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In lugnet.off-topic.debate, Lindsay Frederick Braun writes:
> Well, if anyone had any doubts that our anonymous foe
> is prepared for a long, drawn-out struggle, those should
> be laid to rest by now. Details aren't all in, but it
> appears those who didn't get a chance to carry out their
> "missions" on Tuesday tried to get through yesterday instead!
> (What a bunch of idiots--but hey, now we have some *alive*...)
> Apparently the Feds have 10 or 11 individuals in custody,
> people who had knives and in a couple of cases pilot's
> licenses and were wearing stolen uniforms (Delta, I think).
> They had Tuesday tickets to LAX originally.
A report on NPR this morning indicates that the FBI is now denying that there
was any such group. The report of a single individual attempting to board a
plane with a fake pilot's ID in New York has not yet been contradicted, but
I'll wait for the FBI to say so before I believe it.
Also this morning, CNN apologized on its web site for naming one Adnan Bukhari
of Vero Beach, Florida as one of the pilots who crashed an airplane on Tuesday.
Mr. Buhkari is alive and is cooperating with the FBI in its investigation.
Rumor, desperation, and intense media coverage are contributing to numerous
premature and erroneous reports. And, just under the surface, racism simmers.
Prominent public officials may make somewhat restrained statements -- however,
sometimes not. Yesterday's description of the scope of the war to come,
delivered by Colin Powell, left me pretty breathless. It appears that the U.S.
is making certain requests of Pakistan and Afghanistan -- but once they're
done with whatever they feel they need to do there, they plan to "destroy
terrorism wherever it may hide." Really? That's a LOT of countries...
President Bush and others have said that "they attack us because they hate our
freedom and democracy." Really? What rational person hates freedom, or
democracy? While it's clear that "they" hate America, I can't say that the
reason WHY they hate America is so self-evident. Might there be other reasons,
reasons that don't sound quite so ridiculous? Would the contemplation of those
other reasons give us pause? How would our LONG-term strategy change if we
allowed time for a little contemplation?
On the Internet, people's true colors are not so hidden. You don't have to
wade very far into the discussion groups to find people making statements like
this one: "Kill them all. Let Allah sort them out."
While I'm all for punishing those responsible for the terrorism, and their
friends who have harbored them, I hope that this intense, emotional atmosphere
does not result in the United States acting rashly. We can afford to take some
time investigating the attacks. Let us do so. Let us prove to the world, to
their satifaction, that we know who the culprits are. Reckless acts will cost
us the good will of the nations around the world who have offered us their
condolences and support.
Lindsay, you're a cosmopolitan guy. I know that you personally need no
convincing that the U.S., no matter how deep its grievances, must never forget
its need to maintain good foreign relations -- and not just with the U.K. and
Israel. However, I am not very sure that our fellow Americans are as
level-headed about the matter. Sick with rage and intoxicated by American
military power, they are tempted to "go it alone." If we follow their path,
the curse of the Ugly American will follow us all for decades to come.
> From the looks of it, the Feds may have dropped the ball on
> the initial attacks, but it looks like things are falling
> into place now. This little band of demons is on borrowed
> time, and so are their brothers in terror "back home" and all
> over the world, from Manila and Hamburg to Baghdad and Kabul. I
> have a strange feeling that our people already know the
> first couple of targets on our list, and may even be on their
> way. May their aim be true (I have few doubts it will be).
May their aim not ALSO be false.
> LFB (Who appreciates Queen Elizabeth II's gesture yesterday
> beyond words.)
I offer the world my condolences, and my fervent hope that clear thinking will
carry us forward in the days to come.
--
John J. Ladasky Jr., Ph.D.
Department of Biology
Johns Hopkins University
Baltimore, MD 21218
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Message has 1 Reply:
 | | Re: War
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| (...) Apparently (at least as CNN relates) they're still holding one, the guy with the pilot ID. (...) Isn't there another person, a brother, who is stating that the person suspected by the FBI of flying one of the planes in fact died in an air (...) (23 years ago, 14-Sep-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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Message is in Reply To:
| | Re: War
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| Well, if anyone had any doubts that our anonymous foe is prepared for a long, drawn-out struggle, those should be laid to rest by now. Details aren't all in, but it appears those who didn't get a chance to carry out their "missions" on Tuesday (...) (23 years ago, 14-Sep-01, to lugnet.off-topic.debate)
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