In the last few days the US government has closed twenty-one embassies and consulates in North Africa and the Middle East. This Ramadan has been the most violent in years in Iraq. So much for the Holy Month. The positive is that the Holy Month is coming to an end. Ramadan is the ninth month of the calendar and "The month of Ramadan is that in which was revealed the Quran" thus making it holy. It would appear that what has been lost is that Ramadan by being the month of revelation is a time of new beginnings. It should be a time of reflection on life over the past year and contemplation of how to better live your life in the upcoming year.
It is ironic that during this Holy Month so many that profess to be devout followers or Islam, instead use this time to incite violence and commit violence. To do the opposite of what this month should represent. I am not a follower of Islam, but I do believe in my rightness of my opinion of Allah's intention of how we should act during this time. It is NEVER the wish of any loving God, that violence should be committed in his name against the innocent, regardless of their own path. But I have detoured from my direct topic.
The closings of embassies and consulates in North Africa and Middle East is a result of a warning of a threat based on the intelligence community. It does seem ironic that warnings of "chatter" is more believed than the warnings of "experts" on the ground in the locations. It is interesting that people with authority tend to be sitting in offices thousands of miles away and due to ego or arrogance or power trips they seem to be more interested in their positions or in images or in bottom lines or other mundane details that they do not value the pricelessness of human life or the opinions of the individuals that are actually on the ground in the specific locations.
No, I am not saying that we should risk the lives of many just for the one. However, in the case of Benghazi, there was a lot that was done wrong before, during and after that could have probably changed the outcome of the events 11 months ago. It is callus of the Administration to say that the event is over and done with and should be forgotten and move on. We seem to have forgotten that it is better to be human than it is to pretend you are perfect. Humans care, humans make mistakes, humans say they are sorry, humans learn from their mistakes; perfection focuses on image, perfection touts rightness of itself, perfection claims no responsibilities. These conflicts of purpose create chaos that prevents improvement of our world.
It also, is ironic that suddenly we have "chatter" in a volume that has not been seen since 9/11. It seems that most embassies will be closed until Thursday, the end of Ramadan. Unfortunately, considering the recent challenges concerning the public image of the government and the intelligent community, there will be doubt about this well timed new threat. It is my wish that this new threat is not some hyped up show to justify the over zealous actions of government in the guise of National Security. The near future will be challenging to say the least. But I believe it is a challenge that we will survive and it is my hope that we rise above it and move forward in a brighter light than the dimming of our current lighting.
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