for what it's worth

for what it's worth

from: Mugtoe
9/13/01
9:12:32 AM
63.231.228.25

Retribution IS warranted in this case, and yes, more innocent people would be killed for no other reason than being where they are and who they are. That is what happens in a war. War is terrible and rightfully so. But the options are limited realistically. This is not a case of a threat being made or an attack made off our shores. And the evidence linking Bin Lauden to this act would appear to be fairly solid. Being from Texas, I am no great fan of George Bush - never was. That is fairly irrelevant in this instance. He is certainly not possessing the highest IQ of any president in recent history, but then, who ever said that IQ is a good measure of what is important in a president - it is not. The people who committed these acts knew what they were doing, and it is a declaration of war. Not just war on the US government, but war on you and me. That is not just rhetoric on my part. I can understand people not having the stomach to commit themselves to that reality in its entirety; I have trouble with that myself at times over the last couple of days. But that does not mean that the case for it is illegitimate. We as a nation did not create this situation. It was thrust upon us quite violently by the sudden deaths of thousands of our neighbors. The responsibility for this atrocity lies with the people who committed it. There is no justification for it, and it matters not what we have done in the past that might be said to be a trigger for it; our associations and policies do not legitimate the motives for this behaviour. There is little question at this point, at least in my mind, who is ultimately behind this. There is no way to maintain our credibility and our principles intact with any degree of integrity if we as a nation allow this barbarousness to go unanswered. There is little short of going to war actively and aggressively that will prove adequate as a response. We should concentrate at this time, however, on what can be done to alleviate the suffering of those who have so far been ground under the wheels of this ideological machinery. I am not now, nor have I ever really been, much of a hawk. I don't think we have a job as policemen of the world. However, it is also an incontrovertible fact that we are present everywhere, and in many places our interests are completely legitimate. We have chosen sides in foreign conflicts for better or worse, and we must pay the price for that participation. However, there is nothing in our history that makes this a justifiable action against us. And if it would seem that collectively we are demonizing and generalizing foreign peoples, that is simply one of terrible realities of war. Lincoln suspended habeas corpus during the Civil War for good reason. Bin Lauden's brother and cousin live in Boston and walk about freely. His brother contributes money to Harvard, and his cousin owns several luxury condos here. Ask yourself if, in 1941, Hitler's or Tojo's relatives would have enjoyed the same liberty in our streets while hostilities were being engaged. There is concern in the media this morning that this generation of youngsters will grow up feeling prejudiced towards middle easterners. Oh really? I wonder what sort of prejudice exists in Gaza towards us. We may not feel a great love for our government, especially among the participants in this forum, but, like it or not, we have a national and cultural identity in this country. And we here are also members of that nation. That may be regrettable, but it is the truth. If part of the response to this act of war is to entertain negative feelings towards our common enemy and perhaps even misrepresent them, that is also one of the sad facts of warfare.

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