IMHO, there’s been a lot of nonsense written on the board in the past week and I just want to politely vent a little.
With all due respect, people, we really do need to start looking at this as more than a war against a country otherwise the Genie really will be out of the bottle.
Yeah, it’ s ‘inconvenient’, maybe even intellectually challenging, to not have a traditionally defined concept (a nation with borders) to fight but this is the real world. Lets deal with it.
Afghanistan is not the enemy. Bin Ladin might well be and, by extension, so might the Taliban regime but the population of the country that hosts both is not. Those people don’t even know what day of the week it is, literally – little or no electricity outside the two main cities, 85% peasant farmers, little or no education, or medicine and they’re three years into a drought. Most of them haven’t even heard a radio and it seems many don’t even understand the notion of ‘Afghanistan’ because the boundaries of their entire world is tribal.
It’s not even the geopolitical balance of that particular region that could be destabilised (for example, volatile Pakistan needs but a gentle shove from the Mullah’s to see Islamic Nationalism seize hold. And Pakistan has nuclear capability, folks) but the entire Muslim world – even moderate Muslims are going to be radicalised by the notion of the West going in, bombing indiscriminately and replacing their society with ours.
It’s the prospect of generations of future terrorists, thousands of them willing to strap bombs to their chests and stroll through every shopping mall from the West Coast, through Europe and to Jerusalem that concerns me. Look at Israel in recent years; the suicide bombing and the incursions on personal freedoms, the social, political and economic impact of combating terrorism.
And that could, conceivably, happen. Remember, the Jihad against the Soviet invasion of 79-89 wasn’t fought by ‘Afghanistan’ but, as best we can tell, by 10,000s of Islamic Nationalists flooding in from up to 50 countries.
And then there’s oil.
So lets think smart and focus on the enemy, not who we want to be the enemy. It’s Bin Ladin and other extremist terrorist sub-sects in many countries (including the US and UK) and not the ignorant and / or moderate majority. To do otherwise is to play right into the terrorists hands.
And George, dear, characterising the whole thing as a “Crusade” really, really isn’t the thing to do. Aside from the ‘Onward Christian Soldiers’ imagery it gives the enemy just too good a sound bite - either quieten down there and let the grown up’s get on with it or take some classes. Thanks.
