Maybe. I'm not so sure.
For one thing, the Taliban are not OBL; they're a separate group of
Islamic extremists. Left only to themselves, I think the Taliban and
the Qaeda would quickly kill one another in violent internecine
conflict. It was conflation of the Taliban with the Qaeda that allowed
Americans to be lulled and lied into a pointless war on two fronts.
Further, I'm not sure at all that the US wants Osama so bad we'd be
willing to invade yet another nation -- this one nuclear-capable. The
pro-peace groundswell is mounting fast, and I think a lot of
politicians have lost sight of just how tired the US is of war, and I
think that a man or woman who stood up and said we'd rather have peace
and end it, and get Osama quietly, would do pretty damn well.
And -- here's the clincher -- even if it meant Osama would escape.
If we ignore the figurehead and instead gut out the reasons for the
Qaeda to exist, isn't that a hell of a fine turn-around? What good is
OBL if he's left doddering in his caves and rambling insanely to no
one, left without a stage on which to declaim any longer, bereft of
followers?
If that was the trade for ending the stupidity of al-Qaeda, I'd take
it.
Osama is one man. He is not the one who actually flew airplanes into
anything; he is not the one who planted bombs in Madrid or London. If
we remove the food, the organism dies; why seek the superfluous heart
when we can starve the irreplaceable belly?
Fifteen years ago I got into casual debates with very insightful
friends about the then-burgeoning threat of China. (It was a much
simpler time.) I proposed a solution: Give them the Internet. Let them
play in the freedom of cyberspace, let them become dependent on the
flow of information-rich sources such as Europe and the US. Not on the
governmental level; saturate the *people* with this free exchange of
Forbidden Ideas, and see how long China actually remains a threat to
the Rest of the World.
Huh.
And now we want to attack Iran, and we're babbling about Pakistan?
Hmm.
How much would it actually cost to wire everyone there to the net?
Unfortunately we haven't had a chance to see what the reaction would
be; no prominent politician seems to be willing to trust the US people
enough to actually give voice to what so many of us so obviously want.
They'd rather drape and drip in the blood of the flag; they'd rather
cant "left" in their speeches, when the "left" they're touting was the
"right" just three decades ago. Patriotism appears indeed to be the
last refuge of scoundrels.
Obama's off my list. I'm waiting for others, Dem, Repub and cetera, to
remove themselves similarly.
Here's my dream ticket. Gore and Kucinich.
Think about that for a while.
gore would be my choice for a dark horse, if he decides to run, but
that may only happens if hillary stunbles. i don't see kucinich as a
possible veep. gore may have found a different role as doomsayer.
the american people want to see osama held accountable, far more than
saddam, who was a straw man. he ordered 9/11 and for that there must
be closure.
going into iran would be a huge mistake and the congress will not allow
it. pakistan is a different story if the us were chasing al qaeda and
went no further. it could bolster musharraf and help stem radical
islam in pakistan. al qaeda is already global thanks to bush. we could
have a shot at wiping out al qaeda's holdouts on the
pakistan/afghanstan border. if we pull out of iraq it will be holy war
between shiite and sunni. when the dust settles i doubt there will be
many al qaeda remaining in iraq. i don't think the same thing will
happen in afghanistan, we'll have to see, but i doubt if we'll leave
afghanistan until the taliban and osama are destroyed.
one thing for sure, this war on terror is benefiting china...
jlm
Knowledge is Power
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