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

To: unclewest who wrote (21119)	3/11/2002 8:35:04 AM
From: Condor	Respond to of 281500

Thank you for a no bullsh*t post. It will NOT be easy. The worst is yet to come IMO, overseas and at home. I heard a line from a movie recently that I thought was excellent and it went something like this "conviction is a luxury reserved for those on the sidelines" . C

To: unclewest who wrote (21119)	3/11/2002 9:49:01 AM
From: Hawkmoon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

Well said Unclewest. And I concur that this is about targeting those regimes (and not targeting a national population necessarily) which encourage, and facilitate terrorist activities.. But terrorism is very similar to organized crime. It will never be completely snuffed out. But it can be reduced by seeking to eliminate the causes, both economic and political, that feed and strengthen it. I still believe the best manner in which to fight regimes like Hussein and others, is to provide the necessary support to internal factions, who have just as strong a desire to reclaim their own national sovereignty from the dictators who have usurped their destinies. And like the fall of the Soviet Union, many of these regimes are so rotten at the core, that all that is often required is the knowledge that the US and other nations are willing to support them and help them to rebuild what remains of their lives. That's where I believe the US should be placing major emphasis. Help the people to rise up against their oppressors, and avoid uncessary commitments of US forces that reduce our global flexibility to respond to other potential threats such as a militaristic China. Hawk@DeOppressoLiber.com

To: unclewest who wrote (21119)	3/11/2002 11:01:39 AM
From: Sea Otter	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 281500

cnsnews.com An interesting summary that reinforces your points, I think. Yes, this preparation for war against Iraq is an amazingly open process. But that's the way it should be. Obviously we've got to do it. But I agree with you, it could get ugly very quickly. Saddam probably has some pretty major weapons and he has historically shown no qualms about using whatever he has available. Few Americans, I think, understand just how badly this could go. Therefore, family preparation is a wise thing. I'm no survivalist. But I have tripled our earthquake survival kit. Probably the minimum I should be doing.

To: unclewest who wrote (21119)	3/11/2002 6:00:46 PM
From: Rollcast...	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

Thx. I hope that is the case... theatlantic.com I think the only way you're going to defuse Islamic radicalism is the way Islamic radicalism has traditionally been defused, and that is on the battlefield. I don't think you're really going to wage a tit for tat propaganda campaign or any type of covert action. I think that won't work and will look fairly silly. The key here is you have to quell the virulent anti-Americanism that has grown up in the last decade and that you see expressed not only by al Qaeda, but also everywhere throughout the Middle East, particularly in places like Egypt and Saudi Arabia, who are nominally American allies. The primary jet-fuel for that anti-Americanism has been the impression, more or less justified, that the United States has been on the run. If you read Bin Laden's commentary, and he is by no means alone, he enumerates many instances of American weakness, and I think he really did believe that if you could continue clandestine guerrilla operations against the United States, you could put America to flight. The one thing that everyone in the Middle East knows is that we have been running the last ten years from a direct head-to-head conflict with Saddam Hussein. That's why I think Iraq must be the next place we go after Afghanistan. It is, more than anything else, the one issue that has cracked the awe of America in the Middle East, and I think it is the one issue that we must handle if we really are serious about regaining the essential fear and respect without which American interests and American citizens are simply not safe. We should not deceive ourselves that one victory in Afghanistan, as overwhelming as it is, necessarily has a long shelf-life. The Gulf War victory, for many Americans, seemed more overwhelming, yet the Gulf War became in Middle Eastern eyes quite quickly a defeat. ******************************** Iraq is obviously not the poster child for Islamic radicalism (more like radical Arab nationalism) but it seems that the same approach is the only answer. "Containment" is simply the new catch phrase of the appeasement crowd...