Re: [Iraq] The real reason for the war

From: John K Clark (jonkc@att.net)
Date: Fri Jun 06 2003 - 08:33:47 MDT

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     "Ramez Naam" <mez@apexnano.com>

     

    > Aum Sriyinko executed attacks intended to be on the same scale as 9/11
    > or even larger. They had no state support. They operated inside of
    > Japan.

     

    I don't know what you mean, before the nerve gas attack in the subway

    Aum Sriyinko has secure bases, Japan did nothing to stop them. That

    was no longer true after the attack and as a result the organization no

    longer exists. Not supporting terrorists is insufficient, you must actively

    oppose them or one way or another you'll be sorry, just ask Saddam.

      
    > Their anger comes from their poverty (relative to us)

     

    Yes, and they're poor relative to Japan or Korea too, and they started from

    zero just 50 years ago and have no natural resources. With all that oil the

    Arabs should be the richest people on Earth, but they blew it big time.

     

    > their despair (lack of future opportunities)

     

    Yes.

     

    >the oppression of their governments

     

    Yes.

    > (supported or installed by the US)

     

    Some were, but the opponents were not exactly Jefferson style libertarians,

    they were in fact even more brutal and brainless than the thugs

    they wound up with.

     

    >their indoctrination into fundamentalist religion.

     

    Yes.

     

    >their feeling of having been humiliated by the west

     

    Yes, and the reason they feel humiliated is that they made an ass of themselves;

    their culture has not produced a good original idea in 500 years.
      
    >A real plan on terrorism would target these root causes by spreading
    >affluence, freedom, and opportunity. [.] it all comes back to

    >spreading democracy and affluence. IMHO, that should be the

    >US's #1 priority in foreign policy

     

    Certainly, I want freedom and affluence for everybody, but you can't

    accomplish that by lying and telling Islam what it wants to hear,

    that all the idiotic decisions they've made over the last 500 years

    were really good ideas. They were not.

     

       John K Clark jonkc@att.net

     

     

     



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