Sharia Law

In a recent article in The Economist, a new study by the Pew Research Center reported on the different meaning that sharia law has in different countries. Sharia law is the moral code and religious law of Islam. The survey of 38,000 Muslims conducted in 39 countries examined the opinions that Muslims in predominately Islamic nations expressed on a number of issues related to sharia law, such as religious freedom, the use of religious judges, and the execution of those who leave Islam.

In Morocco 78% of respondents think that non-Muslims are free to practice their faith and 79% of those think this is “a good thing.” Yet 83% of this group wants sharia enshrined in their nation’s law. A majority of Thais (77%) and Pakistanis (84%) yearn for Islamic law too. But most also say that other religions are free to worship (79% and 75% respectively) and they agree that this is “a good thing.” Religious freedom, however, is a slippery term, with implications for individuals and for the collective practice of faith. Muslims in some countries both strongly approve of religious freedom and support the death penalty for apostates from Islam. Three-quarters of Pakistanis who favor sharia agree.  

Views vary over how sharia should be applied. Tunisian backers when asked about specific features of sharia law, support the use of religious judges (62%), but have far less appetite for executing apostates (29%). And those countries where most support sharia are not always its strictest followers, though around three-quarters endorse it in both Indonesia and Egypt. And 74% of Egyptians who favor sharia also think it should apply to non-Muslims, the highest proportion among polled countries. To read the full report, please visit The Pew Forum on Religion and Public Life.

Most Americans Favor Quick Removal of U.S.Troops from Afghanistan

A recent public opinion poll suggests that Americans are increasingly pessimistic about developments in the Middle East.  This report released by Pew Research Center found that the majority of Americans (60%) believe that U.S. troops should leave Afghanistan as quickly as possible.  This number has significantly increased since May 2011, when only 48% of Americans supported quick troop pullout from Afghanistan.  According to the survey issued October 4-7, 2012, 73% of Democrats support quick troop pullout from Afghanistan.  The majority of Independents (58%) similarly support a quick troop withdrawal from Afghanistan.  However, Republicans remain divided, as 48% believe that U.S. troops should remain in Afghanistan until the country is stabilized. Overall, only 35% of Americans believe that U.S. troops should stay in Afghanistan until the country has stabilized.  The presidential candidates will likely respond to American’s growing pessimism about U.S. involvement in Afghanistan as they debate foreign policy tonight in the final presidential debate. 

Changing Opinions About Keeping Troops in Afghanistan

With recent news of Obama's plan to pull troops out of Afghanistan, many people have the war on their minds, and they expressed their opinions in this survey from the Pew Research Center. For the first time, the majority of American citizens would like to see troops pulled out of Afghanistan instead of being kept there until the situation is more stable. Support for taking troops out of Afghanistan has grown for every demographic group since this time last year. The majority of every group now believe that taking troops out is the best thing to do. The only exception is Republicans, with a slight majority (53%) believing that we should keep troops there until the situation stabilizes.

One reason for this sudden shift in thought might be due to the optimistic opinions that most hold about U.S. involvement in Afghanistan. Across the board, the majority of Americans believe that using military force was the right decision in this situation. Most also believe that the U.S. will achieve its goals, and that the military effort is going well. Despite these positive opinions about the U.S.'s military involvement, not as many people believe that Afghanistan will be able to maintain a stable government.

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Republicans Starting to Shift Their Thinking

In the past, Republicans had been known for wanting to get involved in international affairs instead of focusing solely on issues at home. Now, in the face of a large budget deficit and growing national debt, foreign aid and war seem a little less affordable. This survey done by the Pew Research Center shows how opinions have shifted over the years. In 2004, most Democrats were against getting involved in international affairs, and independents as well as liberal Democrats were split between wanting to get involved and not wanting to get involved. Republicans were the only group where the definite majority wanted to be active in world affairs. Now, the Republicans have changed their mind and all political groups agree that we should be worrying more about our own problems.

Throughout the past decade, Republicans have chosen to stay involved in international affairs, but that has been changing a lot over the past few years. As of May of 2011 about an equal percentage Republicans, Democrats and Independents agreed that the U.S. should "mind its own business".

As far as foreign aid goes, a large majority of Republicans (83%) agree with democrats and independents that we should reduce the amount of foreign aid in order to reduce the deficit. On the other hand, only 56% of Republicans think we should reduce our military commitments overseas.

In 2010, most people agreed that we should keep troops in Afghanistan until the situation has stabilized. As of May 2011, that majority has shifted and now favors the removal of troops as soon as possible. Both Democrats and Independents agree with the majority now, and agreed with them in 2010 as well. Republican opinion, on the other hand, hasn't changed much over the past year, with the majority still believing that we should stay in Afghanistan until it has stabilized.

Although republicans still maintain many of the same opinions that they have had in the past, they are starting to focus more on problems at home instead of those abroad. This could be because of a shift in their thinking, or they could just be feeling the heat from the burning issues we have had to confront in the face of a growing national debt.

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Gallup: bin Laden Raid Increases Unpopularity of U.S. in Pakistan

Gallup polling of Pakistanis, conducted May 9-12, shows that the bin Laden raid has added to already largely negative views of the United States. Among Pakistanis who said they were aware of the U.S. raid, 64% claimed the action made them have a more negative view of the U.S., as compared with only 5% who said it made them have a more positive view.

Since Gallup began polling in Pakistan, views of U.S. leadership have never been positive, and although the 10% who approved of U.S. leadership was down from 18% in 2010, the change was not significantly different from polling results in 2008 and 2009. But disapproval of U.S. leadership has soared to 85%, a record and far higher than the 68% who said they disapproved in 2010--or the 60% who said so in 2008 and 2009.
The general disapproval among Pakistanis regarding U.S. leadership is clear from Pakistanis' expectations for future U.S. decisions: few believe that the U.S. will take what they believe to be the correct action--in this case, withdrawal of its troops from Afghanistan. A large majority of those (79%) aware of the U.S. action to kill bin Laden believes the U.S. should withdraw its troops from Afghanistan now that bin Laden is dead, but only 57% think the U.S. actually will withdraw its forces. As a comparison, 36% of Americans believe that there is still important work to be done in Afghanistan and U.S. troops should be maintained there.Clearly, the poll suggests that diplomatic relations between the United States and Pakistan will not be easy moving forward. Gallup writes that the polling data "reinforce[s] the significant diplomatic challenges that lie ahead for both countries."

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Honor Armed Forces Day Today by Bringing Home the Troops

Although not even published as a holiday on my credit union's wall calendar, today marks the 63rd celebration of our nation's Armed Forces Day.  We have the best, most noble Armed Forces in the world:  a military of paid volunteers defending our Constitution and protecting our country and performing one of the few Constitutionally-mandated responsibilities of the Federal Government.  Their service and sacrifice make me proud to be an American!

Yet on this rightfully celebratory day, I reflect upon the many lives which are lost in far away lands on expensive missions authorized by presidential edicts.  It seems our American President (including but by no means limited to President Obama) lacks the courage to bring the troops home when our mission is accomplished. 

According to the latest available Department of Defense statistics (Dec 31, 2010) we have tens of thousands of troops in other lands fighting or preparing to fight other nations' conflicts, and I'm not just talking about Iraq and Afghanistan. 

Consider the Korean War which ended some 58 years ago:  over these many years we have provided our close ally, the Republic of Korea, with an average of 40,000 troops (Heritage Foundation) arising from a mutual 1953 defense treaty.  Isn't it about time to bring these troops home?  Yet in 2008, then ROK Defense Minister Lee outlined the Korean expectation for "the U.S. [to] continue to provide bridging capabilities until Korea acquires sufficient defense capabilities." (America.gov)  All this despite Korea's  own military force of 680,000 to defend its borders! (US Dept of State, 2010)

Maybe the Koreans are right:  58 years is just way too soon for these feeble, namby-pamby Korean troop allies to defend their own homeland.  For example, in Europe we boast 55,000 troops in Germany and 10,000 troops each in Italy and the UK left over 66 years ago from WWII!  And the debilitated Japanese force home to the once mighty Samurai gets only 35,000 American troops.  So just when will these countries be mighty enough to bring troops home?  Well if enough politicians feel the way McCain does, it could be 100 years! (Youtube)

And then there's the pointed question of just how in the world does a fiscal conservative justify the expenditure of troops in foreign countries for decades with no exit strategy when our own economy is ready to tumble under $14T of debt?


We do have an war going on our southern border:  human and narcotic trafficking are out of control.  If any asset or ally should be defended right now, it is our own neglected border.  Let's honor our armed forces today by having them fight for American soil and American blood.  After being attacked on 9/11, we were right to fight Al-Qaeda the Taliban, but it is now past time for the troops to come home from Afghanistan...and many other places from around the world.