April 07, 2004

How the war in Iraq has damaged the war on terrorism. A new piece by terrorism expert Jessica Stern.
posted by homunculus 20 years ago
  • Strange. I don't get the option of a day pass for this article. Sorry, Hom, can't read it, can't say anything about it.
  • If you do the banner ad option up at the top on the daypass side of things you can get one Alnedra.
  • Go to premium.salon.com/daypass/index.jsp and pick up a cookie good for 18 hours.
  • Thanks, Wolof, Pez. *sigh* what else is new? She's right, of course. Go stomping into another country trying to 'root out' terrorism, and the terrorists get more volunteers for their suicide missions. Gah. I'm gonna eat some chocolate now.
  • Here's a thought to temper this gloomy outlook: what's easier to destroy: a collective of hornets' nests in one place, or many different hornets nests located and hidden around the yard? I'm just sayin'.
  • I like this one: Wherever possible, we should avoid creating martyrs or enhancing our enemies' mobilization strategies. To some, even many, Saddam Hussein is a martyr-waiting-in-the-wings. Should we let him go to avoid inflaming those who support him? Such perverse politics serves little end but to pacify that contigent of diehards and fanatics which have beliefs that justify their behaviour, regardless of another's actions. As I recall, Al Quaida came to us first.
  • Here's a thought to temper this gloomy outlook: what's easier to destroy: a collective of hornets' nests in one place, or many different hornets nests located and hidden around the yard? Am I misreading you, or is this the return of the flypaper theory?
  • I suppose it's an adjunct to the flypaper theory (which I hadn't heard of)...
  • The Iraq war was never about terrorism. In 1998 Bill Clinton got this letter urging him to invade Iraq. Check out the signatures. Terrorism is never mentioned as a reason for invasion.
  • No. I believe the flypaper theory is a secondary, beneficial outcome. It was always about WMD.
  • It's never been about WMD, or terrorism. It's always been about US concerns in the Middle East, and getting an aquiescent colony from which to project force.
  • No. I believe the flypaper theory is a secondary, beneficial outcome. The flypaper theory is nonsense, you do realise, don't you f8xmulder.
  • The flypaper theory is nonsense, you do realise, don't you f8xmulder. So was the WMD intelligence.
  • rodgerd: projecting force? for what? promoting american interests in other countries? for what? projecting force? dng: why? sully: so far. not saying you're wrong. just saying we'll see.
  • Because for it to work it requires two things. It assumes that the amount of terrorists in the wrold is both finite and static. And then it assumes that all the terrorists in the world up sticks and leave, say Madrid, or London, and travel to Iraq.
  • I don't think flypaper implies anything of the sort. It does imply that a finite number of previously disparate terrorist cells/groups will coalesce into a more or less singular area. And I think that's probably happened, though probably to a lesser extent than Bush and Rumsfeld would like.
  • f8xmulder, David Kaye has said they are not there. The White House is not even looking for WMDs. The inspectors have come home or are working more important security matters in Iraq. The White House will never admit that there were no WMD. When are conservative realized that they were lied to?
  • And I think that's probably happened, though probably to a lesser extent than Bush and Rumsfeld would like. Rumsfeld said that the Iraqis would welcome Americans with "open arms." You are saying this has been the Bushies plan? Having a situation where Iraqs were cheering the taking down of Saddam's statue to burnt bodies dragged through the streets is not a plan.
  • Here's a fascinating article about Jessica Stern: A Terrorism Expert Turns Her Gaze Inward I've been reading her articles for years. I had no idea about her own story.
  • She sounds like an amazing woman. I can't believe the response of her father assuming the girls 'had forgotten' the rape. What a cowardly asshole. Perhaps if he had a pair and had pushed the police to investigate, other girls would have been spared. Sometimes I wonder about some* men and the way they think. *I originally left out the word some in the preceding sentence, but then thought better of it. Actually, sometimes I wonder about the thought patterns of *some* women, too.
  • She wonders "whether pre-existing trauma and, in particular, the experience of humiliation can serve as a risk factor for terrorism." Fraternaty initiations? Hazing of new monkeys? The list goes on...