Adrian `Guru Zeb` Harper wrote:
>
> But discussing WWW II issues is pretty pointless isn't it, i understand
> Americans being sensitive
> right now. But with huge shock of the events of Tuesday i hope comes a real
> opportunity to really examine
> some of the issues that have contributed to this event happening. I we (
> the whole world ) doesn't do this are so sure that this won't happen again.
It will only occur so long as we continue to buy into pathetic excuses
of moral equivalency.
I must say that I am greatly heartened by the degree to which NATO
countries have offered their support. For all of the brotherly sniping
that occurs between the US and other eurosphere countries, the statement
of NATO about article 5, that this is an attack on all NATO countries,
and the EU statements as well, demonstrates to all Americans that Europe
does not take our past assistance for granted. It demonstrates the great
level of trust and appreciation that has been forged over the decades
with european countries and cultures, and I'm sure that many europeans
are similarly proud of having this opportunity to come to our assistance
in the way that we have done for them in the past. For this, I thank
every european and citizen of a NATO country on the list.
With the recent integration of eastern european nations into NATO, this
will also prove a great opportunity for the newly democratic nations to
forge new martial traditions, to earn the respect and gratitude of all
freedom loving peoples, and to demonstrate a determined commitment to
freedom in the crucible of conflict that I think we are going to see
over the next several years.
I am glad that the Bush administration is now asserting that the time
has come to root out ALL terrorist organizations around the world, and
to demand that all governments abdicate support for such groups.
The other day, when I turned on the TV to watch the second plane strike
the World Trade Center, I thought that this was an attack by the
anti-globalists, the luddites. After all, the Trade Center is the symbol
of the globalization of trade which the luddites are so adamantly
against, and coupled with the attack on the Pentagon, when these same
groups tend to be so adamantly against US military spending, and against
US military support of peacekeeping actions overseas.
In a very real sense, this expectation is still accurate. In my
investigations of these groups, they have frequently ferried propaganda
for middle eastern groups against the US, including excuses and
rationalizations for the acts of bin Laden. Bin Laden is also certainly
to be considered an anti-globalist. His primary motivation is to fight
against the spread of western culture and influence in the muslim world,
and especially in Saudi Arabia, the home of the holy cities of Mecca and
Medina. The muslim fundamentalism that he espouses, being the son of a
family of high ranking Wahabi clerics (the Wahabis being the spiritual
allies of the royal Saud family as it came to power), is one that can
easily be seen as luddite in nature.
A classic story of the luddite conflict in Saudi lands dates back to the
1920's and the introduction of the telephone to Arabia. The Wahabi
clerics were adamantly set against this technology as a tool of satan.
King Abdul Azziz outmaneuvered them by speaking words of the Quran
through the phone, concluding that a tool of satan could not transmit
the words of the Quran accurately.
Ever since, the Wahabis have been fighting tooth and nail against
incursions of technology and western modern culture. They run the
'morality police' that was so hostile to US forces (especially female
soldiers) in the Gulf War. Bin Laden is merely one of the more vocal
radical ones, forced into exile by the Saudi family, his family still
supports him, as does a large amount of the Wahabis in Arabia.
This archive was generated by hypermail 2b30 : Fri Oct 12 2001 - 14:40:44 MDT