Posted on 09/15/2001 10:07:46 AM PDT by xzins
I believe that trying to find one individual (Bin Ladin) is very difficult. Let his allies find him for us.
An airburst thermonuclear weapon over Kabul would serve two purposes: the elimination of his most obvious ally's base and it would serve as a warning to other, more distant supporters.
The response to the horror of Tuesday must be of such magnitude that any country offering itself as a terrorist haven will know that their population, their culture, their history, and most importantly, their future will disappear.
That strategy will produce Bin Ladin on a silver tray, hopefully before other cities are transformed into parking lots.
However...if he is not delivered promptly, we must continue the "glassification" of terrorist havens.
An "exit strategy"?...none. Never exit this strategy. Keep it in force forever.
Unless of course you work for the Clinton administration... :)
People on FR are so concerned about the government's power over *our* financial assets need to realize that they are also powerful over the financial assets of the terrorists. Osama bin Laden and his wealthy supporters do *not* stuff their money into their respective mattresses. If they are involved at all (and they are) in global finance networks, the U.S. government can get to their assets. Once their income sources are cut off (and they can be) you're not going to see truckloads of "Islamic militants" living in our country, spending tens of thousands of dollars in strip joints, going to flight school, renting condos, putting their kids in schools, buying polo shirts and khakis. They will not be "our neighbors" unless they can afford to be, and I am sure there is much *terrified* compliance by the officers of banks who "know where the money is" and know that they are far more safe under the aegis of the United States than under the aegis of Osama bin Laden and his acolytes (i.e., fighter pilot though he is, I doubt they suspect that George Bush will come crashing through their comfortable, amoral and complacent lives).
To sum up: Put the fear of G-d in the financiers.
(2) Let the "cooperative governments" (such as Pakistan and Iran) know that life will be far more difficult for them if they don't cooperate with America. Sure, there is a lot of verbiage about how scared these leaders are from their own internal problems with Islam, but they are far more scared of the U.S. government. I guess I could sum this up as: "Put the fear of G-d in the cooperating governments." In the end, they have much more to fear from the U.S., as far as their comfortable, complacement niches in power, than they do from Osama bin Laden.
I am sure they understand how precarious an alliance with bin Laden is. Bin Laden will honor no alliance and will turn on them as soon as it suits his purposes. For history, they might want to consult Neville Chamberlain winning "peace in our time" or the happy Soviets who negotiated the Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact.
Exit Strategy - None. Captured territory permanently belongs to the United States of America.
It is not the source that is important, it is the movement of funds. Somehow the $20 for a baggie in Chicago has to be moved/laundered/transferred to place where terrorists can purchase food, shelter, weapons, training, clothing, etc..
We should go after them with an army of accountants, which should be a scary thought for anyone who has ever delt with motivated bean counters.
I like your idea but prefer a one-hour notice. In fact, this is what President Bush should announce to the world right now. Any nuclear bomb used in a terrorist attack will automatically trigger a nuclear response on selected cities.
Reinstitute the draft.
Support conservative media.
Start an techno-intelligence initative on the order of magnitude of Star Wars, the Apollo moon program or SDI to give ourselves the technological and intelligence edge again.
1. It is unwise to go 10,000 miles to punish the terrorists responsible for this when bin Laden has bragged that he has over 2,500 soldiers within the borders of the United States. The first priority is to eliminate that threat. For several years, the FBI has been "populating" the terrorist cells and "tracking" them. This strategy is an obvious failure. The FBI should be removed from the responsibility of dealing with these terrorist cells. After declaring war, these cells will become ENEMY ALIENS. This permits a combination of the Secret Service or the US Marshal Service, in conjunction with Military Intelligence, to round up these terrorist cells. As they are enemies, they can be tried by courts martial and executed following wringing information out of them. The FBI budget dedicated to the "populating and tracking" of these cells should be transferred to the Marshal Service, Military Intelligence, and the construction of temporary brigs or lock-ups for the terrorists as they face their courts martial and the wringing of information from them.
2. While the cells are FINALLY being dealt with, internal security has to be rebuilt, at least partially along the lines of the US Commission on National Security in the 21st Century. A Homeland Defense Administration that includes Immigration and Naturalization, US Customs, and the Coast Guard should be established as a cabinet level body. The US Department of Education should be abolished, with most of the money going to this department to strengthen security along the borders and in seaports and airports.
3. The Foreign Aid and UN Budgets should be eliminated, with the savings being transferred to the military. Patriot Missile batteries and fighter interceptor bases need to be built around our major metropolitan areas. The interceptors should be able to provide intesecting circles of cover, so that air cover over the cities is sufficient, and fighters are always available for scramble. The military needs rebuilt, and a lot of the funds can be freed up for this by ending the Balkan intervention.
4. The immigration system needs overhauled. We need a series of "mini Ellis Islands" to receive prospective new Americans and process them as we did a century ago. There should be a ten year moratorium on immigrants from nations associated with terrorism.
5. As these steps are being taken domestically, the foreign front will also be addressed. Make it clear through diplomatic circles that MECCA has been targeted by both ICBM and SLBM missiles, and that one more attack on the US could lead to its destruction, following sufficient warning to evacuate civilians. This means ANY attack of any kind, particularly a suitcase nuclear bomb attack. Other important sites will follow.
6. Under the cover of the targeting, begin to change foreign policy away from taking sides in conflicts in which the United States has no vital interest. As long as other nations leave us alone, and treat us with respect, we shall reciprocate.
7. Locate, Fix, and destroy, militarily, the bin Laden organization in Albania, the Sudan, and Afghanistan. Eliminate base camps through the use of fuel air bombs where practicable. By this time, bin Laden will have no soldiers within our borders through which he can strike back even if he survives the strikes.
8. Find bin Laden's money. Steal bin Laden's money by any means practicable. Hack the money out of the computers where it resides, if possible. Find out who else is supplying bin Laden's money. If they are from Muslim states, tell them to ask their leaders how many missiles are targeted on their holiest of holies.
9. Cut off bin Laden's CIA money and see if it is possible for some other intelligence agency to hack in on his satellite telephone transmissions.
10. Pubilicly investigate the internal and external policies of past Administrations that led to this disaster. Anyone who is established as being guilty of malfeasance or nonfeasance should be punished accordingly.
Exit Strategy: Some of this has an end, such as actions against bin Laden, punishing corrupt and incompetent intelligence personnel, etc., but the safeguarding of the people of the United States has no exit strategy. It is an on-going responsibility of the government.
I'm not convinced the leaders of Arab states care as much about Mecca as they do their own hide and their own money. I'd target the missiles on them.
Great writeup, by the way.
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