# Taliban Threatens U.S. **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [September 14, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633 "2001-09-14T17:05:30Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![jk1245](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/49beb7/32.png) [@jk1245](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jk1245)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/1 "2001-09-14T17:05:30Z")
Now the Taliban is [threatening the US](http://www.cbsnews.com/now/story/0,1597,310852-412,00.shtml) Bye bye Taliban. Wish I could say its been nice knowing you, but it hasn’t. The world will be a better place with them removed from power. ---
**Author:** ![Tymp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Tymp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tymp)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/2 "2001-09-14T17:20:24Z")
I am saddened that these fuckers do not realize the enormity of the wrath they are calling down upon themselves and their poor, innocent families. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/3 "2001-09-14T17:20:27Z")
I hope you’re right but I suspect that if we expand our attack from that on an individual and his network to that on on Islamic leaders, we’ll invite the wrath of every Muslim worldwide. Goodbye world. ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/4 "2001-09-14T17:26:51Z")
Lieu, please try to keep up with the world’s news. It’s been quite some time now that the majority of muslim leadership have considered the Taliban to be, shall we say, “out there” when it comes to Islam. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/5 "2001-09-14T17:28:38Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by lieu \* > \*\*I hope you’re right but I suspect that if we expand our attack from that on an individual and his network to that on on Islamic leaders, we’ll invite the wrath of every Muslim worldwide. Goodbye world. \*\* **lieu** , on what do you base this statement? The Taliban is no more representative of Muslims than Jerry Falwell is of Christians or Chabad Lubavich (the organization that operates those “mitzvah vans”) is of Judiasm. I’m sure there will be millions of Muslims grateful that the Taliban is no longer in power. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/6 "2001-09-14T17:30:54Z")
it will be very interesting to see who takes what side when the chips start to fall. things sound like they are gonna be hairy here for awhile… ---
**Author:** ![irkenDoom](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c2a13f/32.png) [@irkenDoom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/irkenDoom)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/7 "2001-09-14T17:31:03Z")
yes, and maybe the world can see the side of Islam displayed in today’s prayer ceremony. ---
**Author:** ![Sauron](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ce7236/32.png) [@Sauron](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sauron)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/8 "2001-09-14T17:36:44Z")
The Taliban threatening the U.S. reminds me, for some reason, of a joke I heard years ago. An ant is walking through the jungle when it hears sobbing. Soon it sees an elephant with a thorn in its foot, crying its eyes out. The ant says, “Can I help?” The elephant says, “Oh, yes, please!” The ant says, “Okay, but if I help you, you have to let me do whatever I want.” The elephant agrees, so the ant pulls out the thorn. “Now,” the ant says, “I want to f\*\*\* you.” The elephant says, “You’ve got to be kidding.” The ant says, “Nope. I’ve always wanted to do that to an elephant. And you said I could do whatever I want.” So the elephant reluctantly agrees. The ant climbs up on the elephant, and starts banging away. A monkey in a tree looks down and sees this little ant porking an elephant, and starts laughing. It laughs so hard that it thrashes around and knocks loose a coconut, which falls onto the elephant’s head. The elephant says, “Ouch!” And the ant says, “That’s right – take it all, bitch.” I think the U.S. has about as much concern for the Taliban as the elephant had for the ant. And the Taliban has as inflated an opinion of itself as the ant did. A sucker-punch is one thing. War is something else entirely. ---
**Author:** ![Slip\_Mahoney](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e47774/32.png) [@Slip\_Mahoney](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slip_Mahoney)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/9 "2001-09-14T17:39:12Z")
_Expand_ our attack? The American government has made it clear that it will make no distinction between terrorists and those who harbour them. The posturing of the Taliban is whistling past the graveyard. The Americans will “reason” with them, and the sooner the better. ---
**Author:** ![Arden\_Ranger](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/b487fb/32.png) [@Arden\_Ranger](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Arden_Ranger)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/10 "2001-09-14T17:39:53Z")
I just cannot think what they hoped to accomplish by making that announcement. As united, hurt and angry as we are, did they really think we would cower in fear? ---
**Author:** ![Esprix](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/esprix/32/7899_2.png) [@Esprix](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Esprix)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/11 "2001-09-14T17:49:02Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by **Sauron** _ > > And the ant says, “That’s right – take it all, bitch.” I’m sorry, but did anyone else hear Saddam Hussein’s voice _a la_ “South Park” when they read this? 😃 Perhaps we’ll get an episode of Ossama bin Laden with beady little eyes and a flapping head all full of lies! Esprix ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 5:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/12 "2001-09-14T17:52:37Z")
He is **not** Canadian! ---
**Author:** ![RickJay](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/bb73d2/32.png) [@RickJay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RickJay)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/13 "2001-09-14T18:00:12Z")
Now I’m whistling Saddam’s song, “I Can Change,” from South Park. ---
**Author:** ![drm](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/a88e57/32.png) [@drm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/drm)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/14 "2001-09-14T18:09:10Z")
I would still prefer it if we knew for a **fact** that the Taliban was behind these attacks before anyone goes nuke happy. ---
**Author:** ![tradesilicon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/439d5e/32.png) [@tradesilicon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tradesilicon)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 6:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/15 "2001-09-14T18:17:19Z")
The Terrorist Attacks on this country were beyond anything any of us “ordinary Joes” imagined possible. What can we do beyond anything they have imagined? I think nothing. I think the Taliban leaders are heartless bastards who care nothing at all about the people they claim to represent, and there is nothing we caqn do to frighten them. There is also nothing we can do to bargain with them - if they allow this type of activity to be planned by someone they are harboring there is absolutely no reason to assume they can be bargained with. So, since they make threats, let us make promises. If they are threatening further terrorism, we must totally and completely take away their ability to perpetrate it. Cut them off from the world, and any country who does not support this will show itself to be on the side of terrorism. Cut the phone service, internet, cars, planes, ships, energy, everything we have anything to do with should be stopped immediately. If they hate America and Western ideals let them not use our own technology against us. No more travel to or from, no more American or other western technology to help with their terrorist acts. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/16 "2001-09-14T19:06:54Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Monty \* > \*\*Lieu, please try to keep up with the world’s news. It’s been quite some time now that the majority of muslim leadership have considered the Taliban to be, shall we say, “out there” when it comes to Islam. \*\* * * * Admittedly, I don’t know a hell of a lot about the Islamic faith and who’s in or out in their popularity contests. I think we’re all getting quite an education on it now. However, Monty, maybe you’ll remember that as “out” as Saddam was, we still had to use extreme care that the corraling of that madman was not interpreted as an attack against Islam or the Arab community as a whole. Remember how he tried to turn it into a holy war? Remember him lambasting other Arabs to help fight the infidels? You think Osama Trash Bin’s not going to do the same thing? I’ll look forward to the day I can sit on a boat and stay more informed. Sounds pretty nice to tell you the truth. Can you or someone else start a thread explaining the relationship between the Taliban and the rest of the faith? ---
**Author:** ![andros](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e480ec/32.png) [@andros](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/andros)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/17 "2001-09-14T19:13:52Z")
> [@](#): > > Remember how he tried to turn it into a holy war? Remember him lambasting other Arabs to help fight the infidels? Remember that it didn’t work? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 7:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/18 "2001-09-14T19:14:26Z")
> [@](#): > > I’ll look forward to the day I can sit on a boat and stay more informed. WTF language are you communicating in? ---
**Author:** ![Monty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/monty/32/47_2.png) [@Monty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Monty)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/19 "2001-09-14T19:17:01Z")
Andros: I also remember that Saddam didn’t start it out as a holy war but tried to change his little venture into one when he knew his tush was going to get pounded. I also remember that Usama bin-Laden began his as one. ---
**Author:** ![Kvallulf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/898d66/32.png) [@Kvallulf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kvallulf)\ **Post date:** [September 14, 2001, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633/20 "2001-09-14T22:11:03Z")
Maybe this belongs elsewhere, but Whom exactly has the authority to declare a Holy War? I mean if Father Flannery and I declared a Crusade, we would mostly get laughed out of town, (maybe not now). Is there a high ranking official who acutally declared this war? [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/taliban-threatens-u-s/81633.md?page=2)