On Thu, 13 Sep 2001, !Dr. Joe Baptista wrote:

Arabs are by default very nobel, trustworthy and honourable people. But they are not cows. They will not bow their heads as their civilization is brutalized and raped. They will fight back with the vengence that is the holy jihad.

Not too sure, I certainly agree that these folks are not "cows", but as to rising up in arms when provoked, that takes a specific type. An example would be the so called silent majority of gun owners in America, all of whom expressed outrage over Ruby Ridge, and then later, Waco. A lot of these folks, if you follow the boards, bbses in those days, claimed that after then president G.Bush Sr's assault weapons ban, that further action on behalf of the feds would predicate a call to arms. Well, they all stood by as these events unfolded, and they stood by as the "fed" whitewashed all of it recently.

Kill Osama Bin Ladin and you create another arab saint and many more holy warriors take his place. That is the nature of the beast.

Back to the previous analogy, The silent majority of gun owners had a Bin Ladin in Timmy McVea. They backed away from him as fast as possible after the bombing, and no new Timmy has stepped up to take his place. So, in my ignorance, I think that a few extremists basically screw up the dialogue for everyone involved, the sooner these folks are out of the equation, the better for all parties. I think a lot of "victims of American Policy" believe this as well. It was different for the last 8 years when the commander in chief lacked resolve and seriously emboldened many forigen enemies. These "surgical" air strikes do little more than really piss folks off. A "war" has to be won on the ground. I think there is a certain level of resolve that has galvanised over these last few days. I expect that action, when taken, will be pretty decisive. As to your other points, I belive they are well stated, I just disagree.