“The Prophet said, ‘War is deception.’” This is among the most famous hadiths — authoritative accounts of the sayings and doings of Mohammed that have scriptural status in Islam — drawn from the Riyad al-Salihin collection, in a chapter called “Obligation of Jihad.” Back when I was investigating and prosecuting terrorists and those who abet them, it was a theme we heard constantly: the doctrinal rationalization for lies (such as the pose of moderation by sharia supremacists in the West) intended to lull the enemy into a false sense of security.
In a post yesterday after the joint American and Israeli aerial attacks on Iran began, I noted that the Shiite regime had launched retaliatory strikes against Sunni Arab states that collaborate with our government, Saudi Arabia being the most prominent. This appeared to be a misplay: Those states had assumed a pose of neutrality during the tense face-off that seemed certain to erupt into armed conflict, so the Iranian strikes had the effect of uniting them against Tehran.
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