Posted on 09/12/2001 12:31:51 AM PDT by ouroboros
Wednesday, September 12, 2001
By Harry Browne
© 2001 WorldNetDaily.com
The terrorist attacks against America comprise a horrible tragedy. But they shouldn't be a surprise.
It is well known that in war, the first casualty is truth – that during any war truth is forsaken for propaganda. But sanity was a prior casualty: it was the loss of sanity that led to war in the first place.
Our foreign policy has been insane for decades. It was only a matter of time until Americans would have to suffer personally for it. It is a terrible tragedy of life that the innocent so often have to suffer for the sins of the guilty.
When will we learn that we can't allow our politicians to bully the world without someone bullying back eventually?
President Bush has authorized continued bombing of innocent people in Iraq. President Clinton bombed innocent people in the Sudan, Afghanistan, Iraq, and Serbia. President Bush, senior, invaded Iraq and Panama. President Reagan bombed innocent people in Libya and invaded Grenada. And on and on it goes.
Did we think the people who lost their families and friends and property in all that destruction would love America for what happened?
When will we learn that violence always begets violence?
Teaching lessons
Supposedly, Reagan bombed Libya to teach Muammar al-Qaddafi a lesson about terrorism. But shortly thereafter a TWA plane was destroyed over Scotland, and our government is convinced it was Libyans who did it.
When will we learn that "teaching someone a lesson" never teaches anything but resentment – that it only inspires the recipient to greater acts of defiance.
How many times on Tuesday did we hear someone describe the terrorist attacks as "cowardly acts"? But as misguided and despicable as they were, they were anything but cowardly. The people who committed them knowingly gave their lives for whatever stupid beliefs they held.
But what about the American presidents who order bombings of innocent people – while the presidents remain completely insulated from any danger? What would you call their acts?
When will we learn that forsaking truth and reason in the heat of battle almost always assures that we will lose the battle?
Losing our last freedoms
And now, as sure as night follows day, we will be told we must give up more of our freedoms to avenge what never should have happened in the first place.
When will we learn that it makes no sense to give up our freedoms in the name of freedom?
What to do?
What should be done?
First of all, stop the hysteria. Stand back and ask how this could have happened. Ask how a prosperous country isolated by two oceans could have so embroiled itself in other people's business that someone would want to do us harm. Even sitting in the middle of Europe, Switzerland isn't beset by terrorist attacks, because the Swiss mind their own business.
Second, resolve that we won't let our leaders use this occasion to commit their own terrorist acts upon more innocent people, foreign and domestic, that will inspire more terrorist attacks in the future.
Third, find a way, with enforceable constitutional limits, to prevent our leaders from ever again provoking this kind of anger against America.
Patriotism?
There are those who will say this article is unpatriotic and un-American – that this is not a time to question our country or our leaders.
When will we learn that without freedom and sanity, there is no reason to be patriotic?
Harry Browne was the 2000 Libertarian presidential candidate. More of his articles can be read at HarryBrowne.org, and his books are available at HBBooks.com.
Yes, you quisling traitor. That would be me.
Now get the hell out of my country.
Not to mention craven, opportunistic, and pathetic.
First of all, Harry Brown would have allowed the passengers and pilots to have been able to defend themselves, thus foiling any hijacking attempt, much like the way things were prior to the 1970's, when no americans ever lost a life in the one or 2 very rare ariline hijackings from 1914-1970's.
Furthermore, a libertarian government would not have bombed at least one country each and every year somewhere in the world, year after year, making many enemies bent on revenge.
Lastly, Harry Brown long ago called for assassination of people like bin laden, who are guilty of terrorist activities that kill americans, so this entire incident of yesterdays bombings would be hypothetical anyway, as bin laden would be long dead by now, and the World Trade Center buildings would still be there.
More Liberteen claptrap. (You folks really need to stop makin' stuff up...)
...truth is forsaken for propaganda.
And Harry is the Grand Master at it...
There is no question that Roosevelt absolutely knew that the Japanese had no choice but to retaliate and get those american ships out of the way of their oil war supplies.
Yes, my country. My country and the country of the other 279 point 99 million people who think that Harry Browne needs to take Alec Baldwin's seat on that Air France flight outtahere.
And give him a bone to smoke as he's run out of town.
And give him a bone to smoke as he's run out of town.
Do you think that there is some obligation in war to hold a press conference? Where has the attitude in this country come from that you have to be an honorable person in war? We need to kill the bastards, kill their families, kill their friends, kill there government leaders, distroy the infrastructure that is used to support them, tear down the grave markers of their dead and distroy the records and history of what they have done. Only when the very notion that these people even existed is wiped out will we have won. If we don't do that, the events of yesterday will be replayed over and over again as far into the future as you can imagein.
For years, the United States has been an aggressor nation, especially in the Middle East where U.S-made arms supplied by U.S. taxpayers have been used by Israel to subjugate the Palestinian people. During the past 11 years, the U.S.-led embargo of Iraq has led to the deaths of 500,000 Iraqi children, largely caused by malnutrition and poor medical care.
The United States is widely viewed in the Arab community as an armed bully whose pro-Israeli policies have resulted in the deaths of thousands of innocent Arab civlians. Is it any wonder we are the target of terrorism?
Yesterday's violence was an act of revenge. We brought it on ourselves. It's high time we stopped meddling in the foreign affairs of other countries. And for goodness sake, let's stop acting like a "superpower" thug. As we discovered yesterday, there are people who will bully us back.
When we exact retribution against the terrorists behind yesterday's attack -- as we surely will -- let's make sure we find and strike the right target. We don't need to create any future terrorists.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.