Posted on 09/12/2001 8:46:00 PM PDT by JohnHuang2
TownHall.com: Conservative Columnists: Paul Craig Roberts
townhall.com
Paul Craig Roberts (back to story)
September 13, 2001
Can the United States win the terrorist war?
On a day filled with so much tragedy and sorrow as Sept. 11, it is too much to expect shocked political leaders to show comprehension of such dramatic events in their public statements. But if we are to avoid more and worse tragedies, we as a people, as well as our government officials, must understand our situation and how it came about. Otherwise, the main impact of the war against terrorism will be the diminution of our own civil liberties. Our government must get over its notion that terrorism is a crime to be dealt with legalistically through law enforcement. Terrorists are conducting war in the only way militarily weak movements can against a superpower.
We have been at war without acknowledging it. We routinely bomb Iraq and are allied with a besieged Israel. We support the Saudis and ensure the oil flows to the West. For these reasons and a number of others, we are at odds with various Muslim groups. The war has now been brought home to us.
We can change our foreign policies and make peace with these groups, or we can reply to acts of war with war, and not with law enforcement.
To conduct such a war would not be easy. We would have to search out and destroy terrorist camps and infrastructure in foreign countries, and assassinate leaders and collaborators.
Much of this warfare would have to be conducted in the United States and Canada. In January 2000, counter-terrorism expert Steven Emerson testified before the House Judiciary Committee that Canadian and American immigration policies -- or lack thereof -- had made both countries havens for such terrorist groups as the Palestinian Hamas and Islamic Jihad, the Lebanese Hizbullah, the Algerian Armed Islamic Group, the Egyptian Al Gamat and, of course, Bin Laden's illusive Al Qaida group.
Can the United States identify and crack down on compartmentalized terrorist cells organized within mainstream religious and civil-rights organizations? All of the terrorists are legally privileged "preferred minorities," according to U.S. Department of Justice definitions and long-established civil rights enforcement. How can federal agencies "racially profile" "preferred minorities," spy on them, and infiltrate their organizations and support groups without suspending the civil rights laws as currently enforced?
A foolish immigration policy and unconstitutional racial quotas have allowed terrorists to establish "Fifth Columns" throughout our own country.
The ability of the United States to conduct this war is hamstrung by other weaknesses. The morning after the tragedy, The Wall Street Journal asked, "How could the CIA and FBI have no advance indication of so large an event?"
It is easy to answer this question. Has the Journal forgotten Democratic Sen. Frank Church and the Church Committee that emasculated the CIA in the mid 1970s? The CIA had some (absurd) plans to assassinate Fidel Castro. The American political left was incensed and castrated the agency. The FBI, or course, is too busy infiltrating "white supremacists" groups to undertake the politically incorrect action of spying on preferred minorities. The political establishment gave the FBI fits for spying on Martin Luther King's communist affiliations. Obviously, the FBI shied away from taking on another minority group.
Noting the connection between racial hatred and terrorism, The Wall Street Journal thanked those Arab leaders who sent condolences but told them that they "need to understand that their societies carefully nurture and inculcate resentments and hatreds against America."
The Journal could say the same thing about our own universities and much of our own culture. It is commonplace -- indeed, obligatory -- in American universities to revile the white male of European descent as the evil hegemon of history, the oppressor of women and minorities.
We can pretend that the demonization of American whites is nothing but the silly rantings of academics. But the plain fact is that a guilt-ridden people are no match for fanatical opponents who believe in their cause.
The likely victims of our war against terrorism are the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.
©2001 Creators Syndicate, Inc.
townhall.com
If we were to do this, it would involve wiping out the West Bank, parts of Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, and the rest (if not all of)of the supporting countries. That would never happen, because China is stronger than ever and would never stand for that.
Heck! our allies wouldn't stand for it!
We, however, are in a state of decline; we are now weak enough to give China the confidence to assert itself; especially with the backing of their Russian friends and our missle technology!(thanks again, Scumbag!)
If we were at war with Mexico (just for illustrative purposes)or China, there is no way we would be able to find all of their spies, suicide bombers, disruptors, etc. Any attempt to do so would result in cries of "It's internment camps all over again!!!" "You can't do this!" "Racial Profiling!"
If You read John L. Perry's brilliant article "Without Ever Firing a Shot," (on Newsmax.com)you can get a good idea of what may very well happen next. What Perry forgets to include in his article is that our own people will ensure our own demise.
Yes.
I'm writing from Russia, and you would not believe the attitude here. We all watched the horror on CNN live satellite feed - NTV, ORT, RTL all switched to CNN often without translation. Most people here had tears in their eyes, old babushki when they hear my accent grab my hand and tell me Bog khranit Ameriku (God bless America). After the attack two nights ago Putin spoke to tell the American people that the Russian people understand our tragedy, that they are ready to provide all help possible - even military assistance. He closed with Amerika my s vami (America we are with you).
Outside the US embassy there is a MOUNTAIN of flowers, from simple Russians. A bouquet costs several days pay, so it is quite a gesture. Even Zhirinovskiy is calling for Musselman blood and to help the US.
At Noon today in Moscow, an hour ago, they declared a minuta molchaniya - Minute of Silence, and the president asked all Russians to stop and pray for America. A few minutes ago I drank a beer with a colonel of infantry - Russian - he told me an interesting story:
Two nights ago when the Mujahideen in Chechnya heard of the WTC attack they made a holiday. They fired weapons, launched RPGs, and danced about their hideouts with glee. Russian forward observers detected the activity and several airstrikes and counter-insurgency operations were launched. They colonel reports that they were unichtozhili pol'nost'yu - completed destroyed. He says that they are ready to do the same in Afghanistan - they still have roadmaps ;-)
Bog Khranit Ameriku i Rossiyu!!! God bless America and Russia.
My God I would love to get 5 minutes alone with you!
Absolutely yes as long as our media doesn't turn against us as it did in Veit Nam and as ABCs' Peter Jennings and ole' Steffie' show every sign of doing.
Yeah, right, and I'm sure you enjoyed watching those towers fall, huh?
By the way, the feds saw you trying to hide your head towel in your camel-skinned bag and they now want to talk with you.
This is a splendid point which will be remorselessly driven underground in the days ahead. But as we set out on our culture war against radical Islam, and it is a culture war, we had better be aware that the forces of global capitalism have also been waging a culture war right here at home--and will continue.
I was "treated" to the sight of a TV interview of a young muslim-American school-boy this morning. While complaining about how afraid he was of being attacked by goonish native Americans he grinningly pointed out that what happened in NYC was "no worse than what Americans did to the slaves 200 years ago." I'm sure he didn't make that up all by himself.
The little foxes are at work everywhere. This is one of the most horrifying paradoxes today--that "traditional" Americans will now fight Islam on behalf of Elites who despise them, and their traditional culture, just as much as they despise the mujahadeen. In fact, a few weeks ago, many of them would not have blushed at referring to elements of traditional Americana as "mujahadeen". Chickens are coming home to roost in all directions and I can't help asking what their eggs are going to hatch.....
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