<An offlist friend responding to my forward + comments> wrote:
> Very imperfect. Sorry to say I'm unimpressed.
Yeah, well.
> >> 3) Think a generation ahead. Offer muslim women free immigration to the
> >> US, along with young kids, but no males older than maybe 10. And of
See, I think some variation of this is a good idea; treat the Taliban
like the Berlin Wall. But it's bound to heat the war up A Lot.
> >Maybe not de jure, but de facto might work. Something like 'if you're
> >not eligible for military service for reason of age or gender' or 'if
> >you're denied education, property, or voting rights in your home
> >country' Of course, it would be leaky like all systems are, and we'd
> >inevitably get infiltrated by thousands of moles.
This is indeed a problem, especially if their families were left behind
(as they would be).
> >Perhaps if we staked out a limited territory we were capable of
> >defending within the theater of operations and designated it a refugee
> >zone open to anybody who managed to escape from Towelban-controlled
> >areas. Feed them, pump money into education and economic development,
> >and do everything possible to inspire a culture of democracy,
> >individual liberty, and secularism in that area.
I think this is conceivable, though I have no idea how to do it without
"pacifying" a region with (essentially) permanent military occupation.
This "war" will never be over; it will be much worse than digging out the
occasional Japanese Army vet in 1970. But we can get a few more nines
into the odds of having a peaceful day, over time (0.999-->0.99999, etc.).
> >
> >Any spooks lurking on the list? I hope to god there are! Maybe not
> >necesserily listening to my half-baked ideas,
See? He admits it.
>> but at least thinking
> >along the lines of meme-war and economic/cultural subversion rather
> >than the bone-headed Vietnam tactics that appear to be holding sway in
> >public pronouncements.
There is hope for the Extro list, rough-hew it how they will.
M
PS: BTW, I think "The Towelban" is a stupid term, in poor taste.
Rock on, Alex. :)
-- Job One: MAKE YOURSELF USEFUL. If you're not part of the solution, what are you doing scumming up the bottom of our beaker? --MMB "Let's roll." --Last words heard over Todd Beamer's cell phone before the counterassault aboard UA93, 02001.09.11.~10:10EDT
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