What Are We Doing Here Guys?
Al Qaeda is poised to strike the U.S. again on our homeland, according to government sources. This announcement comes on the heels of the failed Detroit-bound airliner bombing 1 1/2 weeks ago, and today's news that U.S. and British Embassies in Yemen -- a known terrorist breeding ground -- have been ordered closed as a result of credible intelligence that they are also terrorist targets.
The question that comes to mind is, why are we hearing that al Qaeda is only now poised to strike us on our homeland? Isn't this a little like saying the Phillies are only now poised to win the world series? The Phils tried and failed last year. They're going to try again this year. But both years they were ready and willing to do it, and the same can be said for al Qaeda...they have always been ready and willing to strike us here. The question is not are they ready and willing. The question is, are they able? And, sadly, I suspect the answer is yes.
We can continue to try to outmanuever them. We can spend billions of dollars fighting wars in other countries, overthrowing governments, trying to establish new governments, and attempting to fortify hard targets here at home while hoping our soft targets are protected by a vigilant public. But what is our end game? Do we have an exit strategy from the psychological and legal effect that terrorism exacts on a democracy?
Can we just kill them all?
Can we protect ourselves to such an extent that our underlying freedoms remain, and our security is ensured?
How long will this go on before we realize that there is a reason that other countries view us as evil? That perhaps instead of imposing our will on other nations, we just have to learn to get along?
If we're going to act like the biggest bully on the block, we've got to expect potshots from our weaker neighbors. Until we learn to act like a citizen of the world, not just an island unto ourselves, we're going to face repurcussions.
Until then, international relations are going to remain difficult....and little things like flying and going to large events will be potentially dangerous.
This is not the way it's supposed to be.
And no, we can't kill 'em all. But they sure can keep trying to kill us.
The question that comes to mind is, why are we hearing that al Qaeda is only now poised to strike us on our homeland? Isn't this a little like saying the Phillies are only now poised to win the world series? The Phils tried and failed last year. They're going to try again this year. But both years they were ready and willing to do it, and the same can be said for al Qaeda...they have always been ready and willing to strike us here. The question is not are they ready and willing. The question is, are they able? And, sadly, I suspect the answer is yes.
We can continue to try to outmanuever them. We can spend billions of dollars fighting wars in other countries, overthrowing governments, trying to establish new governments, and attempting to fortify hard targets here at home while hoping our soft targets are protected by a vigilant public. But what is our end game? Do we have an exit strategy from the psychological and legal effect that terrorism exacts on a democracy?
Can we just kill them all?
Can we protect ourselves to such an extent that our underlying freedoms remain, and our security is ensured?
How long will this go on before we realize that there is a reason that other countries view us as evil? That perhaps instead of imposing our will on other nations, we just have to learn to get along?
If we're going to act like the biggest bully on the block, we've got to expect potshots from our weaker neighbors. Until we learn to act like a citizen of the world, not just an island unto ourselves, we're going to face repurcussions.
Until then, international relations are going to remain difficult....and little things like flying and going to large events will be potentially dangerous.
This is not the way it's supposed to be.
And no, we can't kill 'em all. But they sure can keep trying to kill us.
posted by chrismanganello at 1:38 PM
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