pimping for speakers' fees

go read Matoko-chan. She quotes from an important post at Aqoul about the Manifesto of supposed "muslim" moderates - actually a band of secularists, apostates, and a self-proclaimed muslim "refusenik".

She closes with this essential observation:

We absolutely suck at memetic warfare.
[...]
If i could do something, i would instantiate program funding for both al-Iraqiya and al-Jazeerha to run programs of scholarly debate on the Qu'ran. No content control. Get the best scholars in the ME debating these issues in public.

But all i seem to be able to do is be frustrated about how simple it is to manipulate peoples' belief systems for evil, while no one seems interested in doing it for good.

also flagged by matoko - the comment by Glenn that the Dubai ports fiasco may be an example of we being outplayed - in a game meant to isolate us from our Arab allies and thus torpedo the goal of bringing liberty to the Middle East. And who wins should that goal falter?