In article <3B9FB909.88339ECD@home.com>, Ben Miller <no1-bronco-
fan@home.com> writes
>I know I won't be real popular for this but that's ok. This is still America
>and
>I still have a right to my opinion!
>
Damn right!
>How do you propose that this will change anything?
It will perhaps change little, but it will prevent America becoming as
morally reprehensible as its terrorist enemies. I think America is
worth preserving as a bastion of freedom and democracy. If America
kills one innocent civilian in a knee-jerk response to the killings of
its own citizens, it will have sunk to the level of the terrorist.
> The animals that perpetrated
>these acts of war against this nation have been raised to believe that we are
>all; men, women, children; military or civilian, are all combatants, that we
>are
>evil and that they are fighting a holy war and will go to heaven immediatly if
>they die while fighting their "holy war".
I won't be real popular for saying this, but these people weren't
animals. Animals are not malicious; animals know nothing about
politics or dogma or hatred. Like it or not, these were people. You
probably know people in your own home town who could, given similar
circumstances, also turn to terrorism. Terrorists are not a breed
apart; they are people like you and me who have taken a decision that
terrorism is the only possible response to what is being done to them.
Some of them may have been subject to propaganda to such an extent that
it could be considered brainwashing, but the fact remains that it was
human beings who did this to America yesterday. Mother's sons. We
have to ask "why?" and "what can we do to stop this happening again?"
> This is the type of people you propose
>using rationality, logic and kindness with?
I used none of those words. I used the word "justice". Perpetrators
of crimes deserve justice. The free world requires that they be
brought to justice. Kindness is scarcely relevant in these
circumstances.
> We've tried it over and over and New
>York is where it has led us!
Forgive me, but America's foreign policy over the past few months has
hardly been an example of rationality, of logic, or of kindness. To be
honest, I would be hard-pushed to describe much of it as an example of
justice. Please believe that I am not for a moment suggesting that
America somehow "deserved" this, but you should be aware of how your
country's policies are seen abroad.
> An act of war has been committed by people who
>believe what they have done is right and just.
Agreed.
> It is now up to us to SHOW them
>that they are WRONG and that acts of war will NOT be tolerated, here or abroad.
You are advocating acts of war to show that acts of war will not be
tolerated. Think about that.
>It's time to take off the kid gloves!
What kid gloves? Ask the Iraqis or the Palestinians if America has
been treating them with kid gloves. Don't delude yourself: America has
been playing hard-ball with international relations, and frequently with
good reason.
> If that means war with Afghanistan, Iraq
>or
>whoever harbored the animals that brought war to us then so be it.
And how is that going to help? You want innocent Afghans and innocent
Americans dying for the sake of your desire for vengeance? For shame!
Let's target the guilty, not the innocent. And remember that whichever
country harboured the terrorist organisation which planned yesterday's
atrocities, it is made up of people, at least 99.99% of whom had nothing
to do with it. Innocent people die in wars.
> I am willing
>to fight for the freedom and security of my nation. Are YOU?
Yes. Unequivocally, yes. I will gladly take up arms to defend the
freedom and security of my nation (and of yours, being my nation's
ally), as at least six generations of my ancestors have done. I will
not, however, go to war purely for the dubious pleasures of vengeance.
As a military historian, I weep when I hear comments such as yours, as I
wept when I watched the TV news yesterday. Unless it can be shown that
the attacks on New York and Washington DC were state-sponsored, then I
could not support the idea of going to war with any state. If it turns
out that a particular country had, as a matter of policy, assisted in
the arrangements for these attacks, then, yes, sadly, war would be
justified, and more innocent men, women and children would die.
Going to war is a serious step; perhaps more serious than we can easily
comprehend. It should never be undertaken lightly, or in anger.
ATB
--
Mike
Michael Hargreave Mawson, author of "Eyewitness in the Crimea"
http://www.greenhillbooks.com/booksheets/eyewitness_in_the_crimea.html
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