Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

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

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (7061)	10/23/2001 2:16:05 PM
From: Michael Watkins	Respond to of 281500

But I will stereotype in one regard. We are engaged in a struggle between values, imo. I agree one hundred percent, but I feel its less religious values and more democratic principles that are the issue. But I think we are saying much the same thing. Is Islam unable to exist under a secular and democratic government? Does it have to be secular? Or just democratic and free? I suppose the trouble here is that its probably difficult to have one section of a society living under strict Islamic law a la Taleban, and side by side others living modern expressions of Islam (such as Ismaili). Hope someone knowledgeable on this subject will chime in. And chime in on this question, does democratic government have to be secular? Or just democratic and free?

To: Hawkmoon who wrote (7061)	10/23/2001 3:21:04 PM
From: MSI	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

>"We are engaged in a struggle between values, imo. " Another way to look at it is as a struggle between those who: 1) have a limited appetite for violence (the US) 2) have unlimited appetite for violence, up to and including suicide (terrorists) Military defeat and occupation alone will not win this war, IMO. To succeed, we must somehow find a means for reducing the appetite for violence once the initial firefight is over. General LeMay's philosophy was that the winner is the one that inflicts the greatest damage the fastest. But when the enemy is willing, even eager to commit suicide, that strategy fails with catastrophic results. Unfortunately, we are entering into a future where smaller groups can produce increasing levels of damage. Two teenagers in Japan shut down the internet for 10 hours a while back. The same will apply to biological effects, nuclear, and nanotech. The only long-term national security is greater emphasis on methods of detection and defense, and reduction in the age-old dependence on retaliation which pervades all cultures, which admittedly won't be easy.