Anthology of Ideas

Friday, Osama bin Laden released his first video in three years, and it has been posted, in full, online. Unlike his fire and brimstone videos in the past, this one is more relaxed and he talks in a calm, definite manner as if he was trying to teach people his beliefs rather than indoctrinate them by force. Bin Laden doesn’t directly attack America as a whole—as he is prone to do—but instead attacks certain aspects of American culture and history that he disagrees with and which demonstrate the faults he believes America has.

It seems obvious to me that the USA is losing the war on terrorism because, as much as governments may like to think so, you can’t wage a winning war on ideas that spread like a disease. Conducting a shooting war on terrorism is about absurd as randomly chopping off limbs to cure a tooth ache or carpet bombing the north pole to kill Santa Claus. As an aside even more amusing is when people talk about a “War on Terror”.

Most of the conflict in the region is between the Israeli Government and the various Palestinian organizations intent on the destruction of any lasting peace in the region. While the main reasons that these organizations have been able to acquire people and resources is because of religious differences and intolerance on both sides of the conflict, the geography of the area has the effect of fanning the flames.

The climate of Israel is one of the major geographical causes behind the strife. As you can see on the map in many Palestine areas the land is infertile and unable to support large numbers of people. As a result many of the inhabitants of the Palestinian areas are unable to produce enough food or find work to support themselves and their families; because of this the less fortunate residents must turn to the various aid groups in the region who provide work, food, and entertainment to meet their basic needs. Unfortunately these groups are the same that organize both protests against Israel and the frequent bombings of civilians that plague the area. While most of the people that join these groups know there is a large difference between protesting and murder, as with any group there are those who are desperate enough to kill themselves and others to ensure their families financial well-being.

Friday, Osama bin Laden released his first video in three years, and it has been posted, in full, online. Unlike his fire and brimstone videos in the past, this one is more relaxed and he talks in a calm, definite manner as if he was trying to teach people his beliefs rather than indoctrinate them by force. Bin Laden doesn’t directly attack America as a whole—as he is prone to do—but instead attacks certain aspects of American culture and history that he disagrees with and which demonstrate the faults he believes America has.

It seems obvious to me that the USA is losing the war on terrorism because, as much as governments may like to think so, you can’t wage a winning war on ideas that spread like a disease. Conducting a shooting war on terrorism is about absurd as randomly chopping off limbs to cure a tooth ache or carpet bombing the north pole to kill Santa Claus. As an aside even more amusing is when people talk about a “War on Terror”.

Most of the conflict in the region is between the Israeli Government and the various Palestinian organizations intent on the destruction of any lasting peace in the region. While the main reasons that these organizations have been able to acquire people and resources is because of religious differences and intolerance on both sides of the conflict, the geography of the area has the effect of fanning the flames.

The climate of Israel is one of the major geographical causes behind the strife. As you can see on the map in many Palestine areas the land is infertile and unable to support large numbers of people. As a result many of the inhabitants of the Palestinian areas are unable to produce enough food or find work to support themselves and their families; because of this the less fortunate residents must turn to the various aid groups in the region who provide work, food, and entertainment to meet their basic needs. Unfortunately these groups are the same that organize both protests against Israel and the frequent bombings of civilians that plague the area. While most of the people that join these groups know there is a large difference between protesting and murder, as with any group there are those who are desperate enough to kill themselves and others to ensure their families financial well-being.