A choice to make after Iraq brutality

Boston Herald ^ | 4/02/04 | Boston Herald editorial staff

[kattracks]

Americans face a choice. The revolting mutilation of four American civilian workers on the same day five marines were killed in Iraq will test each citizen's resolve to continue to wage the war on terrorism.

And it will provide the answer to this fundamental question: Did we learn the lesson of Sept. 11?

For compare the photos of those smiling young Iraqi men, gleeful even as they tore at the burned flesh of a human being, with Osama bin Laden's response to the attacks on the World Trade Center.

A haunting video discovered after the fall of the Taliban showed a smiling bin Laden holding up two fingers to signal that an attack on the second Trade Center tower was coming. Remember, too, the subsequent celebrations by some on the so-called Arab street.

There is little difference between images on the front page of the paper yesterday, and those.

But neither Osama bin Laden nor those in Fallujah nor even those who rejoiced after Sept. 11 are representative of the Arab world. There is much more good being done with and by the Iraqi people to rebuild that country than there are evil men trying to undo it.

President Bush [related, bio] will sound no retreat. ``We will not be intimidated,'' spokesman Scott McClellan said. ``Democracy is taking root and there's no turning back.''

Sen. John Kerry [related, bio] agreed. ``These horrific attacks remind us of the viciousness of the enemies of Iraq's future. United in sadness, we are also united in our resolve that these enemies will not prevail,'' Kerry said in a statement.

So these two leaders have made their choice, a markedly different one than was made in Lebanon, in Somalia some 11 years ago, and after the bombings of two U.S. embassies in Africa and of the USS Cole.

Then it was believed America had no stomach for this fight. Now is the chance to prove the terrorists - and some of our own leaders - wrong.

Bush has been criticized for not asking enough of Americans in this war effort, for proceeding on domestic issues like tax cuts on a parallel track with the conduct of a costly war.

We recognize the necessity of both. But now is his chance to ask something of every citizen.

The American people should be asked to make a choice in the face of the Fallujah brutality: To resolve to finish this fight or return to the false comfort of pre-Sept. 11 America. It's as simple as that.

[agitator]

Hard to believe this is coming from a Boston paper.

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[NetValue]

A military solution is appropriate. Close off the town. Encircle it with concertina wire. Nobody in or out except through control popints. Fingerprint all of them. Interrogate. Find the perps. Military court is appropriate. Punish those convicted.

[537cant be wrong]

their can be but one choice.
finnish the job. if we dont no one can.
we even fight for france, germany, and all our other
detractors even though they dont know or dont
care as long as they can hide behind our resolve.

[kattracks]

The Herald is a fairly conservative paper.

[dasboot]

Avian porcine alert! The bad guys overplay the hand.

[dasboot]

OOPS! That's right...not the Globe. Nevermind.

[Jim Noble]

But neither Osama bin Laden nor those in Fallujah nor even those who rejoiced after Sept. 11 are representative of the Arab world

And they know this because?

It is no longer sufficient to defend this proposition by assertion. Where is the evidence?

I know the people who defend this proposition are mostly concerned with defending President Bush and the choices he has made (and not made) since 9-11.

And I certainly agree that Kerry (or, more likely, Hillary) would be catastrophic and I plan to vote for President Bush.

However, the premise of our military effort is that stated above, that we must engage and destroy an unrepresentative minority and that there is, in Arabia and SW Asia, a "silent majority" of people "just like us" who can reform their societies when "liberated" from their oppressors.

This has always been a long shot, and if it is not true, then we are going to fail if we persist in the present deployment of forces.

I have consistently posted since 9-11 that what is needed is not liberation (because it is impossible), but rather heavy occupation and pacification, and that it will require an Army of 150 divisions and a maximum civilian war effort.

So I say again, what is the evidence that I am wrong, and that "neither Osama bin Laden nor those in Fallujah nor even those who rejoiced after Sept. 11 are representative of the Arab world" is true?

[MagnoliaB]

If this does not represent the Arab world and Islam then it's time that someone from the Arab/Islam world steps up to the plate and condemns it. So far I haven't heard any thing from any one in a high position condemn this behavior.

[Diogenesis]

SSDD

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ONLY A PARTIAL LIST OF TERRORIST ACTIVITIES

1968 Robert Kennedy assassinated
1972 Munich Olympics Sep-5,1972 (Black September)
1976 Entebbe Hostage Crisis, June 27, 1976
1979 Iran Hostage Crisis, Nov. 4, 1979 444 days
1979 Grand Mosque Seizure, Nov 20,1979
1981 Assassination of Egyptian President, Oct 6,1981
1982 Assassination of Lebanese Prime Minister, Sept 14, 1982
1983 Bombing of US Embassy in Beirut6, April 18,1983
1983 Bombing of Maring Barricks, Beruit, Oct 23,1983
1984 Hizballah Restaurant Bombing, April 12,1984
1985 Egyptian Airliner Hijacking, Nov 23,1985
1985 Rome Airport murders
1985 TWA Flight 847 hijacked, U.S. Navy diver murdered
1985 Achille Lauro hijacking, Homacidal maniac lived in saddams Iraq
1986 Aircraft Bombing in Greece, March 30, 1986
1988 Pan Am 747 Flight 103 Bombing, Lockerbie, 100's murdered
1988 Berlin Discoteque Bombing, Dec 21,1988
1992 Bombing in Israeli Embassy in Argentina, March 17,1992
1993 Attempted Assassination of Pres. Bush Sr., April 14,1993
1993 First World Trade Center bombing, February 26th, 7 Killed, Hundreds injured, Billions
1994 Air France Hijacking, Dec 24,1994
1995 Attack on US Diplomats in Pakistan, Mar 8,1995
1995 Saudi Military Installation Attack, Nov 13, 1995
1995 Kashmiri Hostage taking, July 4,1995
1996 Khobar Towers attack
1996 Sudanese Missionarys Kidnapping, Aug 17,1996
1996 Paris Subway Explosion, Dec 3,1996
1997 Israeli Shopping Mall Bombing, Sept 4, 1997
1997 Yemeni Kidnappings, Oct 30,1997
1998 Somali Hostage taking crisis, April 15,1998
1998 U.S. Embassy Bombing in Peru, Jan 15, 1998
1998 U.S. Kenya Embassy blown up, 100's murdered
1998 U.S. Tanzania Embassy blown up, 100's murdered
1999 Plot to blow up Space Needle (thwarted)
2000 USS Cole attacked, many U.S. Navy sailors murdered
2000-2003 Intifada against Israel - 100's dead and injured
2000 Manila Bombing, Dec 30,2000
2001 4 Commercial airliners hijacked, 250+ murdered
2001 World Trade Center attacked, 2800+ murdered
2001 Flight 93 murders
2001 Pentagon attacked, 180+ murdered
2002 Reporter Daniel Pearl, kidnapped and murdered
2002 Philippines American missionary, Filipino nurse killed
2002 July 4, El Al attack Los Angeles LAX, several murdered
2002 Bali bombing - 200 dead, 300 injured
2002 Yemen, French Oil Tanker attacked
2002 Marines attacked / murdered in Kuwait
2002 Washington D.C. sniper
2002 Russian Theater attacked, 100+ dead
2002 Nigerian riots against Miss World Pageant, 200 dead, dozens injured
2002 Mombasa Hotel Attacked, 12 dead, dozens injured
2002 Israeli Boeing 757 attacked by missiles, fortunately no one injured
2002 August Hotel bombing in Jakarta, Indonesia. 12 dead, dozens injured.
2003 Rusian concert bombing
2003 Phillipines airport and market bombing
2003 Foiled SAM plot in the USA
2003 UN Baghdad HQ Bombing
on and on and on and on it goes .........

[wingman1]

"Did we learn the lesson of Sept. 11?"

Another question would be, "Did we learn the lesson of Vietnam?"

Then, the media provided a few images that had an enormous psychological effect on Americans. The photo of General Loan killing the VC soldier in Saigon was one, followed by dead women and children in a ditch at My Lai, and the little girl, Kim Phuc, who was burned by napalm during an ARVN bombing mission.

These images, along with the media's propensity to report bad news in Vietnam instead of good (sound familiar?)led to our eventual abandonment of our South Vietnamese allies.

As much as I can't stand Kerry, I applaud him for the remarks that he is quoted as saying in the article.

The reality is that unless this country gets united behind our Commander-In-Chief, we run the same risk of allowing images and negativity to cause us to abandon Iraq and the war on terror. We DO NOT want to look back, some day, at events in Fallujah and see a turning point for the worse.

The enemy knows our history since Vietnam. But we are smart enough to know that we absolutely have to stay in Iraq, no matter what we face on the long, rocky road of this terrible war.

Another lesson our politicians and military learned in Vietnam: once troops are committed, we must fight to win.

[Imal]

Assertions like the one you are challenging are usually rooted in ethnocentric naivete that assumes everyone else in the world is like "us".

To some extent this is true, but to an overwhelming degree it is false.

America is not, contrary to the beliefs of the less-informed among us, the cultural and moral center of the world. We're a small, imperialistic, aristocratic minority with a great deal of money and power, and most people in the world wish we would just shut up and leave them alone.

In the Arab world, any challenge to Arab supremacy is a mortal insult that must be met with violent resistance. Arabs do not respect power alone, it must be backed by courage and unshakable resolve, even in the face of certain death.

To an Arab, it is far better to die with honor than to live in shame. This principle is enshrined in their culture, politics and religion, which are so interwoven as to be inextricable from one another.

In the Arab value system, the death of any invader is a cause for celebration, a blessing from Allah, and a reassertion of their righteousness and the truth of Islam.

Any non-Arab intruding in Arab affairs on Arab land is an invader. All invaders must die. Fail to understand this, and you fail to understand the Arab world.

For those who simply cannot fathom what I'm saying, transpose American patriotism and nationalism with Arab/Islamic patriotism and nationalism.

How do you think Americans would react if Iraq invaded our country to impose the enlightenment of Baathist socialism upon us?

Do you think Americans would line the streets to cheer on the Iraqi forces as they paraded through our towns? Would Americans flock in droves to register as Baathists and vote in a new Iraq-backed puppet government?

Yes, Americans and Arabs do have similarities. We are both fiercely loyal to our beliefs. Like Americans, Arabs are not inherently bloodthirsty. But insult Arab pride, Islam or desecrate Arab lands with occupation, and you will have jihad to contend with.

Thus, although there are similarities, there are also major differences between us. And to imply that Arabs and Americans share the same values is to take a position founded in arrogance and ignorance.

So I must join with Jim Noble and challenge those who make unsubstantiated claims that Arabs rejoicing at the deaths of invaders are not representative of the Arab world. Sure, they may not all ululate and dance in the streets, but all Arabs know that to submit to foreigners means to fail their people, their faith, and their god.

I have already explained where the fallacy of "cultural equivalence" comes from. I challenge the Boston Herald editorial staff and others who indulge in this fallacy to prove me wrong.

But more importantly, I challenge them and the like-minded to look outside themselves and accept the world for what it really is, instead of portraying every last human being as an American-in-waiting.