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

To: KLP who wrote (7731)	10/27/2001 9:44:10 AM
From: Selectric II	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 281500

Recent events show McCain is correct about having to step up the pace and finish job ASAP, particularly given developments such as the Taliban's murder of al Haq, their reported murder of five more opposition leaders (today on CNN), and the Taliban's reinforcement by extremist Pakistanis who are crossing the border with troops, food, and supplies (also today on CNN). The strategy of putting together a new government before getting rid of the Taliban hasn't worked, but only because it's going too slowly -- the Taliban is picking off opposition leadership from within, and getting outside help and so long as it remains in power. I have a feeling that once the Taliban falls, the opposition leaders, or what's left of them, will work out their differences.

To: KLP who wrote (7731)	10/27/2001 11:10:13 PM
From: SirRealist	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

McCain is correct: The United States is not waging war against a religion or a race. For too long our enemies have been allowed, even by America's purported friends in the region, to sow their hatred of us throughout the Islamic world. So when Egyptian college students, or Palestinian 9 year old rock-throwers or Afghani peasants or Muslim clerics or 'moderate' Arab editorialists suggest this is a war against Islam, and/or that they view the US as their enemy, the US response should be simple: "We are not waging a war against a religion or an ethnicity. We are waging a war against our sworn enemies. If every Muslim in the world decides to be our enemy, that is their choice and only in response to such a bad choice will that force us to become an enemy in return, to all of Islam. If every Communist says they are our enemy, then we will fight all of Communism. If all birdwatchers or all farmers claim to be our enemy, then we will fight all of them, too. We do not fight against a race or a faith; we only fight those who claim to be our enemies. So make your choices carefully. Because if you choose to call yourself our enemy, you stand a good chance of facing the terrible results that enemies of ours face. You can be old, young, weak, starving, male, female, rich, poor, Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Hindu or nudist and we will not choose to be your enemy. But if you choose to be our enemy, do not expect to hide behind any of those categories with dishonesty. Choose to be our enemy during this war and we will try to kill you to protect ourselves from enemies." McCain is arguing a Shermanesque viewpoint. Warriors will go the longest mile to avoid war. But once the choices are exhausted and war begins, anything less than a complete waging of war is politics, not war. And no war was ever won by politics.