|
Home / Politics / Commentary
Wanted: And It Had Better Be Alive!
By:J Square Humboldt
Pakistan did the USA a favor recently ...
All they got for it was a surprise rocket attack on their own soil.
The situation is well-explained by London's Sunday Telegraph in its 29 Jan 06 edition:
Pakistan 'delay let bin Laden escape US raid'
By Massoud Ansari in Karachi (Filed: 29/01/2006)
"Prevarication by the Pakistani government cost America the chance to kill Osama bin Laden in an airstrike near the Afghan border two years ago, the Sunday Telegraph has been told.
"A CIA lead that the al-Qaeda leader was hiding in a remote province was squandered because the Pakistani government delayed giving permission for the attack on its soil, according to a senior Western diplomat ...
"By the time US officials got the go-ahead, bin Laden had left the suspected hideout in Zhob, in the Baluchistan province of south-west Pakistan.
"The near-miss was cited by the diplomat as the reason why America chose not to consult Islamabad before the US missile strike in Pakistan's Bajaur region two weeks ago. The January 13 attack, prompted by a tip that bin Laden's deputy, Ayman al-Zawahiri, was hiding in a local village, killed 13 civilians.
"According to his account, which was backed by sources within Pakistani intelligence, the CIA picked up electronic traffic suggesting that bin Laden and his bodyguards had sought temporary shelter in Zhob, which is dominated by Pathan and Baloch tribesmen sympathetic to al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
"Fearing that a commando raid would cause massive casualties to both sides, with no guarantee of success, the US decided to launch a strike by laser-guided missiles, fired from Predator drones.
"If he was in Zhob at the time it would have been the first known occasion that he had been firmly in America's sights since his escape from Tora Bora in Afghanistan, where he slipped through a cordon of US troops in 2001 ..."
Coincidentally, another article appeared in that same edition of the Sunday Telegraph which underscored the effect bin Laden's words can have:
Author shoots from obscurity to infamy after plug from bin Laden
By Philip Sherwell (Filed: 29/01/2006)
"To William Blum's surprise and apparent disappointment, he found that his name had not been added to the US 'no-fly' list when he travelled from his home in Washington DC to Ohio last week to deliver one of his frequent anti-American lectures on a campus.
"Mr Blum is revelling in what he calls his '15 minutes of fame.' To many of his compatriots, that should read 15 minutes of infamy after Osama bin Laden declared that he was a fan of the previously obscure Left-wing author and virulent America-basher.
"The 72-year-old writer admits he was delighted by the plug for his book, Rogue State: A Guide to the World's Only Superpower, in the Saudi terror mastermind's latest taped audio message. After bin Laden's recommendation, the book soared from 205,763rd to 26th place on Amazon.com's list of most-ordered books. 'I thought I might have ended up on the no-fly list after that. Anything is possible in this country today,' Mr Blum told the Sunday Telegraph, perhaps over-estimating his importance in the eyes of the US authorities. But he is strikingly honest about his new-found notoriety.
"'I am not at all sorry to have been mentioned by bin Laden,' he said. 'In fact, I'm pleased. I'm part of a movement whose goal it is to slow down if not stop the American empire from what it's doing around the world ...'
"In his taped message, bin Laden recommended that President George W Bush read Mr Blum's Rogue State, a sharp critique of US foreign policy.
"The al-Qaeda mastermind then quoted an extract in which the author wrote that, if he was president, he could stop terror attacks against the US permanently by apologising 'very publicly and very sincerely, to all the widows and orphans, the impoverished and the tortured, and all the many millions of other victims of American imperialism.'"
Mr Blum's agenda notwithstanding, the best thing that happened to America's war on bin Laden is that they didn't kill him. Anyone cognizant who has ever been even remotely exposed to the culture of bin Laden's target audience knows that his words would have a tenfold impact if he became 'martyred.'
If he can raise a fringe author's book almost 200,000 places in Amazon's world with a simple utterance, think of what would happen if his words became 'finite' by his demise. The term 'exalted' comes to mind. Their inspirational impact would be hugely amplified by the fact that he, too, died for his cause, just like he's urged his followers to do.
In their unilateral and so-called 'war on terror,' the USA has spent billions of dollars on revenge and the toppling of a dictatorial blowhard. The opposition has only spent thousands but seemingly has not lost much ground (Afghanistan and Iraq are still in relative states of anarchy, after all); they are fueled by the charisma of a man who, as I've said before, is nothing more than a common criminal who has wrapped himself in an extreme fundamentalist cause and then been elevated to celebrity status by his mighty adversary.
I don't think the USA can afford to kill him. They need to capture him alive. He never was the terrorist mastermind of al-Qaeda, he was only the banker and the face to their cause. Having him at large until he's captured is not going to significantly alter any of their activities. Only if bin Laden's empty agenda is exposed by being formally brought to justice will there be any chance of effectively revealing his true colors as a charlatan. There needs to be the ultimate occasion where he can be reviled by the true keepers of Muslim faith for perverting their religion. Only in a court of law can this happen, and if it comes to pass, it will happen.
So, thank you, Pakistan, regardless of your operatives' motives.
Digg
del.icio.us
Blink
Stumble
Spurl
Reddit
Netscape
Furl
Article keywords: Osama bin Laden, al-Qaida, al-Qaeda, war on terrorism, terrorism, anti-terrorism, Cyberiter
Article Source: http://www.articles2k.com
J Square Humboldt is the featured columnist at Longer Life's website, which provides information designed to improve the quality of living. He's at longerlifegroup.com/cyberiter.html
|
|
| Top Commentary Articles |
- 1). Is Communism Dead Yet? By : David Snape
There are a handful of countries that are still considered communist regimes. Yet communism doesn't really exist. These countries are more like dictatorships with authoritarian type leaders who operate under the very thin veil of non-existent communism.
These groups or individual leaders that have near absolute power cause great harm to their country's populace on a continual basis.
|
- 2). Containing the United States By : Sam Vaknin
European intellectuals yearned for the mutually exclusive: an America contained and a regime-changed Iraq. The Chinese are more pragmatic - though, bound by what is left of their Marxism, they still ascribe American behavior to the irreconcilable contradictions inherent in capitalism.
The United States is impelled by its economy and values to world dominion, claimed in March 2003 an analysis titled "American Empire Steps Up Fourth Expansion" in the communist party's mouthpiece People's Daily.
|
- 3). A democracy? What have we wrought? By : Scott W. Clark
One of the great fallacies abroad is thinking that any regime today can lay claim to being democratic. None are. Though we say they are democratic and that they are democracies, they are actually republican government—representative democracies. This means that certain people are elected to serve the interests of the people at large. These representatives make the decisions for the people rather than the people making them.
|
- 4). The Madman and the Iraqi War By : Sam Vaknin
It is the war of the sated against the famished, the obese against the emaciated, the affluent against the impoverished, the democracies against tyranny, perhaps Christianity against Islam and definitely the West against the Orient. It is the ultimate metaphor, replete with "mass destruction", "collateral damage", and the "will of the international community".
|
- 5). The New Politics By : Sam Vaknin
Politics, in all its forms, is bankrupt. The notion that we can safely and successfully hand over the management of our daily lives and the setting of priorities to a political class or elite is thoroughly discredited. Politicians cannot be trusted, regardless of the system in which they operate. No set of constraints, checks, and balances, is proved to work and mitigate their unconscionable acts and the pernicious effects these have on our welfare and longevity.
|
- 6). Thanks Mankind! By : Tyler
I got to thinking today and i have to say, we rock! Humans I mean. For some reason, as I sat there, eating my McDonalds, I started thinking about technology. Man was I impressed! We have so much, and we dont think about it enough. I suppose it really doesnt make much of a difference to think about it anyways, but life would just be so much harder if it wasnt 2005.
|
- 7). " The Failure is Sundered Within" By : Forest Browne
The failure is sundered within each of us, it festers as blame to others, a manifestation of the shame that belongs not to ourselves but of the participants of a deadlier game. Yet innately the affectation begins with our own visceral manumission of guilt, and sadly, empirically lies buried in our own personal failings.
We ponder all that which seems inherently wrong.
|
- 8). Genes and the Mind By : Richard Helfant, MD
People with a strong will to live understand that when they take life-enhancing measures, their health and longevity will be favorable affected, regardless of their genes. They take responsibility for their lives instead of being victims of events. Each and every one of us has the resources within to affect our health and longevity.
|
- 9). When you're down to nothing By : Saleem Rana
The story of the Ugly Duckling has profound spiritual meanings. When we don't fit in, and when we're down on our luck, a greater game may be afoot.
|
|
|
| New Commentary Articles |
- 1). Impeach Bush now By : Jason Vines
Even a month ago, I was content to let the electoral system punish President George W. Bush for his incompetence in prosecuting the war in Iraq. Let him deal with more Democrats than he bargained for after the 2006 midterm elections, I thought. That would sufficiently punish him for his failures; anything more would set a dangerous precedent discouraging future presidents from launching big endeavors that might not work.
|
- 2). Why Are Politicians Corrupt? By : Sam Vaknin
Most politicians bend the laws of the land and steal money or solicit bribes because they need the funds to support networks of patronage. Others do it in order to reward their nearest and dearest or to maintain a lavish lifestyle when their political lives are over.
But these mundane reasons fail to explain why some officeholders go on a rampage and binge on endless quantities of lucre.
|
- 3). Heal Our Republic: Change Our Electoral System By : Jason Vines
Consider the presidential election system we have today: Every state has a number of electors, equal to their amount of representatives and senators, who vote for the President of the United States. In most states, every elector goes to the candidate who achieves the most popular votes, regardless of his margin of victory. This means:
1. Presidential candidates have little reason to campaign to the whole country.
|
- 4). Gun Control Will Solve Nothing By : Jason Vines
Statistics from the National Federation of State High School Associations reveal that, in 1999, 15 students perished while playing in high school football games. This fact received little to no coverage in the national media. Angry parents did not parade into Washington, D.C., in order to demand stricter regulation of high school football. Politicos feigning intense anguish did not bemoan football’s domination of most learning institutions’ sports programs.
|
- 5). America the Narcissist By : Sam Vaknin
The majority of worldwide respondents to the last two global Pew enter surveys (in 2002 and 2006) regarded the United States as the greatest menace to world peace - far greater than the likes of Iraq or China. Thinkers and scholars as diverse as Christopher Lasch in "The Cultural Narcissist" and Theodore Millon in "Personality Disorders of Everyday Life" have singled out the United States as the quintessential narcissistic society.
|
- 6). " The Failure is Sundered Within" By : Forest Browne
The failure is sundered within each of us, it festers as blame to others, a manifestation of the shame that belongs not to ourselves but of the participants of a deadlier game. Yet innately the affectation begins with our own visceral manumission of guilt, and sadly, empirically lies buried in our own personal failings.
We ponder all that which seems inherently wrong.
|
- 7). Prohibition's Other Ending Remembered On April 7 By : John Terry
While Prohibition's repeal came on December 5, 1933, American brewers celebrate the end of that era with "Brew Year's Eve" on April 7. It seems the country's brewers were back in business on this earlier date, when Americans enjoyed beer as their first legal drink in 12 years.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt's support for repeal helped him win the 1932 presidential election.
|
- 8). On the Nature of Evil By : Peter Cross
In psychological terms, evil is an aberration of the ego. An evil ego has a strong desire to dominate other egos. An evil person knows that terror is the most effective way to dominate other people because terror induces incapacitating fear. People who are stricken with fear cannot take effective action to defend themselves and while they are in that state, an evil person can do anything they want to do to them.
|
- 9). “Blood Extravasation: Israel’s Journey to the Precipice of Nowhere” By : Forest Browne
Western civilization’s lone bastion in the Middle East has lost sight of its holistic long-term visage, and is behaving like a fracturalized cornered animal, lashing at all within its grasp. Israel fails to remember Chaim Weizmann’s precursor to entering Palestine, an inclusive benefice for both Palestinian and Israelite, while Hezbolla solidifies its political gains by building hospitals, schools, and sadly, but historically predictable, terrorism.
|
- 10). Islamic Militancy – Seed for the Next Dark Ages By : Rev. Michael Bresciani
We teach our collegians well about the period known as the dark ages but do we thoroughly explain what brought on this horrible period across the globe? With little fanfare the answer to that question is an unequivocal no.
Let’s do the math here. The marriage of civil and ecclesiastical power is without dispute the singular cause of the horrors of the dark ages.
|
|
|
