CB,
I agree with everything you say about Al Qaeda, but I disagree with your conclusion:
<<<They only have to win once, we can't afford to lose, ever.>>>
If it means that we have to become like them or that we have to change our values, it is not worth it to stop them.
Al Qaeda may have changed some things, but they have not changed immutable laws.
Evil cannot win. Evil destroys itself. Evil can only exist hiding behind a facade that pretends to be good.
When Christ teaches that you should love your enemy, he means you should love your enemy.
When the Pope preaches that we should not go to war, he means we should not go to war.
You don't have to be a true believer, but you have to respect their teachings.
I fully supported the first Bush in the Gulf war. I don't know how I reconciled that with my beliefs in non violence. It must have been some superficial thoughts concerning the greater good. Besides, GHB is a person I felt comfortable with.
I am not too sure of GWB. I suspected something when he didn't know who the leader of Paksitan was when he was running for President. It would not surprise me if he did not know of Al Qaeda or cared to know too much about Al Qaeda before 911.
CIA Director George Tenet's first reaction when he heard about the plane crashing into the WTC was that he hoped it wasn't one of those people learning to fly in Minnesota. He was well aware of Al Qaeda at that time. I am pretty sure he covered that with GWB in his daily briefings.
I don't blame GWB for what happened at the WTC. All this commission stuff is a side show. I only wish, though, GWB was more on top of things. IMO, Karl Rove has too much power. I would be much more comfortable if Karen Hughes were running things at the Whitehouse. But I am digressing.
Going to war is a serious matter. Going to war means a lot of innocent people will die. Its one thing if innocent people die at the hands of evil people - that is one of the things evil people do - they don't mind killing people. But to be responsible for killing innocent people is another matter.
I certainly don't have the answers, but I am very suspicious of people who think they have the answers on this matter.
Mary |
