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| Europeans Should Feel They Impose Consequences on Al-Qaeda’s Actions |
| 2004-04-17 |
| From a column in Slate by William Saletan about Bin Laden’s proposed truce with Europe .... If Bin Laden can make you think of his attacks as "reactions to your actions," he can dictate your behavior while leaving you with the illusion of control. Pull out your troops, and the killing will end. It’s your choice. Unless you act, he’s helpless to stop the cycle of violence. "Stop spilling our blood so we can stop spilling your blood," he pleads. To Europeans, it’s a tempting message. They sense that events are out of their control: The United States calls the shots in Iraq, while death comes to them in Madrid—and perhaps London or Rome next. Many see the latter as a consequence of the former .... This is what Bin Laden wants. If he’s just a cog in the cycle of violence, then the only participant who can stop the cycle is your government, and the only person who can stop your government is you. .... But Bin Laden isn’t a cog. His reaction to your government’s action isn’t determined by a law of nature. It’s determined by him. He could just as easily decide to blow up your trains for protecting Christians, Jews, Shiites, or women as for occupying Iraq. ..... And he would. .... The people who brought the death [to Europe] will bring it again. Take away their current reason, and they’ll come back with another. They speak the language of harsh consequences because it’s all they understand. You will have to start choosing the consequences of their acts, and stop letting them choose the consequences of yours. |
| Posted by:Mike Sylwester |
| #6 Carl Spackler from Caddyshack's a warped role model, but then, so's Billy Jack. Did I mention that AMC's rerunning Patton right now? I gotta stop drinking soon... |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-04-18 2:51:30 AM |
| #5 Perfect and hilarious retort to NMM, Raj! ROFL...! |
| Posted by: Jen 2004-04-18 2:44:41 AM |
| #4 And under a Kerry administration we might as well get our prayer rugs out and munch carpet five times a day. But Europe would like us a lot more, so at least we'd have that going for us, which is nice... |
| Posted by: Raj 2004-04-18 2:36:32 AM |
| #3 He's trying to drive a wedge between the US and Europe--something that will be easier for him to affect due to the arrogance of this administration ("Old Europe", chocolate makers, etc) |
| Posted by: Not Mike Moore 2004-04-18 2:19:50 AM |
| #2 The question boils down to if Islamic terrorist manage to attack a city in Europe or America with a nuclear weapon will you convert to Islam to stop any further attacks? |
| Posted by: Canaveral Dan 2004-04-17 10:47:27 AM |
| #1 He could just as easily decide to blow up your trains for protecting Christians, Jews, Shiites, or women as for occupying Iraq. And the list is interminable. Cooperation now means absolutely nothing to those who can change their mind on a whim. It is not any sort of quid pro quo that the terrorists seek, only blackmail. Once terror's ends are granted even a single iota of legitimacy, you give them the means of extorting whatever they determine to be important at the moment. Meet all stated demands about Iraq, and suddenly their goals will include Afghanistan. Meet all of those and the goalposts will merely be moved to include Saudi Arabia or Pakistan. Once you are cowed the war already has been lost. Just ask Spain. |
| Posted by: Zenster 2004-04-17 1:12:19 AM |