Osama's War on American Wealth

Front Page Magazine ^

[ddtorque]

Although battlefield victories are crucial, history shows that global wars have been decided on a different kind of front: the war between economic powers. World War II soldiers clashed on the beaches of Normandy and Guadalcanal, but only when the German and Japanese war industries ran out of cash and raw materials did the wheels of the Whehrmacht and the Imperial Army finally grind to a halt. The Cold War could have gone on for decades if not for the depletion of the Kremlin's coffers.

The war on radical Islam is no different. Osama bin Laden plans strategies based on his victory over the Soviets in Afghanistan during the 1980s. The way to bring down a superpower, he has learned, is to weaken its economy through protracted guerilla warfare. We "bled Russia for ten years until it went bankrupt and was forced to withdraw in defeat," bin Laden boasted in his October 2004 videotape.

[Steel Wolf]

Interesting article.

Entirely wrong about Usama's plan being to drain our wealth through defense spending and war. That's as self defeating a tactic as trying to choke a vampire by letting him drink your blood.

Think about it. We didn't respond to Pearl Harbor by trying to get Japan to spend themselves to death.

As far as his points on the importance of oil, he's much closer to the mark. Oil is the indirect power that fuels our enemies. Without it, Arab militants would be no more a global threat than the Hutus or the Indonesians. Oil artificially magnifies the power and influence of these nations, and indirectly, the more fanatical people in them. The day the oil runs out will be the day the Arab world descends into Sub-Saharan obscurity.

[Chu Gary]

This article assumes that there will not be a jihad toward Osama as young ragheads tire of sacrificing their lives to this madman. The people of Iraq are already getting pretty tired of his act and my guess is a lot of other ragheads have also had enough of Osama and his killers.

[FreeKeys]

"Fifty years ago, Truman and Eisenhower surrendered the West's property rights in oil, although that oil rightfully belonged to those in the West whose science, technology, and capital made its discovery and use possible."*

See what happens?

*from http://www.capmag.com/article.asp?ID=2635

[pennyfarmer]

We need to let them (Saudis) know that if they choose to be wealthy Arabs then need to get their little children under control!!!!! Or we can just take over their little kingdom. F the little bastards. We are being nice right now...........oh let them bow towards Mecca pray to Satan and tell Muhammad what great Muslims they are. Roooooooot in hell you Satan Bastards.......... Let me know how it goes there in hell. Oh and let me know where the true religion is. If I'm a pedophile will I make it to the 7th ring of heaven? No Hopefully You uppity folks rate a pineapple up the ass.

[TexKat]

Video:

A Message From The Iraq Resistance

[Alberta's Child]

Fifty years ago, Truman and Eisenhower surrendered the West's property rights in oil, although that oil rightfully belonged to those in the West whose science, technology, and capital made its discovery and use possible.

That statement is utterly delusional. The West had no more "property rights" in Middle Eastern oil than Islam has "property rights" in every modern development in western science since the adoption of the Arabic system of numbers by the West.

[Vince Ferrer]

The day the oil runs out will be the day the Arab world descends into Sub-Saharan obscurity.

Better still to be building a free Arab middle class, a middle class that leaders will listen to. If given the choice between spending their oil money on some scheme to topple the US, or spend it on themselves to improve their own lives, a free people will spend it on themselves. Only a dictator has the power to spend oil money any way he wants.

[GeorgiaYankee]

No thanks, that site tries to push Spyware from GAIN on your PC.
I've had enough of that crap!

[Fishing-guy]

Of course this is an economic war. There is no way Al Quaeda can defeat US physically. Their only hope is to make it so expensive and costly that US gets out of Middle East or stops supporting Israel.

This is the same reason we are actively going after their sources of income.

[Capt. Tom]

Entirely wrong about Usama's plan being to drain our wealth through defense spending and war. That's as self defeating a tactic as trying to choke a vampire by letting him drink your blood.

Think about it. We didn't respond to Pearl Harbor by trying to get Japan to spend themselves to death.

There is a big difference between countries fighting between each other,as opposed to fighting a religious war.

Countries have recognized leaders who can surrender and end the war.

In this religious war we are in, the motivation of the terrorists is doing what God wants done even at the expense of their lives, and not what a country wants done.

Even if Osama surrendered, the Muslim terrorists answer to a higher authority and would continue to fight.

God trumps everything country, family and self. And these people obviously are believers in God (Allah). The point isn't who or what you believe about supernatural beings, it is what they believe, and they are wiling to act on it without regards to their own well being. - tom

[frannie]

Remember it was U.S.S.R. that was going to hang us and sell us the rope to do it with.

No one has listened to me, a high school graduate, 81 years of age, what do I know?

I have tried to tell people we didn't fund the fall of
U.S.S.R. but we are certainly some of the terrorist attacks because some of the monies we pay to these Arab nations wind up funding the terrorists.

Why should they reduce the price of oil? They have us over a barrel. We not only buy their oil but now we buy refined oil from them..China is beginning to build refineries. We haven't built a new refinery in about 30 years. IT WILL HURT THE ENVIORMENT! We can't drill off the coast, it will ruin the scenery or pollute the beaches. Clinton, by executive privilege declared our clean coal areas a National Monument, not a National Park.

A new president can't, by executive over turn this. From what I understand only Congress can do that. As you may know the only other place that there is this type of coal is in Indonesia and his friend [ I think his name is Reahdi, may not be spelled right]controls this.

Then too there is China who wants to be the only super power in the world and we are funding that. Just check the nation that we have the largest trade deficit with.

I think it is time to rethink our priorities.

I pray I am wrong.

Frannie

[Last Dakotan]

If its economic war you're worried about, consider the one we are losing with China.

[txhurl]

What a very nice and succinct appraisal.

[Steel Wolf]

Better still to be building a free Arab middle class, a middle class that leaders will listen to.

Also true. Dictatorship provides the condititions in which terrorism can flourish and grow. In a free society, terrorists will always be marginal figures and outlaws.

Militant Islam and tyranny have long run deep in Arab society. If we can reform the political structure, as we are attempting now in Iraq, then the aggressively violent factions of the religious side will be crippled.

It's a bold plan. It's the cultural equivalent of an amphibious landing at Inchon. If it works, 'Islam' will be cut off from its totalitarian, anti-modern roots, and reduced to a normal, passive religion.

[Steel Wolf]

There is a big difference between countries fighting between each other,as opposed to fighting a religious war.

The point being, you can't fight a religious war without religious fanatics. To an extent fanatics always exist in every society, but unless they are enabled and encouraged by a government, they're marginal figures.

The only government that is going to enable and encourage fanaticism is a dictatorship. Free peoples reject this kind of thing. That's why striking at the political structure of the Islamic world is the only way to weaken the grip of religious zealotry.

This war won't end with a peace treaty. It'll end with ballots.

[FreeKeys]

That statement is utterly delusional. The West had no more "property rights" in Middle Eastern oil than Islam has "property rights" in every modern development in western science since the adoption of the Arabic system of numbers by the West.

Oh, thanks for pointing that out. And in such a helpful, friendly manner, too. I suppose it is logical (or lusional?) and both morally and legally proper to equate a numbering system with an oil well, right?

[MarkL]

This is the same reason we are actively going after their sources of income.

Not actively enough... The people who are bankrolling terrorists are doing it from a comfortable, safe distance. If a few of them start turning up dead, I'd be willing to bet that the funds for terrorists would begin to dry up.

Mark

[wu_trax]

Well, it is his only possible strategy. He can't possibly believe that he can beat the most advanced army in the world militarily.

There are always two ways to win a war: a) you beat the enemy or b) you make the price for the enemy's victory too high, so that he has to give up.

Given his limited resources (limited compared to the US military) his only option is b)