Friday, May 19, 2006

God Unwilling

The recent film United 93 tells how the action might have unfolded aboard that one 9/11 flight that failed to reach its target. Any American will have the same reaction to this story—it is a mixture of horror, sadness and patriotism. In the movie, and in other accounts of Jihad, we see that the terrorists frequently utter the phrase “God willing” or something equivalent:

“I have not killed, but God willing, I soon will.”

“Allah willing, the streets of America will run red with blood.”

“Praise be to God, I have completed 25 operations up to now. God willing, more are to come.”

So here’s what I’m wondering: How do the terrorists rationalize the fact that United 93 did not reach its intended target? Do they believe that, indeed, God was not willing in this example? Evidently, God was willing to let the World Trade Center and Pentagon be hit...but for some reason, God was unwilling to let the White House be destroyed. Does this give them pause? Why would the Almighty give the thumbs-up on only the first three sites, but not the fourth? I know my answer to this question. But how do the terrorists answer?

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