Gould 0738 wrote:

Chuck,
Are you suggesting that the government should have kept the reason for 911
secret from it's citizens?

If it were up to me, we would have hunted down Osama Bin Ladin as an
individual, international, criminal terrorist *******. We would have not rested
until he was brought to justice, (rather than after we secured the pipeline
right of way from the Caspain Sea). We practically have the capacity to count
the hair on a man's head from outer space. How hard can it be to find an entire
human being, provided we are truly dedicated to look for him?

Do you think you might be overestimating our ability to "track" people?
It would seem that people who want to be hidden, can do so for quite
sometime. Look at Eric Rudolph, who lived on the lam for 5 years, with
only his wits to guide him.

Which brings us back to the original statement, how would you "hunt"
down a criminal such as OBL or SH, when we have no legal right to enter
the country which harbors him? If the host country refuses to help us,
do we just turn around, or do we comitt an act of war by defying the
wishes of the host country? That was the whole premise for the campaign
against Afghanistan and Iraq. Remember, that aiding the terrorists was
akin to being an accessory to the "crime", and are therefore equally
culpable.


*People* can be criminals, not countries or cultures.

But cultures can breed a mindset which results in "criminal" behavior
being carried out against those which they've been indoctrinated to
belive, are their sworn enemies.


We destroy countries,
dismantle governments, damage cultures, and yet the friggin ciminals (OBL, SH,
etc) keep on truckin.

You turn over enough rocks, and you're bound to eventually find the
snake. It also sends a message to other people, that it would not be a
wise idea to "F" with us.

Bring the *criminals* to justice.

Easy to say. Far harder to do.

Few on the left would disagree with such a
program, IMO.

And even fewer on the left could come up with a comprehensive plan of
just how to do it. The left is full of people who are long on criticism,
and far short on rational, and practical solutions.


Anybody who would use the hunt for the criminals as cover for
other purposes is less than forthright, to put it kindly.

I'd agree. I'd also point out that people who jump to that conclusion,
based on little more than speculative musings, are doing their country a
disservice.


If our leaders are so incompetant that they cannot locate people so high
profile as OBL and SH, they should be replaced. If they are so devious that
they deprioritize locating these criminals, they should be replaced.

Again, I think you are overestimating our "locating" ability, or
underestimating the resolve and innovative skill of those who terrorise
us.


Maybe it boils down to "which" lie is told to the American people. And neither
is really acceptable. If we continue to knock off a string of governments and
occupy mid east countries without catching the head of the snake, our problems
will become larger and larger.

When the snake is free to hide in countries who are not motivated to
oppose it, we will never get it completely. At some point we have to
step on some toes if we are truly motivated in erradicating the mindset
of terrorism.


IMO, we should bring the criminals to justice and that would solve more than
occupying Iraq and Afghanistan.

For every OBL and SH we bring to justice, there are many others ready to
step up to take over. OBL is not the end all of terrorism. In fact, it
really matters little except as a technical point and a morale boost to
actually find these guys. It's far more important to stamp out what they
stand for.

Dave