Terrorism
So I am already fried and its 4 days till my qualifiers start...
Anyway, this has been bothering me for some time: is there a time, in all of recorded history, that a goverment has won against terrorism with force? I can't think of one. IRA, Chechnya, Hamas, ETA (separetist group in spain), Tamil Tigers, the stuff in Kashmir,and Hizzbolla are groups that I can think of and there are many many more. The only one that has had relative success as far as I can tell is Isreal vs. Hamas and look what that took, the subjugation of a whole race of people. Well that and the most insane secrete police force in the entire world. In any case it is a unique situation in that it is somewhat constrained geographically compared to many conflicts.
Oh, and what ended the IRA conflict? Economic prosperity. Ireland has become a huge center of computer chip manufacturing.
So anyway, I just wonder why we don't see more discussion on how to deal with terrorism, to minimize its causes. Well, I have heard some but anything but force is seen as weak and conceding to the enemy.
Its just frustating to think that, while 3ooo some people died in the World Trade Center thing we are going to have close to that many solders die before we are out of Iraq. What makes their lives worth anything less then our own? And in the process of killing our own people we are killing 10's of thousands of Iraqies and reinforcing the idiologies that produce terrorism in the first place. Not only that but we are systematically removing liberties and freedom all in the name of this "war". And what do we have to show for it? Supposedly we stopped some attack on a building in LA similar to the attack on the World Trade Center.
From the looks of it this wasn't even us who did most of the work but other contries intelegence and work. It was "a South East Asian country who first arrested a key al-queda operative" and it was Tailand who finally thwarted the attack by arresting Hambali, who ever that is. Since it wasn't mentioned its likely we didn't even help them out but that this was done as part of these contries own anti-terrorism efforts.
What was the plan? To blow open the cockpit doors of a plane with shoe bombs to get at the pilot. Its difficult to say if this would even work and not destroy the plane. And finally, the terrorist would have to get control of the plane in the first place and somehow I don't see that happening.
So ya, just some "middle of studying for qualifiers ranting"... There is alot more I would like to rant about but I have to get back to work. Seriously though, who says we are going to reduce our dependence on forien oil by 75 percent by 2025 and then the next day has a cabinate member say he didn't mean it literally? I really am amazed at how blatently this administration manipulates the press and the citizens of this country.
Anyway, this has been bothering me for some time: is there a time, in all of recorded history, that a goverment has won against terrorism with force? I can't think of one. IRA, Chechnya, Hamas, ETA (separetist group in spain), Tamil Tigers, the stuff in Kashmir,and Hizzbolla are groups that I can think of and there are many many more. The only one that has had relative success as far as I can tell is Isreal vs. Hamas and look what that took, the subjugation of a whole race of people. Well that and the most insane secrete police force in the entire world. In any case it is a unique situation in that it is somewhat constrained geographically compared to many conflicts.
Oh, and what ended the IRA conflict? Economic prosperity. Ireland has become a huge center of computer chip manufacturing.
So anyway, I just wonder why we don't see more discussion on how to deal with terrorism, to minimize its causes. Well, I have heard some but anything but force is seen as weak and conceding to the enemy.
Its just frustating to think that, while 3ooo some people died in the World Trade Center thing we are going to have close to that many solders die before we are out of Iraq. What makes their lives worth anything less then our own? And in the process of killing our own people we are killing 10's of thousands of Iraqies and reinforcing the idiologies that produce terrorism in the first place. Not only that but we are systematically removing liberties and freedom all in the name of this "war". And what do we have to show for it? Supposedly we stopped some attack on a building in LA similar to the attack on the World Trade Center.
From the looks of it this wasn't even us who did most of the work but other contries intelegence and work. It was "a South East Asian country who first arrested a key al-queda operative" and it was Tailand who finally thwarted the attack by arresting Hambali, who ever that is. Since it wasn't mentioned its likely we didn't even help them out but that this was done as part of these contries own anti-terrorism efforts.
What was the plan? To blow open the cockpit doors of a plane with shoe bombs to get at the pilot. Its difficult to say if this would even work and not destroy the plane. And finally, the terrorist would have to get control of the plane in the first place and somehow I don't see that happening.
So ya, just some "middle of studying for qualifiers ranting"... There is alot more I would like to rant about but I have to get back to work. Seriously though, who says we are going to reduce our dependence on forien oil by 75 percent by 2025 and then the next day has a cabinate member say he didn't mean it literally? I really am amazed at how blatently this administration manipulates the press and the citizens of this country.
posted by Craig Snoeyink at 6:18 PM
0 comments
