Enough Is Enough
quote:
Originally posted by Squish:
Firstly, I would like to apologise to anyone who feels it is inappropriate for me to post this on the Lexx board, but I need to say this. The attacks on the US have left me numb and shocked, I can’t put into words the sorrow and grief I feel for the people of this fine nation.
Squish, first off thanks. Your concern is entirely appropriate and greatly appreciated. Tragic events like this remind us what’s really important in life and how trivial some of our every day concerns are. Our earlier tiff seems embarassingly silly in light of what many people are going through now.
quote:
Originally posted by Flamegrape:
We don’t know who did this. Maybe it was radical Chinese communists? Maybe Serbians?
Flamegrape, I know you just used the Serbs as a hypothetical example, but I don’t believe there’s any possibility whatsoever that they were involved, even if there is lingering anger at Nato countries over the massive bombing they endured. They got rid of Milosevic, instituted a democratic government (by Balkan standards) and have made every effort to reintegrate into Europe and the West. I think the majority of people there support these efforts and want to put the past behind and live like other Europeans. Anyway, except under Milosevic, they’ve usually been friendly towards the US and Britain and were allies in both world wars.
quote:
Originally posted by Squish:
It is bound too happen that even the most placid human being would show anger and hatred in the aftermath of this day, but the press have shown many arabs celebrating this as some sick personal pleasure. After seeing that, I could understand a reaction from people who have cannot contain their anger, but we all need to look forward.
Squish, despite the ignorant ugly celebrations of people in the occupied territories (who themselves live under appallingly brutal and bleak conditions every day of their lives), I strongly doubt Arafat and the Palestinian leadership would do this for fear of loosing all US and Western support in ongoing or potential peace negotiations with Israel, however futile these appear to be at the moment. It could be a separate, more radical faction, but I doubt they would have the resources for something of this scale.
My guess, which is speculative at best, is that either Iraq and Saddam are responsible, or more likely, the apparently well financed and organized terrorist group under Osama Bin Ladin, the ex Saudi billionaire. Saddam would have the motivation of revenge for his defeat in the Gulf war and the fact that we’ve been bombing him for ten years now, but since he would be such an easy target for retaliation, I’m not sure he would be that stupid (although he was in the past). Bin Ladin’s motivation is less clear, but is probably related to US support of Israel and past US and British policy in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, and the other Gulf States, most of which were specifically created right after the fall of the Ottoman empire in 1918 to provide the West with cheap oil. The problem is that these states were set up as kingdoms with all the wealth going to a few corrupt Emirs at the expense of the vast majority of Arabs who lived in appalling poverty. There’s still a lot of resentment in many parts of the Arab world over these continuing policies, and when this resentment is combined with religious fundamentalism, it’s easy to find willing recruits ready to give their lives in the struggle against the perceived enemy (us). Bin Laden seems to have the resources to achieve a level of sophistication not seen in most terrorist groups – this was a very coordinated effort involving trained pilots and precise timing. He’s been an elusive target since he first bombed two US embassies in Africa several years ago, but is reported to be in Afghanistan which is itself lead by a fundamentalist Islamic government called the Taliban. In his speech tonight, President Bush said that we will hold those who harbor terrorists equally responsible, so I wouldn’t be surprised to either see the Taliban become more cooperative or some action to be taken against them in the near future, assuming of course that it is Bin Ladin behind this.