Hypocrisy, thy name is James Inhofe when it comes to prosecuting terrorists.
Ever since I started meeting jihadis, I have been struck by one thing - their
Britishness. I am from the East End of London, and at some point in the past
decade I became used to hearing a hoarse and angry whisper of jihadism on
the streets where I live. Bearded young men stand outside the library
calling for "The Rule of God" and "Death to Democracy".
Media
commentary on the upcoming 9/11 trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed has
raised concern that state secrets may be divulged, including details
about how the Bush administration used torture to extract evidence
about al-Qaeda.
"I think that we're going to shine a light
on something that a lot of people don't want to look at" is how
American Civil Liberties Union attorney Denney LeBoeuf put it,
according to The New York Times on Saturday.
Or should we call it "Again-istan?"
Some people never learn.
The arrogance of empire? Ignorance of history? Political opportunism?
Or cowardice to confront the global challenges we face?
These
factors probably all contribute to the current incredible situation, in
which the United States is debating whether to escalate its military
presence there or maintain a lower-level intensity, relying on
mechanical warfare in order to focus the war instead in Pakistan.
Neither option makes any sense.
Understanding and Combatting Terrorism, USMC Major S.M. Grass, 1989:
Terrorism is a psychological weapon and is directed to create a general climate of fear.
As one definition cogently notes, "terror is a natural phenomenon,
terrorism is the conscious exploitation of it." Terrorism utilizes
violence to coerce governments and their people by inducing fear.
If Bill Clinton - or, presumably, Al Gore (or even Ralph Nader) - had been President in 2001, the Ft. Hood massacre almost certainly wouldn't have happened. Because George W. Bush was president, it did. Here's why it's Bush's fault:
One of the first lessons aspiring novelists and screenwriters learn is that the goodness of a hero is defined by a single quality - the evil of his opponent. From Superman's Lex Luthor to Batman's Joker to Indiana Jones' Nazis to Luke Skywalker's Darth Vader, for a hero to be perceived as larger than life, he must have a larger than life enemy.
ISLAMABAD - U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton came face-to-face Friday with Pakistani anger over U.S. aerial drone attacks in tribal areas along the Afghan border, a strategy that U.S. officials say has succeeded in killing key terrorist leaders.
