didn't go entirely as planned, they have staged attacks in Madrid and London to frighten our allies into withdrawal. They succeeded with Spain.

With apologies to the modern Danes, this is the Danegeld all over again. While the West continues to allow Islamofascists to succeed in their extortion, the extortion will continue and increase. This past month, Islamist terror groups succeeded in having two national flags dropped off a provocative advertisement for World Cup entertainment (actually, for the legal brothel industry in Germany) through threats of physical force and murder. Why? They know they can succeed in doing so, and will continue to pursue this successful strategy.

The Danes show that they understand the concept of Danegeld all too well, and refuse to pay it. They may suffer for their resolve. They certainly will while the rest of the West continues to validate the extortion strategy of Islamists.

UPDATE: That goes for the US, too, as CQ reader Lexhamfox notes in the comments. This story dates back to March 2002:

The U.S. government facilitated a ransom payment to Al Qaeda-linked terrorists in the Philippines last week for the release of an American couple but the two have not been freed, Fox News has learned.

The ransom of up to $3 million was paid to Abu Sayyaf guerrillas who have been holding two American missionaries, [Martin] Burnham and his wife, Gracia, for the last 10 months. The ransom was paid with private, not government, money, sources said. ...

News that the government facilitated the ransom payment comes just one month after State Department officials announced a change in longstanding U.S. policy of not paying ransoms to kidnappers. At the time, officials said the new policy reflected the possibility such payments could be used to help track down the hostage takers.

I can understand the theory of using the cash to trace the kidnappers -- but did it work in practice? No. After reneging on the deal after payment was made, the hostages died in a rescue attempt by the Philippine Army.

Sphere It Digg! View blog reactions
Posted by Ed Morrissey at May 5, 2006 5:29 AM

Trackback Pings

TrackBack URL for this entry is

>Comments


Design & Skinning by:
m2 web studios





blog advertising



button1.jpg

Proud Ex-Pat Member of the Bear Flag League!