by Kirklin Spencer, reprinted with permission:
The response of our nation - and of our allies - should be in two parts. The first part is to defeat the organization responsible for this. I am going to be honest - this boggles me, but largely because I think the easy solution (kill 'em all and let God sort them out) is wrong. A couple of weeks ago I noted my dislike of hammering people merely because I disagreed with their position, and that the better way was to propose alternates that would achieve the goal more effectively. So, I will continue to consider my recommendations regarding how to attack the enemy. However, I have a second reason for thinking that attempting to 'wipe them out' is wrong. And that is both a recognition of the culture from which these people come AND a tentative proposal for a solution.
The Middle Easterners and the Afghani's are not unique in the world. They have a cultural element we've noted before on this list -- that they will hold a grudge for generations. It is not merely what was done to one's father, but to one's Great Great Grandfather that can be cause for bloodletting. I do not believe we are capable of genocide - and this in turn would mean there will be generations that consider it their life's goals to destroy the US. There is some of this already, though it is not yet embedded. And that is why I think there is hope of interrupting that cycle.
After we defeat our foes - not while, not before, and certainly not instead of - we should follow a significant lesson from WWII. The Marshall Plan was probably one of the least recognized actions toward the removal of two foreign nations as future threats. We should prepare to do it again - modified for today's world, but just as thorough. We shall undoubtedly be required to invade and set up a protectorate - or at least occupy - at least one nation in the process of defeating our foes. This (these?) nation - and possibly more - should be the recipients of the plan.
We should build the nation - put it up toward becoming a more modern nation. Power plants and industries of course, as well as roads. Less obvious but probably more critical are those things that make the younger generations less willing to follow the lead of the older - a lesson China has used for generations. Give them telephones. Give them cable TV. Give them Internet, and gameboys, and MTV. These things are frightening to the stalwarts. Many are causing our nations to be uncomfortable - look if you will at the DMCA, at France and Germany's internet restrictions, and all the rest. BUT - the surest human power in the world is self-interest. And people prefer leisurely comfort to rigid discipline. If tomorrow's warrior has a choice of a long hike in the hills sharpening his rifle skills while tending sheep OR of interrupting his marathon Nintendo session to grab a burger at McDonald's, which is more likely to be his preference?
Now, I am aware that superficially this seems a failure: Look (you might say) at Israel/Palestine - these people have access to these things and they still do their attacks. There are other problems there - two that stand out is that there are still a lot of "refugees" that do NOT have these things. Second, even those that do have them on continuous sufferance - they're never allowed to forget that Israel giveth and Israel can taketh away. (Note: the preceding is extremely simplistic and is not meant to solve that mess. It's merely a counter to the obvious objection of my modest proposal.) I am proposing that the US and its allies take the defeated, destitute nations that remain when the dust settles, and build them up just as we did those economic powerhouses Germany and Japan.
There are many obstacles to this plan. And yet I cannot help but think that - in the long run - it would be the surest way toward ending the threat of repeats even into not merely my daughter's generation but that of any children SHE might have. It cannot be done in isolation. Indeed, a primary requisite is that we defeat our foe clearly and absolutely. But it also requires that we have something from which to build. For this reason I am hesitant to condone any of the echoes of history: "The only good Indian is a dead Indian," or "Kill them all. God shall know his own." Instead, perhaps "The remedy lies in breaking the vicious circle and restoring the confidence of the ... people in the economic future of their own countries..."
Ken Burnside (burnside@chorus.net)
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Last Modified on: Wednesday, 14-Nov-2007 17:11:09 CST