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Politics : Piffer Thread on Political Rantings and Ravings -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Jorj X Mckie who wrote (13616)	5/25/2004 12:12:10 AM
From: Augustus Gloop	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14610

Monday May 31 at 8pm 3 Hours of American Chopper & the building of the POW-MIA bike on Discovery

To: Jorj X Mckie who wrote (13616)	5/25/2004 7:20:49 AM
From: Road Walker	Respond to of 14610

Jorj, re: When I was spending a fair amount of time in Europe, I was amazed at how blase' their views toward terrorism were. They accept it as a part of life. It's no big deal. In one trip, I was staying two blocks away from a jewish deli/meat store that was bombed (in Nice France). It was no big deal to the locals. I don't ever want to get to the point where I am accepting and complacent about terrorism. Well at some point in time you are going to have to accept that terrorism can and will happen. We've been remarkably lucky. Just like the war on drugs and the war on crime, a zero tolerance end plan for the war on terrorism is an unrealisitic. What you saw in Europe was a much more educated and mature reaction to terrorism, they understand it far better than we do because they've had more than a generation to deal with it. In the 70's there were weekly bombings in the subways of London and the cafes of Paris. Through self-defense measures and good police work they put an end to that. They won, as much as you can win. re: Do you think that is an accurate determination? Darn close. re: What you mean "we", white man? If you think he's lying on a beach in Rio, then your opinion is in the minority. There is a lot better intelligence about his location than there was about WMD in Iraq. re: I think you are probably not very well informed and are too accustomed to eating the crap that is spoon fed to you by the media. Personal attack? Go right ahead... but I'm not going to respond in kind. John

To: Jorj X Mckie who wrote (13616)	5/25/2004 7:41:57 AM
From: Road Walker	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 14610

A report card for Bush's war on terrorism: Qaeda Has 18,000 Militants for Raids - Think Tank 1 hour, 35 minutes ago Add Top Stories - Reuters to My Yahoo! By Paul Majendie LONDON (Reuters) - Al Qaeda has more than 18,000 militants ready to strike and the U.S.-led occupation of Iraq (news - web sites) has accelerated recruitment to the ranks of Osama bin Laden (news - web sites)'s network, a leading London think-tank said on Tuesday. Al Qaeda's finances were in good order, its "middle managers" provided expertise to Islamic militants around the globe and bin Laden's drawing power was as strong as ever, the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) said. It warned in its annual Strategic Survey that al Qaeda would keep trying to develop plans for attacks in North America and Europe and that the network ideally wanted to use weapons of mass destruction. "Meanwhile, soft targets encompassing Americans, Europeans and Israelis, and aiding the insurgency in Iraq, will do," the institute said. "Galvanized by Iraq if compromised by Afghanistan (news - web sites), al Qaeda remains a viable and effective network of networks," it said. The IISS said al Qaeda lost its base after the toppling of the Taliban in Afghanistan in late 2001 but had since adapted to become more decentralized, "virtual" and invisible in more than 60 countries. "The Afghanistan intervention offensively hobbled but defensively benefited al Qaeda," it said. The institute said 2,000 al Qaeda members and more than half of the group's 30 leaders had been killed or captured. The IISS said the 1,000 al Qaeda militants estimated to be in Iraq were a minute fraction of its potential strength. "A rump leadership is still intact and over 18,000 potential terrorists are at large with recruitment accelerating on account of Iraq," the IISS said. It gave no source for the figure. Purported video and audio tapes by bin Laden have appeared from time to time despite a U.S.-led manhunt since the September 11, 2001 attacks on New York and Washington to capture him "dead or alive." "Bin Laden's charisma, presumed survival and elusiveness enhance (al Qaeda's) iconic drawing power," the IISS said. It said al Qaeda was reported to be exporting extremism on a global scale with "middle managers" providing planning, logistical advice, material and financing to smaller groups in Saudi Arabia and Morocco and probably Indonesia and Kenya. The IISS said the Madrid train bombings in March suggested al Qaeda had now fully reconstituted and had set its sights firmly on the United States and its closest allies in Europe.