Return-Path: <sentto-279987-1856-1000413981-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.1.0) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Thu, 13 Sep 2001 13:48:13 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 10387 invoked by uid 510); 13 Sep 2001 20:46:46 -0000 Received: from n2.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.52) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 13 Sep 2001 20:46:46 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-1856-1000413981-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.4.53] by hi.egroups.com with NNFMP; 13 Sep 2001 20:46:23 -0000 X-Sender: fc@big.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@onelist.com Received: (EGP: mail-7_3_2_1); 13 Sep 2001 20:46:21 -0000 Received: (qmail 80329 invoked from network); 13 Sep 2001 20:44:38 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.27) by l7.egroups.com with QMQP; 13 Sep 2001 20:44:38 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO big.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta2 with SMTP; 13 Sep 2001 20:44:38 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by big.all.net (8.9.3/8.7.3) id NAA17392 for iwar@onelist.com; Thu, 13 Sep 2001 13:06:15 -0700 Message-Id: <200109132006.NAA17392@big.all.net> To: iwar@onelist.com (Information Warfare Mailing List) Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 13:06:14 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] [fc:Learning-the-right-lesson---Pakistani-news] Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Learning the right lesson The News, Pakistan, Sept. 13, 01 The only superpower has had to learn a difficult lesson: dealing with individual terrorists is not easy. One way of dealing with them is what has been demonstrated by the US itself - the 1998 cruise missiles attacks on Osama bin Laden's hideout in Afghanistan that flew over Pakistani air space as also on a Sudanese pharmaceutical company. Various, in fact, regular attacks on Saddam Hussain's Iraq or occasional ones on Libya illustrate this response. Israel follows it every day on what is now an unrecognisable shard of the old historic state of Palestine which is no more. Its tanks, helicopters, gunships and F-16s try to impress upon the Palestinians that terrorism does not pay. The latter is probably a truism. But so far the US, UK and Israel have not been able to instruct those thus punished of the error of their ways. Indeed, keen minds in America and Israel have started wondering whether this methodology is right - or even effective. One reason why the results of such teaching of a lesson have produced disappointing results is the uncertainty about who does the mischief and who gets punished. Punishment of the innocent men, women and children while a few terrorists who carry out the usually mindless attacks on American or Israeli targets in most case suffer comparatively little. The needless suffering of the innocent makes a lot more people mad at the attacking authority. One such blanket attack on a city or country actually produces more terrorists rather than the older ones being deterred or their thinking of giving up. The high and mighty end up having more terrorists waiting for an opportunity to strike against their undefended or less defended targets. It is time the mighty learned this hardest of all lessons: all power has limits and that unwise use of force is generally counter-productive. Patience is a prerequisite of wisely acting that gives time to examine its pros and cons and to consider its ramifications and implications. The reason for caution is that when governments deal with ordinary criminals they know how to establish guilt more or less quickly with reference to the motives. In the case of crimes committed by an individual for wholly non-personal reasons - the terrorist has no personal animosity with the persons attacked or any expectation of gain - that does not apply. He cannot be dumped with ordinary criminals. Action against him should be aimed at his belief system that motivates him to harm or hurt the US, Israel or the west. He is usually motivated by a desperate and irrational high-mindedness of serving a cause. Unbalanced and indiscriminate use of brute force that primarily kills and destroys civilian targets that had no role in the commission of the original offence creates widespread and largely justified resentment. It is seen as unjust oppression by the strong of the weak. It produces strong reactions, usually even more desperate. Thus the high and mighty faces the strange result of producing more terrorists that are more desperate - and possibly better qualified. Old reactions need a change. America and Israel have so much knowledge, wisdom and expertise in nearly all fields that it is astonishing that they have been unable to see the vital link among force, wisdom and human values (or morality). True, possession of overwhelming power sends reason and knowledge to sleep and morality is overcome by amnesia. But there are always some wise ones who resist these temptations. They are the salt of the earth. Where are they? Will they not tell the high and mighty not to act in haste? Let President, George Bush respect the rule of law: the US has enough human resources to investigate. Let punishment follow the identification of the guilty. Blind hitting out on 'usual suspects' may, apart from being morally or politically wrong, boomerang. ------------------------ Yahoo! Groups Sponsor ---------------------~--> Get VeriSign's FREE GUIDE: "Securing Your Web Site for Business." Learn about using SSL for serious online security. Click Here! http://us.click.yahoo.com/LgMkJD/I56CAA/yigFAA/kgFolB/TM ---------------------------------------------------------------------~-> ------------------ http://all.net/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-09-29 21:08:42 PDT