[This is the Introductory Chapter of Alex Alexiev's masterful study on Radical Islam's Threat to the West and the Moslem World to be published later this year by The Hudson Institute.  Subsequent chapters or chapter sections will be a weekly feature in TTP for the next several weeks.] The Main Enemy:  Islamism Introduction It is the starting premise of this study that the United States government's focus on what came to be known as the "war on terror" after 9/11 has been fundamentally wrong. The main enemy is not "terror." Nor is it al-Qaeda, despite President Obama's assertion in January 2010 after the failed Christmas Day bombing attempt that "we are at war against al-Qaeda, a far-reaching network of violence and hatred." No, the main enemy is radical Islamist ideology or Islamism. A change of emphasis would allow us to see clearly that defeating this enemy cannot be accomplished by counterterror strategies and kinetic means alone, but requires a sophisticated strategy to defeat the ideology of Islamism by delegitimizing it in the eyes of its current and potential supporters in the Moslem community. The essential prerequisite to achieving this objective is to understand the nature of the threat presented by radical Islam, its ideological underpinnings, and its strengths and weaknesses.  Here is an outline of what we'll be discussing in the coming weeks.

A week ago Friday (4/1), a mob stormed the UN compound in Mazar-e-Sharif in northeastern Afghanistan.  Seven UN employees -- four Nepalese security guards, a Norwegian, a Romanian and a Swede -- were killed. The murders were in retaliation for the burning of a Koran more than a week before by obscure Florida pastor Terry Jones. Until the riot, Americans were unaware the publicity hound in Gainesville had torched the Moslem holy book, because most in our news media ignored the despicable stunt.  How, then, did the mob in Mazar-e-Sharif learn of it?  Through Afghan President Hamid Karzai, who provoked the protests on purpose.

With apologies to Clint Eastwood, we're facing a real-life version of his famous movie that could be entitled The Responsible, The Timid, and The Ugly. For the past year, the Federal Reserve has been the largest single purchaser of U.S. government securities, buying well more than half of all new debt. The Fed calls this program quantitative easing (QE2), or what normal people would call printing money. The Fed has stated that this program will stop in June. Who is going to purchase all of the new government debt when the Fed stops? The Chinese and other foreign holders of U.S. government debt are well aware of the increasing probability of higher U.S. inflation and the corresponding further decline in the dollar. Since September, the Chinese have been gradually reducing their holdings of U.S. government securities (i.e., becoming net sellers). The Japanese had been net buyers of U.S. government debt, but they also will now likely become net sellers as they will need funds for rebuilding. Again, who will fill the Treasury bond-buying gap left by the withdrawal of the Fed, the Chinese and the Japanese?

Donald Trump is a highly successful businessman and a reality show star.  He has a flair for self promotion which few approach and none exceed.  So many people take him seriously. As Mr. Trump flirts with running for president, I think this is, on balance, unfortunate.  The Donald has never held public office or served in the military.  Since 1990, Mr. Trump has contributed to as many Democrats as he has Republicans. But Mr. Trump is a smart guy, and he's being advised by Roger Stone, a shrewd GOP operative who cut his teeth working for Ronald Reagan, but who has since shown a preference for more moderate candidates, especially those with big checkbooks.  They've hit on a way to warm the hearts of many conservatives. In an appearance on ABC's "The View" March 23, Mr. Trump said:  "I want (President Barack Obama) to show his birth certificate.  There's something on that birth certificate that he doesn't like." This provoked outrage among the very liberal hosts of The View, but was music to the ears of the so-called "birthers."

Well, he had to crack under the pressure sooner or later, and thank heavens it's sooner.  Everyone on Capitol Hill this morning can't stop talking about it.  Boehner and Reid have just been told to expect a momentous announcement from the White House.  At 9pm EDT this evening, the President will announce on national television that, due to the overwhelming difficulties the nation faces which have proven impossible for him to solve because Republicans refuse to cooperate, he is resigning the presidency effective immediately.  Good luck, America, he will say, you'll have to solve your problems without me. And yes, today is April Fool's Day. *  *  *  *  *  *  So let's talk about fools - and their luck.  Zero just might pull Libya off.  He'll have David Cameron to thank for it, and MI6, which is disintegrating Gaddafi's regime via defections. Conservative contempt for Zero is so bottomless that many don't want him to succeed even when it's in our clear interests that he do so.  He was right in saying the US could not stand by while Gaddafi perpetrated genocidal slaughter upon his own people, and wrong in not solving the problem immediately by an assassination strike on Gaddafi. So now he owns this war which has to be won - for if Gaddafi stays in power he will "return to international terrorism and resume his nuclear weapons program," warns John Bolton who is nobody's fool.  When asked about the rebels fighting Gaddafi and if they might be radical Islamists, John responded, "Yes, there is uncertainty about them - but when there is Muammar Gaddafi on one side and uncertainty on the other, you pick uncertainty."