Monday, March 07, 2005
Newsflash: Terrorists Cause Terrorism
This will come as no surprise to anyone, I am sure, but the left and the Euro-pacifists still don't get it. The International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security which opened in Madrid today is all set to focus on the causes of terrorism this week, to coincide with the anniversary of the train bombings that scared the Spanish into electing a kinder, gentler government. The meeting is being organized by "the Club de Madrid - an independent body made up of more than 40 former heads of state and government from around the world." Here is what they propose to do:
The Club's secretary general, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, says one key aspect will be to "look very seriously at the roots of terrorism and locate the factors over which we might have some control".
"What, for example, might reinforce a sense of alienation, or a person's susceptibility to a belief system that justifies something which seems so horrible, such as the targeting of civilians and innocent people to make a political point?" he told openDemocracy.net.
The roots of terrorism are TERRORISTS, and I can tell them one thing that reinforces the idea that terrorism is a good idea: CAVING IN TO TERRORISTS. The article referenced above is so ripe for the picking of quotes that I almost don't know which way to turn. But let's try this:
"We have to face the fact that all of us are flying blind as far as this new form of terrorism is concerned," he [Middle East and international relations expert Fred Halliday] said. "There are a lot of questions to which we don't know the answers - such as how long this will go on."
Hey Fred, I can field that last one. It is going to go on until we kill all of them or they kill (or convert) all of us. It might end if we kill enough of them to convince the others that they won't win, but really, how do you convince someone that is ready to blow himself to bits for a heavenly reward that he will lose? If he wins he meets Allah and his virgins by taking a bunch of us with him. If he loses, and we kill him before he kills us, he still gets Allah and the ladies. Good luck Fred, let us know how this turns out for you.
Then there is an article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer which offers a few more great quotes, including this one which I am nominating for understatement of the year (emphasis mine):
Europe is looking for more stability while the United States is less fearful of change," even if that involves great risk, Fernandez said. "The value systems don't always coincide."
This one is a close second:
"The general tone of the conference will not be at all sympathetic to what the Bush administration has been up to," Powell said [Charles Powell, a history professor at San Pablo-CEU University in Madrid]
To be fair this article did include the only germ of reality that I have come across in reading about this conference:
...Europe is geographically close to Middle East hot spots, has historical ties and significant immigration from Muslim countries, and - unlike the United States - has relatively little military power.
So for the rest of the week the attendees of the conference will wring their hands and drown out the few voices of reason that might be brave enough to speak up. They will mouth the same tired platitudes favored by those of their ilk in the plenary sessions, and will blame Israel and the U.S. in private over the excellent Spanish red wine and tapas sure to be served. Madrid will have it's national day of mourning and no lessons will be learned.
Meanwhile, at the pointy end of the stick, troops from America and the other stalwart members of the coalition will continue to hunt down the vermin the boys and girls in Madrid want to welcome into "the club." For we, the members of the coalition, have learned our lesson. It took a lot to teach us, all the way from the attack on the Marine barracks in Lebanon to the first World Trade Center attack, the embassy bombings in Africa, the USS Cole and September 11th, plus many more horrors in between. But we have finally put into action the promise the Gipper made terrorists everywhere- You can run but you can't hide.
Unfortunately for the folks in Madrid- Osama bin Laden and his followers have made the same promise to us.3/07/2005 02:55:00 PM posted by Dr. Demarche
The Club's secretary general, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, says one key aspect will be to "look very seriously at the roots of terrorism and locate the factors over which we might have some control".
"What, for example, might reinforce a sense of alienation, or a person's susceptibility to a belief system that justifies something which seems so horrible, such as the targeting of civilians and innocent people to make a political point?" he told openDemocracy.net.
The roots of terrorism are TERRORISTS, and I can tell them one thing that reinforces the idea that terrorism is a good idea: CAVING IN TO TERRORISTS. The article referenced above is so ripe for the picking of quotes that I almost don't know which way to turn. But let's try this:
"We have to face the fact that all of us are flying blind as far as this new form of terrorism is concerned," he [Middle East and international relations expert Fred Halliday] said. "There are a lot of questions to which we don't know the answers - such as how long this will go on."
Hey Fred, I can field that last one. It is going to go on until we kill all of them or they kill (or convert) all of us. It might end if we kill enough of them to convince the others that they won't win, but really, how do you convince someone that is ready to blow himself to bits for a heavenly reward that he will lose? If he wins he meets Allah and his virgins by taking a bunch of us with him. If he loses, and we kill him before he kills us, he still gets Allah and the ladies. Good luck Fred, let us know how this turns out for you.
Then there is an article from the Seattle Post-Intelligencer which offers a few more great quotes, including this one which I am nominating for understatement of the year (emphasis mine):
Europe is looking for more stability while the United States is less fearful of change," even if that involves great risk, Fernandez said. "The value systems don't always coincide."
This one is a close second:
"The general tone of the conference will not be at all sympathetic to what the Bush administration has been up to," Powell said [Charles Powell, a history professor at San Pablo-CEU University in Madrid]
To be fair this article did include the only germ of reality that I have come across in reading about this conference:
...Europe is geographically close to Middle East hot spots, has historical ties and significant immigration from Muslim countries, and - unlike the United States - has relatively little military power.
So for the rest of the week the attendees of the conference will wring their hands and drown out the few voices of reason that might be brave enough to speak up. They will mouth the same tired platitudes favored by those of their ilk in the plenary sessions, and will blame Israel and the U.S. in private over the excellent Spanish red wine and tapas sure to be served. Madrid will have it's national day of mourning and no lessons will be learned.
Meanwhile, at the pointy end of the stick, troops from America and the other stalwart members of the coalition will continue to hunt down the vermin the boys and girls in Madrid want to welcome into "the club." For we, the members of the coalition, have learned our lesson. It took a lot to teach us, all the way from the attack on the Marine barracks in Lebanon to the first World Trade Center attack, the embassy bombings in Africa, the USS Cole and September 11th, plus many more horrors in between. But we have finally put into action the promise the Gipper made terrorists everywhere- You can run but you can't hide.
Unfortunately for the folks in Madrid- Osama bin Laden and his followers have made the same promise to us.
