Tom you wrote The fundamental argument of this book is that since terrorists are inconsequential in real terms and operationally inept, they should not receive the level of attention or funding that they currently enjoy. So bin Laden (I know the audio has been verified not sure about the video part) released his own video tape and his news coverage surpasses that of some of the most powerful leaders of the world ! The video was released in the middle of the Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation(APEC) meeting in Sydney where President Bush has met with President Hu Jintao of China, Prime Minister John Howard of Australia John, President Roh Moo-hyun of South Korea, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of Japan, President Arroyo of Manilla, etc. President Bush has also met informally with all 21 leaders of APEC. Yet, our media led not with what was discussed by China's President Hu Jintao and President Bush but with the Bin Laden tape. Granted the afore mentioned leaders did not release a tape of their conversations but still the 9:00 PM cable news shows commenced with 15 minutes on Osama bin Laden and the release of his tape. Larry King assembled a panel of "experts" on bin Laden, one of which noted bin Laden has said that 90% of this war will be fought in the media! In contrast I didn't see any panels of China "experts" discussing what transpired, or was discussed at the APEC meeting. Is there any doubt in anyone's mind how much more powerful China is then Bin Laden? We know the majority of our TV news shows focus on the sensational and not substance but I can see how the terrorists use this to their advantage.
Also I read the beginning of Bin Laden's transcript, this part stood out for me, bin Laden says...
to preface, I say: despite America being the greatest economic power and possessing the most powerful and up-to date- military arsenal as well; and despite it spending on this war and is army more than the entire world spends on its armies; and despite it being the major state influencing the policies of the world, as if it has a monopoly on the unjust right of veto; despite all of this , 19 you men were able- by the grace of Allah , the Most High “to change the direction of its compass, and in fact , the subject of the Mujahideen has become an inseparable part of the speech of your leader, and the effects and signs of that are not hidden.
Since the 11th, many of Americas policies have come under the influence of the Mujahideen.
When I read that part I was immediately reminded of the advice you offered in one of your YouTube videos., and how accurate your advice was! Tom, you said... Terrorism is an effects based operation, they simply can't defeat us militarily they are trying to effect the way we use our force, our political willpower and You are enabling them to continue meeting their organizational immperatives, And They still have to recruit and fund their organization and in order to do those two things they need to be able to show successes¦ those recruiters can go back to their money people and say look, when you bomb the Cole and the US Navy never goes into Yemen again those guys are sitting there going look if we would have had 2 more guys , two more of your sons we could have gotten them entirely out the region .. you have to stop at every turn feeding them those successes ¦ In FOR THE COURAGE OF THE FOUNDERS you talk about our relationship with the terrorist. You wrote An interesting question is would the attacks of 9/11 have occurred if we had developed a different relationship with terrorists ? What if the attacks on U. S. interests increased the presence of those interests? What if there was a casino on the pier in Yemen?I laughed out loud at the thought of a casino on the pier in Yemen ... it was one of my favorites :) What an EXCELLENT question and a persuasive point!!
I know I read Osama bin Laden's transcript differently as a result of having read FOR THE COURAGE OF THE FOUNDERS and hearing your advice on your YouTube video. I had a different insight..thanks Tom! Any thoughts on the bin laden tape other then we are giving it too much attention ?
Tom replies: Apparently there is a grass roots effort to turn 9-11 into a "good will" or"kindness" day. I think that that is an excellent idea---imagine, the result of the a terror attack being that people go out of their way to help each other!!
As to Bin Laden, it appears that people, including the intel community, is coming around to the view point that he is "Virtually impotent", which of course has been my thought all along. Howevere, now I think that more importantly he is actually impotent. There is a problem in that he did commit a crime for which we can never stop hunting him, but that aside, there really is no reason to give him a second thought. Incidentally, I think it was a huge mistake by President Bush to promise to catch him--if only that it made one victory for Bin Laden to easy to achieve.
All that said I do think that Bin Laden has good writers---he presents circular logic in a very subtle way---"you pay attention to us, thus we matter to you--since we matter to you you must pay attention to us". Unfortunately his main point seems to be correct---he was able to change the way we think, the question is, can he/they continue to do so?
Also I read the beginning of Bin Laden's transcript, this part stood out for me, bin Laden says...
to preface, I say: despite America being the greatest economic power and possessing the most powerful and up-to date- military arsenal as well; and despite it spending on this war and is army more than the entire world spends on its armies; and despite it being the major state influencing the policies of the world, as if it has a monopoly on the unjust right of veto; despite all of this , 19 you men were able- by the grace of Allah , the Most High “to change the direction of its compass, and in fact , the subject of the Mujahideen has become an inseparable part of the speech of your leader, and the effects and signs of that are not hidden.
Since the 11th, many of Americas policies have come under the influence of the Mujahideen.
When I read that part I was immediately reminded of the advice you offered in one of your YouTube videos., and how accurate your advice was! Tom, you said... Terrorism is an effects based operation, they simply can't defeat us militarily they are trying to effect the way we use our force, our political willpower and You are enabling them to continue meeting their organizational immperatives, And They still have to recruit and fund their organization and in order to do those two things they need to be able to show successes¦ those recruiters can go back to their money people and say look, when you bomb the Cole and the US Navy never goes into Yemen again those guys are sitting there going look if we would have had 2 more guys , two more of your sons we could have gotten them entirely out the region .. you have to stop at every turn feeding them those successes ¦ In FOR THE COURAGE OF THE FOUNDERS you talk about our relationship with the terrorist. You wrote An interesting question is would the attacks of 9/11 have occurred if we had developed a different relationship with terrorists ? What if the attacks on U. S. interests increased the presence of those interests? What if there was a casino on the pier in Yemen?I laughed out loud at the thought of a casino on the pier in Yemen ... it was one of my favorites :) What an EXCELLENT question and a persuasive point!!
I know I read Osama bin Laden's transcript differently as a result of having read FOR THE COURAGE OF THE FOUNDERS and hearing your advice on your YouTube video. I had a different insight..thanks Tom! Any thoughts on the bin laden tape other then we are giving it too much attention ?
Tom replies: Apparently there is a grass roots effort to turn 9-11 into a "good will" or"kindness" day. I think that that is an excellent idea---imagine, the result of the a terror attack being that people go out of their way to help each other!!
As to Bin Laden, it appears that people, including the intel community, is coming around to the view point that he is "Virtually impotent", which of course has been my thought all along. Howevere, now I think that more importantly he is actually impotent. There is a problem in that he did commit a crime for which we can never stop hunting him, but that aside, there really is no reason to give him a second thought. Incidentally, I think it was a huge mistake by President Bush to promise to catch him--if only that it made one victory for Bin Laden to easy to achieve.
All that said I do think that Bin Laden has good writers---he presents circular logic in a very subtle way---"you pay attention to us, thus we matter to you--since we matter to you you must pay attention to us". Unfortunately his main point seems to be correct---he was able to change the way we think, the question is, can he/they continue to do so?
posted by Tom at 9:19 AM
3 Comments:
Where in the never-ending debate about personal rights vs. collective security is a sense of the absurd? Recently police arrested a 19 year-old MIT student at Boston's Logan Airport who had what the police described as a fake bomb. Ms. Simpson was wearing a computer circuit board that lit up [it was connected by wires to a battery] over a black sweatshirt. She was also carrying PlayDoh.
Even writing this makes me wonder who could possibly have taken this seriously. Altho perhaps it is analogous to shouting "Fire" in a crowded movie theatre? I'm really torn here: sometimes unconventional methods are needed to get people to take a 2nd look at their beliefs. Perhaps what she did could be considered street theatre or a non-violent protest against a law that has morphed into something untenable.
Wondering what you think.
Thanks Tom,
I was surprised when I heard the "virtually impotent" comment about bin laden from Townsend and had visions of you saying "about time"
I read your words and had some questions. I figured if I thought about what you said for a few days I'd figure out what you meant or failing that at least be able to articulate my questions better but , it's been over a month and I'm at the same place I was when I initially read your comments. Tom you wrote "However, now I think that more importantly he is actually impotent." Why? Because now the Intel community is viewing him that way and it therefore makes him impotent ? Or because his ability to to act is even further compromised ? And are you speaking only of bin laden or Al Qa'ida too ?
And if ...""Unfortunately his main point was correct....he was able to change the way we think, the question is, can he/they continue to do so?" If bin laden can change the way we act, then can he be impotent ?
Tom, It's the New Year, an election year, and combating terrorism is a relevant issue. It has been a major focus of politicians, of citizens of our country, and the world since 9/11. A few of us said we wanted to read or reread FOR THE COURAGE OF THE FOUNDERS this year, and we had the brilliant idea to do it as a small group. I believe paramount to all of us, is expanding our understanding of combating terrorism.
We hope to have fun, to learn from what you've written in- depth about in your book, and your insight. We hope to learn from each other, from the questions asked, from the points that resonate with us individually, from the perspectives we each bring to this discussion and I'm sure from some differing opinions. This group has varied starting points, some of us enjoy politically important topic discussions, and some in the group, are out of their comfort zone discussing issues such as terrorism. Yet, terrorism, and combating terrorism are so important issues they are jumping in anyway!
We thank you in advance, for the board on which to discuss your work, and for your service to our country, where you gained your experience, and insight into combating terrorism. We look forward to discussing..... " The Fundamental argument of this book is that since terrorists are inconsequential in real terms and operationally inept, they should not receive the level of attention or funding they currently enjoy. "
1/6/08
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