Disclaimer: You are looking at a post I wrote some time ago. The information and opinions contained within may be outdated and may differ from my current views. Please proceed accordingly.

A Great Essay about the War on Terror

Mar 31, 2005 5:55 PM
Tags:

It's, generally, interventionist and outward-looking but I won't summarize is any further.

"A View from the Eye of the Storm" is powerful and thought provoking.

Amazingly, the attribution is not easily verified.

Read it, and we can discuss in the comments, if you like.


Comments: A Great Essay about the War on Terror

Great article, but it merely re-stated what has been said so many times by so many Israelis and Americans on the "hawkish" side. That's the troubling part - it will likely be written off as "Sharon, Bush or Netanyahu" rubbish. If the lecturer actually turns out to exist, then he'll likely be labled a "collaborator" and traitor!

The good news is that if more Arab/Moslem people start talking like this openly (read: officially published in Arab media), the war will end quickly. The bad news is that it isn't likely to happen. See Al-Jazeera for details.

I hope I'm wrong...honestly.

Posted by: Josh on March 31, 2005 8:30 PM | permalink

Strike that...he is an Israeli! So, I guess he already has been written off by the Arab masses!

I though he was a Lebeanese businessman. Doh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: Josh on March 31, 2005 8:35 PM | permalink

Clearly he's not a Moslem, as most of us say Muslim, only orientalists say Moslem. (Though the worst orientalists say Mohammadist)

It seems way overly hawkish, and scarily void of civil rights concerns. If civil rights need to be trodded on to win the battle, we've already lost the war.

Posted by: Kearns on March 31, 2005 9:26 PM | permalink

David:

I did not know that; I thought it was a preferred pronunciation (like Beijing vs. Peking).

I agree about the civil rights issues, and that's my main criticism of it. What I'd want to ask the guy is why there haven't been a rash of suicide bombings in the US since 9/11? The reality of terrorism in the US, in terms of actual attacks, doesn't jibe with the scale of his rhetoric.

Posted by: Joe Grossberg on April 1, 2005 10:57 AM | permalink

Kearns, I wasn't awrae of the sensitivity to the use of the word "moslem" versus "muslim." Personally, I think your assessment of people based on it's usage is a bit judgemental. Maybe we just use the spelling because it's one of two available - without any ill intent - rather than due to any "groupthink" mentality.

As far as civil rights, my own view is that once war begins, civil rights are already being threatened. The longer, more devastating the war, the more they are trampled upon. What can be more "anti-civil rights" than warfare of any kind?

With that said, there's no such thing as civilized war. By war's very nature, human rights are being turned on their head, so the best way to protect all civil rights is to end all wars - terror wars included. Until that happens, the loss of civil rights is lamentable, but unavoidable.

Harsh, but true...

Posted by: Josh on April 2, 2005 5:11 PM | permalink

No more comments! Either someone has violated Godwin's Law, I'm tired of the discussion or, most likely, the ten-week window has closed. You can, however, contact me through email.