[mahdokht]

So, what do you think? Is the world now safer than in was 9/10/2001? Are Americans now safer. Is it possible to have a war on terror, is it possible to win one?

If not, then what *should* be done? How can America make it's citizens safer?
If so, what points to the fact that we are winning?

 

[Mackenzie]

nak....

not winning

not safer

cant win much via killing

 

[cornflower_3]

*

 

[eightyferrettoes]

Yeah, when was the last time that a War on a Poorly-Defined Concept really worked out for us? You'd think we'd learn.

Or we did, and the Bushies knew that instituting a War on Terror was a good way to have a free pass to pursue all kinds of policies relating to "terrorism."

I don't know how to "make America safer." We've done a mighty job of digging that hole, and getting out will be hard and ugly, and may not happen till our collapse as an empire.

 

[momof3sweeties]

Nah don't feel safer.

Feel more vulnerable than ever.

 

[mahdokht]

What kind of policy changes would make things better for us?

 

[artgoddess]

That's a trick question, right? War is terror, how can you *win* a war on terror without increasing the terror?

 

[momof3sweeties]

Yep tricky question.

I for one would feel better if there were stricter policies for foreigners coming into our country. Other countries seem to be more stringent than we are for foreigners. The legal residents of our country need to be protected first. I think Homeland Security is a joke and too lax.

 

[mahdokht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by momof3sweeties Yep tricky question. I for one would feel better if there were stricter policies for foreigners coming into our country. Other countries seem to be more stringent than we are for foreigners. The legal residents of our country need to be protected first. I think Homeland Security is a joke and too lax.

Do you think there is any wisdom in trying to address the concerns that inspire people to hate us this much? Or do you feel that's not an issue.

What kind of specific things would you do to make policies stricter?

 

[momof3sweeties]

Quote:

Do you think there is any wisdom in trying to address the concerns that inspire people to hate us this much? Or do you feel that's not an issue.

Maybe we could address some concerns that make others hate us so much. But hate is an ugly, huge thing. I think there is so much hate towards us there isn't anything we can really do to make that go away right now. Maybe for the future the feelings will be different, but they won't be easily changed right now.

Quote:

What kind of specific things would you do to make policies stricter?

For starters citizenship and visas. Anyone who is in our country right now illegally should have to leave.

 

[eightyferrettoes]

Illegal immigration is so the least of our worries. We're in bed with so many craptastic regimes, in the name of shoring up our own economic self-interests, and in such complicated twisted ways, that I don't think that either the Pubbies or the Democrats can ever fully extricate us from the mess we're in.

For just one obvious instance, our subsidies for the bombing of Lebanon and is winning us no fans in that particular country just at the moment. But what are we gonna do about it? Nada. We'll keep on pumping out the weapons-- it benefits our economy, since the "defense" industry is gigantic and influential and powerful.

And I don't doubt for a second that that entire situation is just a scratch on the surface. There is so much crap we're involved in that 99 percent of the American populace knows nothing about...

Soooo... kicking out ol' Mexican grandmas is wayyyyy down on the list of things that have anything to do with terrorism.

But hey, I'm a lunatic.

 

[rabrog]

This isn't a war that can be won - it's a multiheaded monster. We will never get rid of all the terror cells; we will never stop them from gaining power. It won't happen. I believe it comes down to taking responsibility for ourselves and our families. The government can't keep us safe, the military can't keep us safe. All we're doing by being in Iraq is pissing more people off.

Jenn

 

[mahdokht]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rabrog This isn't a war that can be won - it's a multiheaded monster. We will never get rid of all the terror cells; we will never stop them from gaining power. It won't happen. I believe it comes down to taking responsibility for ourselves and our families. The government can't keep us safe, the military can't keep us safe. All we're doing by being in Iraq is pissing more people off. Jenn

What can we do to keep ourselves and our families safe?

 

[darsmama]

In response to Mahdokht's question: Become survivalists

 

[Rico'sAlice]

Well, we already celebrated our victory over the phrase "War on Terror." Did no one tell you?

 

[Thao]

I think we are less safe. Bush's wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and unquestioning support for Israel have created more people who hate us than there were 6 years ago.

Basically we are dealing with guerilla warfare. History has shown that guerilla wars cannot be won through military means alone. The key is to "win the hearts and minds" of the population. Without a following, the leaders of Hamas and Hezbollah and Al Quaeda can do nothing. The reason they have power is because there are enough youths who are marginalized and hopeless enough to be willing to follow them.

So, to fight them: address the cause of the marginalization. Create justice. Understand the cause of the disaffectation and, if it is just, address it. Spend more money on social services to support the poor than the "terrorist" groups are. Cut the support from under them. If there are no disaffected youths there will be no suicide bombers.

Study the culture and language of your enemies. Figure out where their weak areas are and how to exploit those. Vietnam did this with their propaganda campaign during the war with great success. Know more about your enemy than s/he knows about you.

As for the leaders, instead of going after them with the big guns, treat them like international crime rings. Go after only the leaders instead of dropping cluster bombs on crowded city apartment buildings. Make intelligence the main priority. We haven't gotten Osama yet because we don't know where he is. We don't know where he is because the people in the area surrounding him don't like us and have no reason to tell us. If we actually cultivated better relationships with the rest of the word instead of telling them they are "for us or against us" we would have a better chance of capturing our enemies. Remember that we got Saddam because the owner of the house where he was staying informed on him, not because our soldiers found him.

Not that I'm holding my breath that any of this will happen. After all the agonizing about our defeat in the Vietnam war, we have apparently learned nothing and are repeating our mistakes.

And I hate to say it, but it seems that the only way to ensure your family's safety is to move to a small neutral country.

 

[chersolly]

Do they even want to win it?

 

[beccaboomom]

[QUOTEDo you think there is any wisdom in trying to address the concerns that inspire people to hate us this much? Or do you feel that's not an issue.
][/QUOTE] Perhaps there would be less hate if we didn't have to hear that westeners are infidels and should die. Perhaps the countries that host terrorist should do more to crack down on terrorism themselves. Just a couple of thoughts.

Since, there haven't been any other attacks on terrorist soil, I think the powers that be are keeping us safer in America. Britian and Canada also seem to be proactive on keeping track of terrorist.

 

[la mamita]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahdokht So, what do you think? Is the world now safer than in was 9/10/2001? Are Americans now safer. Is it possible to have a war on terror, is it possible to win one? If not, then what *should* be done? How can America make it's citizens safer? If so, what points to the fact that we are winning?

I think it would take a complete overhaul of US policy (imperialism). No more hubris.

I think stopping the blind support for Israel would be a good start. Justice for the Palestinian people would be one step towards getting some credibility in the region.

But I'm with eighty, just another loca.

 

[Thao]

*sorry, double post*