a War and Piece correspondent writes:
It strikes me that we are in an eerily similar situation to 1999 and 2000.
– The United States is fully aware of Al Qaeda training camps operating openly, with links to cells and operatives in Western Europe elsewhere;
– Our government is picking up increasing signs of communications, movements of money, and other signals indicative of planning for future attacks;
– An internal debate is occurring over whether to take action against those training camps, including military strikes; while those who are forward leaning are pushing for more aggressive risk-taking, others are cognizant of not wanting to violate sovereign territory and risking large civilian casualties;
In 1999 and 2000, we were talking about Afghanistan. Today, it is Pakistan. The Clinton Administration was savaged after 9/11 for “treating terrorism as law enforcement”, excessively taking into account the diplomatic sensitivities of other nations, and too much regard for civilian lives when we could have killed the bad guys with a missile strike. The Bushies said that would not happen on their watch.
So why is it happening again? At least the Clintonites did not have “the lessons of 9/11″ as a backdrop.
Given that national Republicans have been quite open about how another terror attack would be to their benefit, is it any wonder why this threat is being allowed to grow unchecked?
- Chertoff’s gut feeling.
- I think all we need is some attacks on American soil like we had on [Sept. 11, 2001].
- Republican Senator Rick Santorum has suggested that a series of “unfortunate events,” namely terrorist attacks, will occur within the next year
It’s bad enough that Republicans are willing to let Americans die in Iraq for their cause, but now they want Americans killed at home as well.
What’s that all about?
4 Comments
Glad to hear that you enjoyed V! I found it to be quite moving and inspirational. Have you read The Watchmen yet?
I have a long list of books in my reading queue for the summer:
* Cryptonomicon by Neil Stephenson. Just finished this, amazing.
* The Long Emergency – currently reading and enjoying greatly. Except for the cold sweats in the middle of the night. I think you’ve read this, or are at least exposed to the author’s work.
* Beyond Fear by Bruce Schneier – A highly recommended overview of our irrational approach to national security from infosec expert Bruce Schneier
* Applied Cryptography by Bruce Schneier – because I’m paranoid by nature and need to feed my habit
* Never Eat Alone by Ketih Ferrazzi – may help me explore some of my non-introvert qualities. Seems kind of funny (or sad) that I originally bought this book to help me figure out how to write an application that help me better my personal relationships…
* Twisty Little Passages by Nick Montfort – an exploration of interaction fiction
* Drawing Down the Moon – an exploration of the wonders of American paganism. I can’t wait to delve into this one.
* Writing Fiction Step by Step – I want to crank out a short story this summer. I haven’t exercised that part of my brain in a very, very long time.
When I was a kid, Pizza Hut used to give us free pizza for completing a certain amount of books. I think it was called Book it! I wonder if there is such a program for adults? ;-)
Our local libraries have summer book clubs for grown-ups: read and write up 3 books, get a Starbucks card and be entered in a drawing to win some other cool swag.
Surprised NYC doesn’t offer something similar.
Yes, I did read Watchmen, but nowhere near as on the mark. I have been re-reading V the past day or so, marvelling at the skillfully done it is — 25 years on.
As for dining alone, we did something at my last Real Job, where we (the alleged management) would round up whoever was nearby and hungry and just descend on some place. Life is too short to eat at your desk or go to some squat and gobble joint.
I have looked at local boy Stephenson’s books but I can’t help feeling he needs an editor ;-)
Add 1491 by Charles C. Mann to your list: I think you’ll find it very enlightening.
I own “1491″ but have yet to read. I loaned it to a friend (Mr. E) who read it and then bought his own copy!
I knew before peeking at the URL that you were about to draw the maggot card. LOL! I did a bit of work on a website for a “healing” company, and that treatment was mentioned in a newsletter.
Ah, maggots, or as they prefer to be called, fly larvae.
I never knew they secreted an antiseptic as they worked, as well as doing a very clean job of removing dead tissue. Sadly, they only last 3 days.
So get your copy of 1491 back ;-)
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