Guns and Butter

Let us say that you are a privileged scion of a wealthy family with an elite University education. You spend most of your young life aimless and without any obvious direction. Sometime in your 30’s, you discover religion and your new sense of faith stirs your personal ambitions. Friends and associate comment that you have “natural leadership skills”, which isn’t quite the same thing as true leadership, but it inspires others to follow you. Using your inherited wealth, do you:

Whatever we may call this — America’s New War, The War on Terrorism, Cold War II, or W’s WW — this is most surely a Class War. Followers of privileged men with wealth and power at their disposal are busy delivering anonymous weapons of mass destruction to others. Who are the newest victims? Agrarian nomads and minimum wage postal workers.

The word coming out of the White Bush House is that we are targeting military and communications facilities, and that our end goal is to destroy the terrorist network and free the people of Afghanistan. The weekend that the bombing started, I turned on the TV to see a poised and confident leader of a great nation speak reassuringly of the need to make this a military, diplomatic, and humanitarian effort. As never before, he gave me hope that we may yet venture forth upon the path of decency ... and, of course, I just love Tony Blair's command of the Queen's English!

(As a marked contrast, The Houston Chronicle recently reported that, while addressing Labor Department workers about the U.S. campaign against terrorism, George Bush said that there is "not one doubt in my mind that we will fail." Earlier, celebrating the reopening of Reagan National Airport, Bush remarked "I am here to make an announcement that this Thursday, ticket counters and airplanes will fly out of Ronald Reagan airport"... flying ticket counters presumably being safer than airplanes.)

(Seriously, if my Dad had funded my Yale education so I could run the family business, and I talked like that, he'd be asking for his money back by now.)

There are alternatives to bombing. Let me be more specific: under these circumstances, military options may arguably be our first course, but not this antiseptic, high-tech, laser guided bombing upon which we have come to rely.

We call ourselves the last superpower. With great power comes great responsibility, yet we squander that privilege on a mismanaged bombing campaign with a fondness for destroying Red Cross facilities. The French have a term "noblesse oblige", or the obligation of the noble. To respond to the terrorist attacks with more sky-borne terror is, at best, criminally amoral. Once again, the English-speaking western powers are using their might to crush a seriously outclassed Islamic nation. No wonder they revile us.

GUNS AND BUTTER

PENTAGON SEEKS IDEAS ON COMBATING TERRORISM

The Department of Defense announced today that the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics and the Combating Terrorism Technology Support Office Technical Support Working Group are jointly sponsoring a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) asking for help in fighting terrorism.

The BAA, issued Oct. 23 (No. 02-Q-4655), specifically seeks help in combating terrorism, defeating difficult targets, conducting protracted operations in remote areas, and developing countermeasures to weapons of mass destruction. Its objective is to find concepts that can be developed and fielded within 12 to 18 months.

Apparently the DOD has enough bombs and tanks, but they're running out of ideas.

First, we engage the full United Nations. So far, the UN has decried the terrorist attacks, and NATO has invoked the charter stating that an attack against one is an attack against all, but neither of these come close to being an international mandate to engage in a massive bombing campaign. If the 911 attacks were an attack against the world, as our leaders have repeatedly stated, then the world needs to respond. After September 11, we were the victim. Now we are the aggressor and, I fear, we may have squandered our chance to build a true world coalition.

Our first order of business: feed and shelter the refugees. There was already a crisis brewing in Afghanistan before September 11. Our first concern should be to provide for the hungry and the ill. By some estimates, there may be as many as 7 million of them. That's 7 million people who, with their bellies full and their safety assured, might not be such easy prey to the ramblings of fanatics.

Once we have addressed the humanitarian crisis, we go about the serious business of dismantling an oligarchy and establishing a democracy. We DO NOT arm warring rebel factions; the enemy of our enemy is not our friend. (Good lord, you think we would have learned that one by now!) We do go in with our ground troops, and the troops of other nations, and create an immutable presence. (I have to wonder if our military leaders truly believe that this campaign can be waged primarily through air attacks, or if they hope mainly to duplicate the colossal TV ratings that they received for the last mid-east conflict).

Even as I write this, my own peace-loving spirit rebels at the thought of what we will have to do. What happened on September 11 was a Global Hate Crime, a murderous rampage that defies rational explanation or emotional resonance. More people are going to die on both sides of this conflict, but history has shown us that we need to fight for justice. Notice I said justice, not revenge. "President" Bush has criticized the efforts of previous administrations at nation building, but that is exactly what we need to do. We need to help build a new nation that is founded on those very principles for which we are fighting: liberty, democracy, freedom of choice and expression. If the citizens of that nation wish to operate as a theocracy, that is their right, but we will give them a framework for a society that, at a bare minimum, supports basic human rights.

As difficult as all that sounds, it might seem easy when compared to the next step: we have to listen to what the terrorists are trying to tell us. A compromise isn't a compromise unless it hurts, and this one is going to hurt a lot. Instead of reacting with fury and arrogance, we need to approach this with humility and tolerance, the only tools that can effectively fight terrorism.

Let's look at northern Ireland. For decades, the English fought an elusive and well-organized foe, the terrorist IRA. Lives were lost, leaders were jailed, but the fight continued, carried on by a small group that drew its support from a vast and disenfranchised citizenry. It wasn't until the British government was willing to open a dialogue with Sinn Fein, a political organization, that real progress was made. This process — ironically begun by John Major, but now being carried on by Tony Blair — liberated the people of Northern Ireland as never before and helped to marginalize the IRA terrorists. There have been setbacks, and there are compromises still to be made, but there has also been undeniable progress.

Similarly, it is now incumbent upon the western world to listen to those rational and beleaguered Muslims who do not necessarily support the terrorist actions, but still feel strongly about the causes that inspire them. We may have to pull our troops from Mecca and Medina; we will need to stop supporting despotic rulers simply because they provide us with cheap oil; we need to reexamine our policy of providing Israel with armed cover and force both sides in the struggle to the negotiation table. In the end, however, we may yet stand tall with pride at the righteous difference we have made.

Though I have doubts that we can ever "win" this War on Terrorism (how do you fight a war against an ideology?), I am hopeful that, just as we have sadly lost our sense of domestic security, we also lose our hideous provincialism and, as a nation, begin paying more attention to what is happening around the world. We are justifiably proud of our democracy, and we must take a stand to support only those nations that embody the freedoms that we espouse.

It is not too late to begin, but I fear that this is a war being fought mainly with smoke and demagoguery. I note with consternation that the word "campaign" is usually applied in only three common arenas: political races, military actions, and advertising.

PATRIOT GAMES

"We are the Bush … You will support the Bush … Resistance is futilistic … Jingoism will now commence …"

When did it become unpatriotic to not blindingly support the President? (The obvious answer, of course, is "sometime after Bill Clinton left office".)

Now we can broaden our definition of patriot, thanks to the107th Congress and the USA PATRIOT ACT, a bill for Uniting and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism (see http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:HR03162:)

H.R. 3162, was devised by Rep. James Sensenbrenner, henceforth known as THE MAN FROM U.N.C.L.E. (Unnecessary and Needless Congressional Legislation Enacted).

So what is a patriot? The root of the word is from the Latin "patrios", or "from one's father"; literally, it means fellow countryman. My American Heritage® dictionary defines patriot as "one who loves, supports, and defends one's country". Without parsing too much, let us examine what that might mean.

Does defend mean to physically defend, such as a soldier defending a fortress? If so, then one could argue that the only true patriots are those who have actually served in the armed services (unfortunately, I know of some who would make that claim). A broader definition would mean to defend in an unyielding manner, as in a lawyer defending a client, or a parent defending a child. I fear that this kind of nationalism leads to the "my country, right or wrong" attitude that we have seen on display recently.

There are many critics of this administration who still consider themselves to be patriots, those whose fury at the terrorists who hijacked our planes is matched only by their anger at the oil men who hijacked our government. We appreciate that the right to speak freely is a privilege spelled out in our Constitution, and by exercising that right, we are defending the very life blood of our nation (even the Presidential oath of office promises to "Protect, Preserve, and Defend the Constitution"). Being a patriot means more than waving a flag, it means defending the principles upon which our country has been built: protecting life, guarding liberty, and preserving our rights as citizens. We patriots vote, we speak our minds, and we stay on constant alert to safeguard our freedoms.

“'My country, right or wrong' is a thing that no patriot would think of saying except in a desperate case. It is like saying 'My mother, drunk or sober'.”

RIGHT AND WRONG

For Immediate Release
JERRY FALWELL TRIES TO CASH IN ON CONTROVERSY

TV Preacher’s Ministry Sends Out Fund-Raising Appeal Exploiting His Controversial Tirade Over Terrorist Attacks

Although TV preacher Jerry Falwell claims to have apologized for his infamous remarks about the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, his ministry has sent a fund-raising letter to donors recasting his statements in a positive light and depicting him as a victim of the news media “wolf pack” and “liberal lies.”

In an Oct. 4 appeal for funds, Jerry Falwell Ministries accuses “liberals, and especially gay activists” of launching “a vicious smear campaign to discredit him.” It says Falwell is “being roundly vilified by the news media for remarks he made in a TV interview while calling for spiritual revival in America.”

So what I want to know is, when are we ever going to see a news release like this...?

For Immediate Release
SATAN ASKS FOR RESTRAINT

The Dark Lord Satan, in a statement released through his agency, The Liberal Media Elite, apologized to Jerry Falwell for recent smears made upon his character.

“The Rev. Falwell is a good friend of mine,” said the eternal tormentor. “I am as appalled as anyone at the sight of partisan organizations taking advantage of this climate of fear and paranoia to proselytize and advance their own agenda.”

“I completely support Rev. Falwell’s statement on Pat Robertson’s TV show,” said the master of deceit, referring to Falwell’s televised assertion that “what we saw (the terrorist attacks) could be miniscule (if) God continues to lift the curtain and allow the enemies of America to give us probably what we deserve.”

“So to Liberals of all stripes, especially gay activists,” the Prince of Darkness continued, “I send you this important message: ease up on your campaign to call the good reverend to task for his divisive statements and his obvious hypocrisy. If you truly wish to hasten the Great Reckoning, let him continue to do his job, which is making my job easier.”

“Besides” added the Archduke of Anguish, “he’ll be answering directly to me soon enough.”

WORLD WIDE WEB OF WAR

Recently, a website named KILL.NET began recruiting hackers to help fight the war on terrorism. According to their own publicity, their goal is to create a "strong and united intellectual army to identify, isolate, and disrupt the finances of terrorist groups". To that end, the founder of the site created a group he calls YIHAT ("Young Intelligent Hackers Against Terror" ... a name that I assume is meant to be reminiscent of Jihad) and claims that members of the group have already hacked the computers of the AlShamal Islamic Bank in Sudan and turned data on the accounts of the Al Qaeda terrorist organization and Bin Laden over to the FBI. If you visit the site now, however, you will find only an announcement that YIHAT "has moved to the underground" to protect the core members.

On the more humanitarian side, WorldTradeCenter.com has posted a call for webmasters to volunteer their time and resources to "work directly with family members requesting assistance with creating a tribute page for their loved one." I've already registered my name, and I promise you updates on this worthy endeavor.

PITHY QUOTES

Semi Truths