You're correct that "big networks" require big money in the sense of the Bin Laden network but that's only one model for terrorist networks.
Hey knucklehead... What other kind are we supposed to be worried about enough to send our military into action?? Thanks for FINALLY concuring with my point (while trying to duck out of having to publicly admit it).
Are you saying that we should use military force against gangs that are "terrorizing" our neighborhoods?
How about some unruly child who has threatened and terrorized his mother? Send in the Marines?
Dude... we're talking about BIG TIME TERRORISM.. That's ALL I'VE EVER BEEN TALKING ABOUT!!!
Terrorism that's so big that it envisions challenging state actors and bringing down governments and economies.
Terrorism so big that it envisions attacks that kill THOUSANDS, if not hundreds of thousands of innocent people!!!
We're not talking Wackos from Waco... Or even white supremists or black panthers... Or even the SDS...
We're talking about terrorist organizations that hide behind other governments who have an interest in advancing, or at least tolerating, their activities against the United States.
We'll BEGIN to have a handle on the solution when we convince the world's peoples that terrorism is not necessary for them to get a fair hearing on their grievances against the major powers, when we've shown that the major powers are willing to subject themselves to fairly and justly established rules of international law, and that nations will be left to find their own paths to the future without interference in their internal affairs except for certain well thought out and well defined exceptions.
Dude we acted under international law to oust Saddam from Kuwait, and left forces in Saudi Arabia to pull the "Zinni" and continue "containing" him for 10 years..
And what did we get for our efforts? Bin Laden backstabbing his Saudi handlers and deciding to launch major attacks against the US in order to make us leave the Saudis defenseless.
A guy who, as a "general" of extremist clerics within Saudi Arabia and elsewhere, who attempted to destroy our financial system and bring down the Saudi regime, and wage Jihad against the West and neighboring Muslim regimes.
Screw your DC snipers.. I lived through that.. In fact, the FBI analyst was murdered less than 1/4 of a mile from a good friend of mine. I saw the terror and the fear whenever I filled my gas tank..
But that's NOT the kind of terror that even remotely threatens to destroy our government, our economy, or our way of life..
I worry ONLY about the ideologies that seek to dominate the hearts and minds of millions of despairing and dispossessed youths in order to convince them to wage suicidal Jihad against major states like ourselves.
And those kinds of movements require MASSIVE coordination and grass-roots support, in this case from Saudi derived oil money and Muslim charities financed by the Zakat.
And sitting on our @sses and letting other totalitarian regimes dictate and coerce the future of these people..
If they want to hold a free and fair election and choose to elect a government that wants to wage Jihad, that's fine with me.. Then we don't have to worry about feeling sorry about destroying the entire country...
But permitting one illegitimate regime after another, differing only in ideology and aggressiveness, to dominate their lives is not the solution. And they're never going to get a "fair hearing" when the US continues to tolerate the existence of non-accountable governments in the region (let alone on the planet).
Hawk |
