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Hello Michael,
good points, most I agree with. my 2 cents--
in particular I believe this war must be like no other (I know of) in
history. It is war that must be composed mainly of surgically
removing a social cancer (extremist/terrorists) that coexist within
the social fabric of many countries, esp in the Middle East. In my
opinion analogous groups ;exist in US--white supremecists, KKK, SDS,
abortion clinic bombers, etc. The current "enemy" has obviously
become strong, large, rich enough to be an international and national
force to be reckoned with.
So at least one necessary dimension seems to be to force, bribe,
cajole, influence, etc, individual countries to
1. route out the unseemly elements in their own countries, by whatever
means they choose that works in a reasonable timeframe OR face severe
reprisals from the US.
2. provide other countries whatever help then need in doing this.
An intermediate goal in a very long term effort should be to cripple
and suppress terrorist elements to the point they are significantly
less potent than now. The world and most nations can survive with
weak extremist factions. That may be a necessity of the human race.
Pakistan is a good example. The current leader there is precarious
bec of the power of extremists. His support of Taliban is a domestic
political necessity for him. there are no perfect options for us. But
one is to guarantee to suport him/keep him safe from domestic
overthrow in exchange for what we want from Pakistan.
At www.stratfor.com I am reivewing their assessment of countries. In
almost all Muslem countries, there is a religious struggle between
extremists and moderate. and poverty and hopelessness seems to be a
major factor in the success of extremists. So, it seems some kind of
economic initiatives are also part of the long term solution.
I don'tknow if we can pull this off. The same factors seem to operate
in our own social problems, esp w young blacks who have nothing to
lose in a life of crime.
Friday, September 14, 2001, 9:38:38 AM, you wrote:
MS> From across the pond...
MS> The heinous acts of war reaped on the US this week is a wake up call. The
MS> UK have been having these from the IRA for decades, so though we are acutely
MS> aware of the shock, grief and trauma that you are suffering, not only due to
MS> the 500 or so British who may have perished along with your countrymen but
MS> those of every nation and family member who now grieve, it is the sheer
MS> scale of the tragedy which effects us all. I felt the same rage this week
MS> watching live TV as I did (in the '80's) when 2 British soldiers were
MS> dragged out of their vehicles by a catholic mob and killed. And when
MS> living in Knightsbridge heard the bomb go off which killed soldiers and
MS> horses in Hyde Park. Its heinous .....but you will move on.
MS> The middle east is a tinder box and its important to read the signs.
MS> Translated the wake up calls say
MS> ' we don't like you, in fact we hate you, this is revenge for the past and
MS> your policies towards us..... why can't you see our point of view ?.' The
MS> message this week is directed at all democratic, liberal, freedom loving
MS> countries, unfortunately, for which the USA is a particular 'focus' point.
MS> These acts of terror are perpetrated by INDIVIDUALS not whole societies.
MS> These INDIVIDUALS move seamlessly between the masses and are mostly unknown
MS> until they strike - it is difficult to identify and track them down. How is
MS> that a Florida flying school were suckered into training these suicide
MS> bombers to fly or that a German University educated the hijackers in
MS> electronics ? Why is that the FAA turned down the same security levels
MS> implemented for International flight as for domestic in the USA?
MS> The usual suspects (and it could be them all acting in concert) could be
MS> from Palestine - Arafat ( surely one of the most successful terrorists of
MS> all time) and the Palestinians want back some occupied territory and are fed
MS> up with being bombarded by Israel and NOT listened to by the US. Iraq -
MS> Sadam Hussein wants revenge on the US for his losing Kuwait and the gulf war
MS> and for the years of trade sanctions which have further crippled Iraq.
MS> Afghanistan - Bin Laden issued a FATWA on the US. He has a problem with
MS> continued US presence in the gulf. No doubt he is mentally ill - a wealthy
MS> thug with friends.
MS> However, seeing a President dive for cover whilst the brilliant Guiliani
MS> toured the battlefield was symbolic and (unfortunate). It is a pity that
MS> the knee jerk reactions from Colin Powell has set the 'revenge' tone. He
MS> was more of a statesman when he was a soldier. Saying and do-ing are
MS> different. Bush and Powell have set an impossible task - each European
MS> country which has suffered in the hands of terrorists knows that to be true.
MS> How can there be an eye for eye when you can't exclusively identify the
MS> perpetrators?
MS> I fail to see how wasting Kabul or the Taliban will make the US more liked?
MS> And if Bin Laden is caught and brought to the US is there any punishment
MS> which can do justice for his decade of horror ? For me, no. Execution
MS> would be too fast and he would become more of a martyr to his followers than
MS> he is today. Terrorists are societies cancer. A long term programme of
MS> separating out these criminals is needed and will not be achieved with
MS> cruise missiles but through intelligence and co-operation between freedom
MS> loving nations and particularly working with and lobbying the Arab league.
MS> Terrorists need to be imprisoned and made to suffer over time. As Barak of
MS> Israel said this week ' hunt them down as pirates and imprison them'.
MS> The task force could start with an easy target - Gerry Adams and Martin
MS> McGuiness of the IRA. It should move on to ETA of Spain, Hammas and the
MS> PLO and so on.
--
Best regards,
Jim mailto:jejohn@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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