No argument on that part - but, is the Taliban an extension of bin
Laden? Are they "his" government or 'his' soldiers? America chose to
attack an entire country for the sake of finding one man. As an 'old
marine' - remember you punish the whole platoon for the sake of one
un-named culprit in hope that the platoon will in their anger of being
unjustly punished for this one man, turn on him? Or in this case give
him up to the attacking forces? Meanwhile - what is happening to the
whole country? This is the thrust of my argument - we are attacking an
entire country, who is not wrong or doing anything except trying to stay
alive. After the loss of the plane over Locherbie, Scotland. We told
Gandalfi that we wanted the men from his country that it was determined,
rightly or wrongly as the perpetrators. We didn't go to war with Libya,
but we did bomb Gandalfi's residence and injure him. Then we pulled back
and threatened. Some years later the men were taken in hand by someone
and hopefully received a fair trial.
What happened in New York and elsewhere is terrible beyond anything that
has happened to date. The introduction of anthrax is a crime against
humanity. But America is attacking a whole country for the sake of what
they THINK may be the person behind these acts! There seems to be a
difference in scale here. A whole country for one culprit? Is he the
culprit? Do we have the proof of that? The American Government has
given no proof of that - only that somehow or another the American
Government has decided that he is. There is no quick remedy against
terrorism. What has been happening in Britain and Ireland over these
many years shows us that. Also the continuing terrorism in
Israel/Palestine and those two have been fighting each other far
longer. Still, violence continues. There are people who feel that they
are right and are willing to give up their lives for a right that none
of the rest of us understand.
Now America is drawn into such a combative position. The reasons have
been stated that America takes the part of Israel and therefore is an
enemy of the Palestinians and by extension, Muslims everywhere. It has
also been noted, particularly with the Taliban arrest of two young women
for teaching Christianity to Muslims in Afghanistan. Is Christianity a
'all for one and one for all' - superior religion? There are places and
people in this world who do not think so. Americans must then introduce
their form of religion to people who are not Christian? You can show
your personal Christianity by the way you live and act towards all
people without actively teaching "The Good News In Christ".
So are these the real reasons or are there others which are rather
difficult to state coherently? Might it be that because America is
considered the "Big Boy on the Block" that there are people who would
like to see us taken down a peg or two? Remember the old story that
there were men in the old western US that attacked the man with the
fastest gun in order to prove themselves, or maybe even become the new
fastest gun with the death of the other man? So America is fighting an
unknown/unseen foe. We can't him, but he sees us. We swat at an
immediate problem here while prosecuting a war elsewhere. Now that we
are in the war there is no easy way to withdrw except to follow it to a
conclusion. What a stupid way to live! Sally