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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Alan Brezin who wrote (128)	9/16/2001 11:47:34 PM
From: FaultLine	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

They bloody our nose in a big big way then make a quiet rational appeal to reason which sets us up to look like immature chumps if we react with force. Even in the face of a such the great escalation this week, I still wonder about the "sucker's bet" problem as discussed here: "contrary to official statements about the grave danger terrorism poses, most American national security experts and bureaucracies have traditionally paid it scant attention. Terrorism kills fewer Americans than does lightning, they say in private -- which happens to be true -- and overreaction to it is therefore a sucker's move." foreignaffairs.org --fl

To: Alan Brezin who wrote (128)	9/17/2001 2:34:50 AM
From: SirRealist	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Saddam and Bin Laden are not friends. Bin Laden was prepared to take on Hussein over Kuwait till the Saudis rejected that and chose to go with the US. Hussein is a criminal who sponsors terrorists but like Mafia families, they do not all get along. Bin Laden sees himself as prophet/warrior. Saddam practices little that resembles Islam. Iran is the nicest card in this deck. Fed up with the experiment with fundamentalism, most Iranians no longer view us as the Great Satan. Support for us now completes their transition back to the sphere of Western influence and they can play a powerful role in coming developments. And many in other Islamic countries support us as well. Most of the opposition of the criminal class is drawn from the impoverished among these countries. (Freedom -to act- is just another word for nothing left to lose- great, war philosophy via Kris Kristofferson). Ultimately, if we maintain good relations with Jordan, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Egypt and Iran, we can't stimulate a recruitment drive long enough to save Bin Laden and other terrorist cells from defeat. If American resolve INCREASES each time we get attacked on this soil, and we are patient, the odds for success are outstanding. But that means we stand firm even if a terrorist straps on an H-bomb girdle. From a strategic standpoint, our most glaring weakness is the political chain of command is too centralized. A weapon of mass destruction in DC could leave no clear leader in charge.