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Just had an interesting conversation with some online friends about the politics of the whole mess. Started with a mention of an anti-war celebrity at one of the benefit concerts; I made some disparaging remark about such, and a friend of mine, who had previously declared himself a liberal, stated that he disagreed. I asked him what he thought should be done about the situation--and I'm very proud of myself that I managed to refrain from doing so by means of an offensive straw man--and he answered, and we all got to talking about it.
It's interesting...I don't disagree with much of what he (or a couple of the other friends who shared his viewpoint) said. The point of contention was in the attacks--I don't think I'm far misrepresenting them when I say they're concerned that we'll be creating the next generation of anti-American terrorists unless we follow through by rebuilding their country, like we did for Japan and Germany with World War II--but that we can't very well rebuild their country when everyone else in the Middle-East hates our guts. Also, they were concerned about following through with massive aid and food shipments--as the sort we're dropping now are apparently a pittance compared to what's needed.
They also feel we need to address the basic conditions that lead to people like Bin Ladeen being able to recruit volunteers in the first place--the economic situation--by providing aid in such a way that it could not be stolen or co-opted by the governments. Even they would admit, I think, that this is a bit easier said than done.
Perhaps I'm just a starry-eyed optimist, but I'm still hopeful that some good will come out of this whole mess once we have the Taliban gone, Bin Ladeen taken care of, and things straightened out.
Bedtime.
It's interesting...I don't disagree with much of what he (or a couple of the other friends who shared his viewpoint) said. The point of contention was in the attacks--I don't think I'm far misrepresenting them when I say they're concerned that we'll be creating the next generation of anti-American terrorists unless we follow through by rebuilding their country, like we did for Japan and Germany with World War II--but that we can't very well rebuild their country when everyone else in the Middle-East hates our guts. Also, they were concerned about following through with massive aid and food shipments--as the sort we're dropping now are apparently a pittance compared to what's needed.
They also feel we need to address the basic conditions that lead to people like Bin Ladeen being able to recruit volunteers in the first place--the economic situation--by providing aid in such a way that it could not be stolen or co-opted by the governments. Even they would admit, I think, that this is a bit easier said than done.
Perhaps I'm just a starry-eyed optimist, but I'm still hopeful that some good will come out of this whole mess once we have the Taliban gone, Bin Ladeen taken care of, and things straightened out.
Bedtime.
