Defeating Terrorism
August 15, 2006
Is the Bush administration right? Are we defeating terrorism by promoting democracy in Iraq? Or is the thwarting of the U.K. terror plot a better example (i.e. strengthening intelligence-gathering capabilities and law enforcement cooperation with other countries).
As the Daily Show’s senior carryonologist John Oliver recently pointed out…the men arrested in England were British citizens, and that certainly doesn‘t bode well for the U.K.‘s future, because “Democracy is the only known antidote to extremism.â€
But according to George Will’s latest column…
“The London plot against civil aviation confirmed a theme of an illuminating new book, Lawrence Wright’s “The Looming Tower: Al-Qaeda and the Road to 9/11.” The theme is that better law enforcement, which probably could have prevented Sept. 11, is central to combating terrorism. F-16s are not useful tools against terrorism that issues from places such as Hamburg (where Mohamed Atta lived before dying in the North Tower of the World Trade Center) and High Wycombe, England.”
Posted in Iraq, Silke, War On Terror
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August 15th, 2006 at 2:08 pm
My overall response: I dunno.
> Is the Bush administration right?
I doubt it.
> Are we defeating terrorism by promoting democracy in Iraq?
I think we’re promoting chaos on which terrorism thrives in Iraq.
> Or is the thwarting of the U.K. terror plot a better example…
It might be. Certainly the net result is better.
>“Democracy is the only known antidote to extremism.â€
Well, not exactly. Safety, prosperity, freedom and hope for oneself and one’s children appear to be the antidote.
> F-16s are not useful tools against terrorism that issues from places such as Hamburg…
What the heck has gotten into GFW? He’s not supposed to — even in passing — say things that make sense.
August 15th, 2006 at 2:52 pm
Do you watch the Daily Show? The remark about democracy as an antidote to extremism is followed by this…
England must not be democratic enough if some of its citizens are terrorists. There’s only one solution: “America must topple the British government…don’t worry, because Tony Blair has already pledged full backing for the overthrow of himself.â€
It’s pure satire, but it does make an interesting point.
Incidentally, are you saying that “safety, prosperity and freedom†do not exist in England?
August 15th, 2006 at 10:15 pm
Is the Daily Show where everyone should be getting enlightening and informative content …??? It hardly makes me think. It does provide the realization that today people are far less interested in learning and more interested in feeding their own _isms_.
To be true to the entire effort, it is not just one thing that will defeat terrorists. And, the silver bullet (not the beer) media and that ilk are far from a real solution. None have truly researched, nor experienced, what it takes to defeat an enemy such as the likes we have today. And while George Will’s sound bite/written quip is cute and snags the reader, it falls short of carrying the real water to the fire. George Will knows better yet falls into the same old same old … Inside The Beltway Pundits fail us all.
The only place you are going to find the answer is to study history and apply, with metered adjustments for todays world, with conviction. To not learn from the past is to provide fertile soil for self destruction. Again, George Will has studied history, yet he is clouded by the tarnish found on all the media types revolving inside the beltway.
And, to those that say Democracy is not capable, compared to every other despotic country/system, which then is capable? And, no matter your answer, remember that tin horn dictators care less about the system as long as they are still in control and can still kill those that oppose them.
Sad. Truly sad …
August 16th, 2006 at 12:04 am
[...] After Greta from Hooah Wife left a comment here, I flew on over to her blog. It’s been a while since I graced her blog-step and felt, time to do some readin’! I found a little snippet there from Silke where she wraps The Daily Show and George Will’s latest column into a question, “Is the Bush administration right? Are we defeating terrorism by promoting democracy in Iraq?” Her information sources from which to draw a conclusion are continents apart in respect to their circles of knowledge and influence. And the overall thrust of her piece, what I came away with, is that the Bush Administration is looking through a hollow tube in respect to fighting terrorism and terrorists. George Will’s quip, as you’ll see, is the narrowing of that tube. [...]
August 16th, 2006 at 4:48 am
I don’t think there is a quick, easy fix for the problem of terrorism, but I do think that’s exactly what people are demanding of those in charge. this is illustrated by examining all the info out there in news, editorials, blogs, etc. You see all kinds of criticism by the bucketloads, but no constructive advice that makes any sense that hasn’t already been tried. after all, look at the list of things tried, we’ve courted despots with no positive results, gave poor wanna-be despots legitimacy (Arafat) with no positive results, I don’t think we have the patence to give the installing democracy option much of a chance, besides, we can’t afford to do that with all despotic regimes anyway.
safety, prosperity and freedom? many don’t want it, they want the people who value such things to die, and the people who do value such things are not willing to defend themselves, so, terrorism is going to be with us for a long time, I’m afraid.
August 16th, 2006 at 7:55 am
FIX 4 RSO,
Despite your concern for my sources I think the question is a legitimate one…
If promoting democracy (by force if necessary in the case of Iraq) is one of the answers to defeating terrorism why have two of the latest terrorist plots (one unfortunately carried out and the other thwarted) come from home-grown terrorists in a free country (i.e. England)? Hamas and Hezbollah have both gained political legitimacy (at least among their own people) through the democratic process and a Shi’a majority in Iraq now openly supports Hezbollah and is waging a low-level civil war against the Sunni minority.
Is this really a recipe for peace and stability or have we unintentionally made things worse?
August 16th, 2006 at 11:26 pm
Silke, if you don’t chop off the head, the snake still strikes.
Home-grown terrorists are the result of a Democratic society that does not stand up to what is evil. Despotism can only take hold when those in the majority succumb to the ravages of the wicked. In this case it is not the fair muslim with love in his heart for all that is in control of the system in either Lebanon or Palestine. For that matter, we’ve got despots on our borders – Mexico and Cuba. Fear and state instituted death squads are what make these systems falter and their evil is spread to safer countries through propaganda from within those systems.
Everyone points the finger at the US. Even those here inside the US take the first “finger pointing” upon themselves, trying to look, worldly.
We see it here in the US all the time. The more that you appease the more that the evil will build. Complacency is just the beginning. Think about those for just a moment …
The British have been bending over backwards for years. They want to be loved by the countries and peoples they ruled for so many years. The more time you spend looking for group hugs the more frequently you’ll get slaps in the face.
My point was, and still is, it is not just one thing that is the answer.
Mark put it quite well up above,
“safety, prosperity and freedom? many don’t want it, they want the people who value such things to die, and the people who do value such things are not willing to defend themselves…”
There’s nothing wrong with promoting Democracy. What should we be doing, promoting Socialism? Honestly, the point you’re making is that this is all just futile, no? Then, propose something that will work. And unless you are ready to do some hard work, and take the bad with the good that is sure to come your way, you are doing nothing to solve the problem.
Defeatists are almost more worse than terrorists …
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