From: Brian D Williams (talon57@well.com)
Date: Wed Jan 02 2002 - 11:40:13 MST
>From: Geraint Rees <g.rees@fil.ion.ucl.ac.uk>
>No need to be so nihilistic! Just consistent and even-handed long
>term political engagement on the part of the US will probably do
>just fine. There are a lot of Islamic nations giving support to
>the current US action, and with long term political engagement
>such political engagement could surely become a real force for
>stability and good in the region.
Indeed this is what the U.S. intends in Afghanistan.
The unfortunate problem is that some things the Islamic states want
(the destruction of Israel) are not negotiable.
>The history of the Palestinian/Israeli conflict (or, closer to
>home, the IRA terrorist campaign for that matter) suggests that
>this approach will not stop politically/religiously motivated
>violence. Military interventions (like the present US intervention
>in Afghanistan) can IMO be both justified and have a clear role.
>However, ultimately political engagement and political solutions
>are the only long-term basis for secure stable international
>relations, upon which global capitalism (the foundation of US
>prosperity) depends. So it may well be in the US interest to
>engage politically, not kill militarily, in the long run.
Indeed, I've always liked the saying from the Asimov's "Foundation"
trilogy " violence is the last act of the incompetent."
We'd prefer not to use violence.
Why is it you mention the IRA, but none of the loyalist para-
militaries, nor the British Army's long occupation of Northern
Ireland?
Brian
Member:
Extropy Institute, www.extropy.org
National Rifle Association, www.nra.org, 1.800.672.3888
SBC/Ameritech Data Center Chicago, IL, Local 134 I.B.E.W
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.5 : Fri Nov 01 2002 - 13:37:32 MST