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  • From: mdthomas AT mindspring.com
  • To: internetworkers AT franklin.oit.unc.edu
  • Subject: The worst enemy....
  • Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 18:41:20 -0400



The worst enemy is one that doesn't exist.

The "organization" that did this could
very well have vanished in the attack.
This isn't necessarily a massive failure
in intelligence. It could have been
pulled off by far fewer than 100 people.
(This list is over twice that size.)

This attack doesn't necessarily require
the backing of a powerful nation-state
or even a multi-millionare. From scratch,
you can be *certified* to fly a 767
with less than $40,000. (See links below.)
The aviation school I found only requires
that you be in good physical shape and
speak English, and they offer tuition
loans.

This attack didn't require security breaches
(up until the moments the hijackings began).
The weapons they used were legal to have
on aircraft.

We *need* an enemy, but we must be very careful
in choosing one.

Observe that so many seem to think that
the elimination of Bin Ladon will "fix" the
problem. This isn't a hierarchial enemy, like
Japan in WWII. This is a loosely coupled,
decentralized one. Sounds kind of like the
Internet, doesn't it?

Observe that so many seem to think that
eliminating all those that hate America will
remove the threat. How can we do this without
causing more hatred, not to mention suffering,
and seeding the bed for more charismatic
terrorists to emerge?

(Experience with Palestinian suicide bombers
shows that many don't even have prior records.)

Observe that people think that blowing
Afghanstan back to the stone age will do anything.
Afghanstan has already been blown back to the
stone age by years of war.

Observe that so much of the fuel we
would need to fight this kind of war comes
from the very area of the world we most
want to attack.

Observe that it could have been much,
much worse.

With this type of warfare, every counterstrike
can create multiple brand new enemies that
all disappear in the attack.

The rhetoric has already shifted from "punish
the perpretrators and the nations that harbor
them" -- so far the only nation that can be proven
to "harbor" them is the U.S.A -- to a protracted
war against terrorism. This could lead us in to
a global Vietnam.

The map of the world is being redrawn right
now by a small number of diplomats. The decisions
being made in the next few days will decide if
we see peace again in our life times. I can only
hope that these decisions are made very, very
carefully.

Aviation school links:

> http://www.airmanflightschool.com/prices.htm
> http://www.fti737.com/757-767.html





  • The worst enemy...., mdthomas, 09/13/2001

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