[Vision2020] The Saga Begins to Unfold
Joan Opyr
auntiestablishment@hotmail.com
Wed, 7 Apr 2004 11:46:48 -0700
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Tom writes:
>-- AP: Witnesses say U.S. helicopter fire hits mosque in Fallujah, Iraq.
>Fatalities reported.
>I realize that the mosque may have been a "safe haven" for Shiite
>revolutionaries. But, I believe that bombing a religious building will =
only
>serve to fuel their fire.
>I heard on this morning's news (NBC's Today Show) that more and more Shi=
ites
>are banding together with more and more Suunis to fight against the US.
>Couple this with funding by Al Queda (this just started recently).
What is the strategic purpose of terrorism? To provoke dramatic and indi=
scriminate reprisals. The larger Shiite population, and the bulk of Sunn=
is as well, are not affiliated with any terrorist or guerrilla group, jus=
t like you and I are not affiliated with the Montana Freemen. By blowing=
up mosques and inadvertantly whacking civilians, even though we're not d=
irectly targeting non-combatants, we do just what the terrorists want us =
to do. We make ourselves look large, clumsy, careless and dangerous, and=
we drive ordinary people into the arms of radicals. =20
Yes, the mosque was a "safe haven" for some very bad people, but why do w=
e think they chose to hide out there rather than at the local falafel sta=
nd? Because it would look bad when we blew it up. Conventional warfare =
is about attrition; men fight and die on both sides until one force is co=
nsiderably weaker than the other. Then, the weaker force is either wiped=
out completely or it negotiates a surrender. Terrorists are already wea=
ker than their opponent. They know this, and so what they try to do is t=
urn their enemy's strength against him. We're not fighting a conventiona=
l war in Iraq; we're fighting terrorists and guerrillas. If we insist on=
using conventional tactics, then even when we win, we lose.
Wait . . . my psychic powers have allowed me to anticipate Pat Kraut's qu=
estion: do you think we should just sit back and do nothing?! The answer=
, Pat, is no. We shouldn't sit back and do nothing, though nothing would=
be preferable to doing exactly what Osama bin Laden and al Sadr hoped we=
would. The war against terror is about shutting off Al Qaeda's funding,=
closing their safe havens, and stemming the flow of new recruits. The w=
ar in Iraq is about winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people and =
about offering them a viable and constructive alternative to joining the =
guerrillas. The former is primarily police work which, Law & Order aside=
, is not glamorous; the latter is about a long campaign of building trust=
, creating safety, and generating jobs, also not glamorous. =20
Though idiots like Kathleen Parker have suggested nuking the Sunni Triang=
le, the truth is that there is no quick fix. We cannot bomb the Arab wor=
ld into democracy -- certainly not while maintaining a steady oil supply.=
=20
Joan Opyr/Auntie Establishment Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explo=
rer download : http://explorer.msn.com
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<HTML><BODY STYLE=3D"font:10pt verdana; border:none;"><DIV>Tom writes:</D=
IV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>>-- AP: Witnesses say U.S. helicopter fire =
hits mosque in Fallujah, Iraq.<BR>>Fatalities reported.<BR><BR>>I r=
ealize that the mosque may have been a "safe haven" for Shiite<BR>>rev=
olutionaries. But, I believe that bombing a religious building will=
only<BR>>serve to fuel their fire.<BR><BR>>I heard on this morning=
's news (NBC's Today Show) that more and more Shiites<BR>>are banding =
together with more and more Suunis to fight against the US.<BR>>Couple=
this with funding by Al Queda (this just started recently).<BR><BR></DIV=
> <DIV>What is the strategic purpose of terrorism? To pro=
voke dramatic and indiscriminate reprisals. The larger Shiite =
population, and the bulk of Sunnis as well, are not affiliated with =
any terrorist or guerrilla group, just like you and I are not affiliated =
with the Montana Freemen. By blowing up mosques and inadvertan=
tly whacking civilians, even though we're not directly targeting non-comb=
atants, we do just what the terrorists want us to do. We make =
ourselves look large, clumsy, careless and dangerous, and we drive ordina=
ry people into the arms of radicals. </DIV> <DIV> <=
/DIV> <DIV>Yes, the mosque was a "safe haven" for some very bad peop=
le, but why do we think they chose to hide out there rather than at&=
nbsp;the local falafel stand? Because it would look bad when we ble=
w it up. Conventional warfare is about attrition; men fight and die=
on both sides until one force is considerably weaker than the other.&nbs=
p; Then, the weaker force is either wiped out completely or it negot=
iates a surrender. Terrorists are already weaker than their opponen=
t. They know this, and so what they try to do is turn their enemy's=
strength against him. We're not fighting a conventional war in Ira=
q; we're fighting terrorists and guerrillas. If we insist on using =
conventional tactics, then even when we win, we lose.</DIV=
> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Wait . . . my psychic powers have allowed me to&=
nbsp;anticipate Pat Kraut's question: do you think we should just sit bac=
k and do nothing?! The answer, Pat, is no. We shouldn't sit b=
ack and do nothing, though nothing would be preferable to doing exactly w=
hat Osama bin Laden and al Sadr hoped we would. The war against ter=
ror is about shutting off Al Qaeda's funding, closing their safe hav=
ens, and stemming the flow of new recruits. The war in Iraq is abou=
t winning the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people and about offering the=
m a viable and constructive alternative to joining the guerrillas. =
The former is primarily police work which, Law & Order aside, is=
not glamorous; the latter is about a long campaign of building trust, cr=
eating safety, and generating jobs, also not glamorous. </DIV>=
<DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Though idiots like Kathleen Parker have suggested=
nuking the Sunni Triangle, the truth is that there is no quick fix. =
; We cannot bomb the Arab world into democracy -- certainly not while mai=
ntaining a steady oil supply. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>J=
oan Opyr/Auntie Establishment </DIV></BODY></HTML=
><br clear=3Dall><hr>Get more from the Web. FREE MSN Explorer download :=
<a href=3D'http://explorer.msn.com'>http://explorer.msn.com</a><br></p>
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