9/11 one year anniversary - Post comments thoughts, observations here

[BuddTX]

I can't believe that it is coming up on one year.

The horror, the anger, the shock, the people that died.

I still sometimes can't believe that it happened. When my co-worker told me that a plane hit the World Trade Towers, I thought it was a small commuter plane, then I saw the horror of what actually happened.

I remember seeing the home video of someone at street level videoing the huge tital wave of debris heading toward her, and a shop owner dragging her out of the street, and she was resisting, then, from inside the store, videoing the debris from inside, and her screaming something like "Oh my God, you just saved my life

I think about the Pentagon, and how "little" press it got compared to the Twin Towers. If that were all that happened, think of the press coverage that would have received.

And the people that gave their lives that stopped the fourth plane from making it's target.

And Hillary Clinton wants public debates on wheather we should attach Iraq.

Anyway, I thought maybe having one topic to discuss our feelings as a CPF community might be a good thing.

 

[Silviron]

As horrible as it all was, and as much as I feel admiration for the people who gave their lives to save others and sorrow for the people that lost loved ones, I think it was a needed "wake-up call" for the nation that was about to "Choke to death on its own vomit".

I hate to admit it, but I had lost most of my pride in the USA prior to 9-11-01 due to the media and general public's fawning over the clintons and their ilk, how the "Hate America first" academics, celebrities and liberal pundits spewed their venom with no opposition.

Well, most of those people still spew their venom, but FINALLY they are countered by a now vocal majority who love this country and that for which it stands.

Unfortunately though, I see a lot of the "average" people losing their newly found patriotism and common sense world view falling back into their old patterns of only caring about their "salad shooters, new cars and the latest rapper on MTV".

But even with that though, this is still a much better country than it was a year ago.

And I am pleased with our current President and most of his Cabinet & advisors. I DESPISED Bush (41) but I think that Bush the Son has displayed a {usually} masterful grasp of how to run the nation, although I would like to see him a little more aggressive in countering the leftists of the world and in this country.

But then, he seems to be a master of deeds, not words, and his subtle, quiet, behind the scenes combination of soft spoken diplomacy on the one hand and the "Big Stick" held behind his back may be more effective in the long run.

 

[Darell]

Whoa! Deep breath, Silv.

I wish our country HAD become more unified than the partisan comments above would have us believe.

That saddens me to read, actually. To me, it says volumes about how far we have NOT come together as a country.

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

ditto darell

 

[Silviron]

Darrel, (Edit- You too, Ted)I like you and know that you are a great guy(s), who deeply care about the state of the world and do everything you can to make it better. You "put your money where your mouth is", which is more than I can say about a lot of people, (including myself all too often, unfortunately). However...

I never said that the country was completely unified. What I intended to convey is that there is now a dialogue between the "left of center" and the "right of center" that was not there a year ago when the left of center pretty much said whatever they FELT and were never countered by the Right OR the Center.

Ok, So I'm evil, mean and just wrong about everything----

What is your opinion on the subject rather than on my obvious psychological problems?

 

[Greta]

Just for what it's worth...

Ditto Silviron.

Guess I'm just a "glass is half full" kinda gal...

 

[Cutter]

Sorry guys, but I'm just gonna say that I agree with a lot of Silvirons thoughts. I'm not gonna debate anything in here though because that's not what this is for.

Prior to 9/11, I too had lost a lot of respect for my country. I have always had a deep admiration for the people before us who had made this great nation what it is and for everyone who ever fought and/or died for our country.

But I watched this country take a dangerous spiral downward as moral decay crept in. It seemed that as long as "the economy" was good, then nothing else seemed to matter quite so much. Well, I personally would rather be able to hold my head high and "sacrifice" some of the economic boom in order to do what's right, not just what's right for the economy. And I think 9/11 helped to take us full circle back around to what's important.

It shook our country up and got us focusing on moral issues instead of financial issues.

This is going to burst some peoples bubbles, and I hate to be the one to break the news, but there exist evil people in this world. I believe in God Allmighty, and I believe in good and evil. Contrary to what the justice system today would have you believe, everyone who commits a horendous crime is not insane, crazy, or can blame it on his upbringing because he didn't get his daily hug or even that his parents beat him. I have freinds that were beaten severely while growing up and they turned out to be a better person than I am. Why....because they chose to overcome and to take the higher, narrower road.

In contrast to that, some people choose to do evil. They enjoy it and choose it freely. Osama Bin Laden is an evil man who hides behind his religion in order to get others to do his crimes. Saddam is an evil man who will use a weapon of mass destruction, or sell one to someone who will if he gets the chance.

The problem is, he hasn't yet, so you got the whole world telling us to not attack him. Nothing aggrevates me more than people with 20/20 hindsight. After the towers were destroyed people were screaming, "why didn't they do something about this before it happened". Why? I'll tell you why....because people would have screamed bloody murder just like they are doing now that we are considering a pre-emptive attack on Iraq. They cry that it's all about oil. I wish that before these people could even open their mouths, that they would have to look each family member of the victims of 9/11 in the eye and say it's all about the oil. They might have a differnet opinion themselves if they had lost loved ones in the attack, but I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

Do you think people would have stood by and let us attack Afghanistan if the towers hadn't been destroyed? Do you think people would have been willing, prior to 9/11, to submit to more than 1 airport security search? No way!!! They would have considered that a violation of their rights. Well, that's just too bad people. We live in a world where evil people do evil things. Do we wait for an entire city to be destroyed next in a massive explosion before doing something about Iraq? I don't think so.

It's just too bad that someone didn't do something more about a man named Hitler back in the 1930's before tens of thousands of innocent people were murdered. The two saddest words in the English language are "If only". Imagine, if only someone would have recoginized the danger prior to all the tragedy of World War II. If only someone had tried to stop him before he murdered so many innocents and created so many orphans. Well folks, now is the time for us to decide if we want to say "if only" after this is all over.

Now, having said all that, I'm not some bloodthirsty individual who looks forward to us going to war.

The really sad thing is, that nobody ever really wins a war. Both sides lose something. Lives are lost on both sides. Innocence is lost.

I am never proud of a war. I am proud of the men, women, and their country that stand up to tyranny and (to semi-quote a movie) say, "No....You'll hurt no more innocent people.....Not today.....Not on my watch".

America won't win a war on Iraq. Freedom will win. Freedom from oppression. Freedom from evil. And the whole world will benifit in the long run.

Release the Peace,
Dan out

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

The imperfect becomes whole.
How true that is!
To become whole and
Return to the Source,
One must ever be in accord
With nature.
There is nothing in the world
So weak as water,
Nor anything strong enough
To overcome it.
The person of great wisdom
Is like water which,
Though benefiting all things,
Never strives.

- Lao-tzu

 

[Cutter]

How are we who are at home this Christmas to
greet you, dear defenders of all we know to be right?
There must be moments of gnawing doubt as you stand -
a bastion of flesh against the forces
that seek to pinion us in mind and person to a
shadow world of terror and blind obedience.
Lonely thoughts doubtless tore at the hearts of other
men who moved toward Trenton on another
Yuletide eve - Questions that haunted half-frozen
American troops from Fredericksburg to Bastogne.
How, then, may we reach out across the miles to
measure for you the depth of our regard?
Words are such stumbling messengers for telling
of the aching that we know because you are not here;
The swelling pride we feel for what you are doing -
And how high you hold our standard in the bitter wind.

Hear our warm hail, all you who bear the colors of
this proud land in the angry distances...
When the present spectre that threatens our cherished
freedom has been driven into misty limbo,
Then we shall give proper homage and reward to
you who fought that we all might live...
And for the missing faces at our festive board, we'll
sound a requiem - even as we do for another
Warrior, born so long ago in Bethlehem - who also
died violently - that other men could go in peace...

-Milton Caniff

This piece was commissioned during the Korean conflict as a tribute to the military men and women of this nation at Christmas time. As heartfelt and relevant today as it was 50 years ago, it is a dedication to our fighting men and women abroad, reminding them that they are in our thoughts now, and always.

To all of our troops fighting for freedom abroad, ours as well as theirs, I say Godspeed. And God bless this great nation that we live in. The fundamental morals and beliefs that it was founded on will prevail.

Dan out

 

[**DONOTDELETE**]

When yer head gets twisted and yer mind grows numb
When you think you're too old, too young, too smart or too dumb
When yer laggin' behind an' losin' yer pace
In a slow-motion crawl of life's busy race
No matter what yer doing if you start givin' up
If the wine don't come to the top of yer cup
If the wind's got you sideways with one hand holdin' on
And the other starts slipping and the feeling is gone
And yer train engine fire needs a new spark to catch it
And the wood's easy findin' but yer lazy to fetch it
And yer sidewalk starts curlin' and the street gets too long
And you start walkin' backwards though you know its wrong
And lonesome comes up as down goes the day
And tomorrow's mornin' seems so far away
And you feel the reins from yer pony are slippin'
And yer rope is a-slidin' 'cause yer hands are a-drippin'
And yer sun-decked desert and evergreen valleys
Turn to broken down slums and trash-can alleys
And yer sky cries water and yer drain pipe's a-pourin'
And the lightnin's a-flashing and the thunder's a-crashin'
And the windows are rattlin' and breakin' and the roof tops a-shakin'
And yer whole world's a-slammin' and bangin'
And yer minutes of sun turn to hours of storm
And to yourself you sometimes say
"I never knew it was gonna be this way
Why didn't they tell me the day I was born"
And you start gettin' chills and yer jumping from sweat
And you're lookin' for somethin' you ain't quite found yet
And yer knee-deep in the dark water with yer hands in the air
And the whole world's a-watchin' with a window peek stare
And yer good gal leaves and she's long gone a-flying
And yer heart feels sick like fish when they're fryin'
And yer jackhammer falls from yer hand to yer feet
And you need it badly but it lays on the street
And yer bell's bangin' loudly but you can't hear its beat
And you think yer ears might a been hurt
Or yer eyes've turned filthy from the sight-blindin' dirt
And you figured you failed in yesterdays rush
When you were faked out an' fooled white facing a four flush
And all the time you were holdin' three queens
And it's makin you mad, it's makin' you mean
Like in the middle of Life magazine
Bouncin' around a pinball machine
And there's something on yer mind you wanna be saying
That somebody someplace oughta be hearin'
But it's trapped on yer tongue and sealed in yer head
And it bothers you badly when your layin' in bed
And no matter how you try you just can't say it
And yer scared to yer soul you just might forget it
And yer eyes get swimmy from the tears in yer head
And yer pillows of feathers turn to blankets of lead
And the lion's mouth opens and yer staring at his teeth
And his jaws start closin with you underneath
And yer flat on your belly with yer hands tied behind
And you wish you'd never taken that last detour sign
And you say to yourself just what am I doin'
On this road I'm walkin', on this trail I'm turnin'
On this curve I'm hanging
On this pathway I'm strolling, in the space I'm taking
In this air I'm inhaling
Am I mixed up too much, am I mixed up too hard
Why am I walking, where am I running
What am I saying, what am I knowing
On this guitar I'm playing, on this banjo I'm flailin'
On this mandolin I'm strummin', in the song I'm singin'
In the tune I'm hummin', in the words I'm writin'
In the words that I'm thinkin'
In this ocean of hours I'm all the time drinkin'
Who am I helping, what am I breaking
What am I giving, what am I taking
But you try with your whole soul best
Never to think these thoughts and never to let
Them kind of thoughts gain ground
Or make yer heart pound
But then again you know why they're around
Just waiting for a chance to slip and drop down
"Cause sometimes you hear'em when the night times comes creeping
And you fear that they might catch you a-sleeping
And you jump from yer bed, from yer last chapter of dreamin'
And you can't remember for the best of yer thinking
If that was you in the dream that was screaming
And you know that it's something special you're needin'
And you know that there's no drug that'll do for the healin'
And no liquor in the land to stop yer brain from bleeding
And you need something special
Yeah, you need something special all right
You need a fast flyin' train on a tornado track
To shoot you someplace and shoot you back
You need a cyclone wind on a stream engine howler
That's been banging and booming and blowing forever
That knows yer troubles a hundred times over
You need a Greyhound bus that don't bar no race
That won't laugh at yer looks
Your voice or your face
And by any number of bets in the book
Will be rollin' long after the bubblegum craze
You need something to open up a new door
To show you something you seen before
But overlooked a hundred times or more
You need something to open your eyes
You need something to make it known
That it's you and no one else that owns
That spot that yer standing, that space that you're sitting
That the world ain't got you beat
That it ain't got you licked
It can't get you crazy no matter how many
Times you might get kicked
You need something special all right
You need something special to give you hope
But hope's just a word
That maybe you said or maybe you heard
On some windy corner 'round a wide-angled curve

But that's what you need man, and you need it bad
And yer trouble is you know it too good
"Cause you look an' you start getting the chills

"Cause you can't find it on a dollar bill
And it ain't on Macy's window sill
And it ain't on no rich kid's road map
And it ain't in no fat kid's fraternity house
And it ain't made in no Hollywood wheat germ
And it ain't on that dimlit stage
With that half-wit comedian on it
Ranting and raving and taking yer money
And you thinks it's funny
No you can't find it in no night club or no yacht club
And it ain't in the seats of a supper club
And sure as hell you're bound to tell
That no matter how hard you rub
You just ain't a-gonna find it on yer ticket stub
No, and it ain't in the rumors people're tellin' you
And it ain't in the pimple-lotion people are sellin' you
And it ain't in no cardboard-box house
Or down any movie star's blouse
And you can't find it on the golf course
And Uncle Remus can't tell you and neither can Santa Claus
And it ain't in the cream puff hair-do or cotton candy clothes
And it ain't in the dime store dummies or bubblegum goons
And it ain't in the marshmallow noises of the chocolate cake voices
That come knockin' and tappin' in Christmas wrappin'
Sayin' ain't I pretty and ain't I cute and look at my skin
Look at my skin shine, look at my skin glow
Look at my skin laugh, look at my skin cry
When you can't even sense if they got any insides
These people so pretty in their ribbons and bows
No you'll not now or no other day
Find it on the doorsteps made out-a paper mache´
And inside it the people made of molasses
That every other day buy a new pair of sunglasses
And it ain't in the fifty-star generals and flipped-out phonies
Who'd turn yuh in for a tenth of a penny
Who breathe and burp and bend and crack
And before you can count from one to ten
Do it all over again but this time behind yer back
My friend
The ones that wheel and deal and whirl and twirl
And play games with each other in their sand-box world
And you can't find it either in the no-talent fools
That run around gallant
And make all rules for the ones that got talent
And it ain't in the ones that ain't got any talent but think they do
And think they're foolin' you
The ones who jump on the wagon
Just for a while 'cause they know it's in style
To get their kicks, get out of it quick
And make all kinds of money and chicks
And you yell to yourself and you throw down yer hat
Sayin', "Christ do I gotta be like that
Ain't there no one here that knows where I'm at
Ain't there no one here that knows how I feel
Good God Almighty
THAT STUFF AIN'T REAL"

No but that ain't yer game, it ain't even yer race
You can't hear yer name, you can't see yer face
You gotta look some other place
And where do you look for this hope that yer seekin'
Where do you look for this lamp that's a-burnin'
Where do you look for this oil well gushin'
Where do you look for this candle that's glowin'
Where do you look for this hope that you know is there
And out there somewhere
And your feet can only walk down two kinds of roads
Your eyes can only look through two kinds of windows
Your nose can only smell two kinds of hallways
You can touch and twist
And turn two kinds of doorknobs
You can either go to the church of your choice
Or you can go to Brooklyn State Hospital
You'll find God in the church of your choice
You'll find Woody Guthrie in Brooklyn State Hospital

And though it's only my opinion
I may be right or wrong
You'll find them both
In the Grand Canyon
At sundown

--Last thoughts on Woody Guthrie
by Bob Dylan
Copyright © 1973 Special Rider Music

 

[Darell]

Thanks for the nice words Silviron. I certainly have respect for you and your comments as well. My comments were not meant to be an attack on your "obvious psychological problem" We can do that in another thread...

Originally posted by Silviron:
I never said that the country was completely unified. What I intended to convey is that there is now a dialogue between the "left of center" and the "right of center" that was not there a year ago....

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">
We're in agreement right until here. This next part is where I feel that suddently we loose that precious dialogue that we should be fighting to keep:

... when the left of center pretty much said whatever they FELT and were never countered by the Right OR the Center.

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">

What is your opinion on the subject rather than on my obvious psychological problems?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">My comment on the subject is, as before: I wish our country had become more unified than the partisan comments above would have us believe.

Respectfully,

 

[jtivat]

Originally posted by Cutter:


Prior to 9/11, I too had lost a lot of respect for my country. I have always had a deep admiration for the people before us who had made this great nation what it is and for everyone who ever fought and/or died for our country.

But I watched this country take a dangerous spiral downward as moral decay crept in. It seemed that as long as "the economy" was good, then nothing else seemed to matter quite so much. Well, I personally would rather be able to hold my head high and "sacrifice" some of the economic boom in order to do what's right, not just what's right for the economy. And I think 9/11 helped to take us full circle back around to what's important.

It shook our country up and got us focusing on moral issues instead of financial issues.

This is going to burst some peoples bubbles, and I hate to be the one to break the news, but there exist evil people in this world. I believe in God Allmighty, and I believe in good and evil. Contrary to what the justice system today would have you believe, everyone who commits a horendous crime is not insane, crazy, or can blame it on his upbringing because he didn't get his daily hug or even that his parents beat him. I have freinds that were beaten severely while growing up and they turned out to be a better person than I am. Why....because they chose to overcome and to take the higher, narrower road.

In contrast to that, some people choose to do evil. They enjoy it and choose it freely. Osama Bin Laden is an evil man who hides behind his religion in order to get others to do his crimes. Saddam is an evil man who will use a weapon of mass destruction, or sell one to someone who will if he gets the chance.

The problem is, he hasn't yet, so you got the whole world telling us to not attack him. Nothing aggrevates me more than people with 20/20 hindsight. After the towers were destroyed people were screaming, "why didn't they do something about this before it happened". Why? I'll tell you why....because people would have screamed bloody murder just like they are doing now that we are considering a pre-emptive attack on Iraq. They cry that it's all about oil. I wish that before these people could even open their mouths, that they would have to look each family member of the victims of 9/11 in the eye and say it's all about the oil. They might have a differnet opinion themselves if they had lost loved ones in the attack, but I wouldn't wish that on anybody.

Do you think people would have stood by and let us attack Afghanistan if the towers hadn't been destroyed. Do you think people would have been willing, prior to 9/11, to submit to more than 1 airport security search. No way!!! They would have considered that a violation of their rights. Well, that's just too bad people. We live in a world where evil people do evil things. Do we wait for an entire city to be destroyed next in a massive explosion before doing something about Iraq? I don't think so.

It's just too bad that someone didn't do something more about a man named Hitler back in the 1930's before tens of thousands of innocent people were murdered. The two saddest words in the English language are "If only". Imagine, if only someone would have recoginized the danger prior to all the tragedy happening. If only someone had tried to stop him before he created so many orphans. Well folks, now is the time for us to decide if we want to say "if only" after this is all over.

Now, having said all that, I'm not some bloodthirsty individual who looks forward to us going to war.

The really sad thing is, that nobody ever really wins a war. Both sides lose something. Lives are lost on both sides. Innocence is lost.

I am never proud of a war. I am proud of the men, women, and their country that stand up to tyranny and (to semi-quote a movie) say, "No....You'll hurt no more innocent people.....Not today.....Not on my watch".

America won't win a war on Iraq. Freedom will win. Freedom from oppression. Freedom from evil. And the whole world will benifit in the long run.
Dan out

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Very well said!

 

[Cutter]

Thanks JT. I had to edit it several times but I think I pretty much got out what I wanted to say.

Dan

 

[LED-FX]

Try and avoid getting involved in politics especially other countries politics..........

but Im tired and can`t sleep, so just an observation about the economic damage done by the 9/11 outrage and the quieter outrage committed by `business` leaders.

The US stockmarket took a beating after 9/11 but recovered fairly quickly, what has done massive economic damage is the likes of Enron, Andersen Consulting and Worldcom with their phoney accounting practices.Sometimes the biggest enemy is within.

Adam

 

[leddite]

i find myself amazed and saddened that i'll never stand on the twin towers and gaze about the city, the loss of life, the magnitude of it, compared to other on soil tragedy.

it is said that we "deserved" it by meddling in the internal affairs of other countries, and playing favorites with the wrong countries. that is was a message to mind our own business. well, if so, some message. how will we respond or change? time will tell.

i'm proud and happy about the "can do" spirit that this has aroused. pleased even. that's the people coming together. it has little or nothing to do with the current president.

him, i'm not too thrilled with currently. it might be too early to see if he's successful in his term. however, how he got there, and many of the things he's done and tried to do have not endeared him to many people. "war" indeed. war on our rights. war on accurate information reporting? it's almost impossible to separate fact from fiction in that arena. sigh.

currently, in my opinion, the country is in woeful shape. the unemployment levels are very high (esp in my field: high tech) and it's getting worse. there seems to be a general level of despair that i've not seen before. look at all these nutty and random kidnappings, murders, and serial sprees occuring. unreal. almost unheard of anywhere else in the world.

all things change. i'm hoping for the better. in the meantime, i'm going to play with my LEDs. they cast a sorely needed light.

 

[Cutter]

Originally posted by LED-FX:
just an observation about the economic damage done by the 9/11 outrage and the quieter outrage committed by `business` leaders.

The US stockmarket took a beating after 9/11 but recovered fairly quickly, what has done massive economic damage is the likes of Enron, Andersen Consulting and Worldcom with their phoney accounting practices.Sometimes the biggest enemy is within.

Adam

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">Thanks for the post Adam, but have your family butchered in a terrorist attack and then tell me how outraged you are at politics and the economic damage going on.

I'm not saying that to be mean to Adam or anyone else, but it's a little hard to understand sometimes unless you are in the thick of it.

I'm talking about fighting and defeating pure naked aggression and evil. Politics and economics are thrown into it as an excuse or to cloud the real issue. If you don't think that these people are evil and wouldn't hesitate to kill you (no matter where you are from) to get what they want, then I am truly saddened.

Dan out

 

[Badbeams3]

I am not sure we should wait untill everyone gives their aproval before attacking Saddam. It would take away any hope of a surprise. I read a book sometime back were a small oil rich country was being attacked by the US and had no hope of winning. After all our military forces were out of the country (US) and over there they unloaded a oiltanker filled with mean men and equipment. New York if I remember right. These mean fellows then placed nuclear bombs in several cities and some how knocked out the electric grid coast to coast. They had only a little resistance. They then ordered the US military to leave all their equipment were it was and return or else. Their plan was to end up with state of the art weapons and lots of them. Anyway the books hero saved the day but can`t remember how.

At the time I thought the book was far fetched but now I`m not so sure.

Ken

 

[Wits' End]

POSTED BY LEDDITE---currently, in my opinion, the country is in woeful shape. the unemployment levels are very high (esp in my field: high tech) and it's getting worse. there seems to be a general level of despair that i've not seen before. look at all these nutty and random kidnappings, murders, and serial sprees occuring. unreal. almost unheard of anywhere else in the world---
I think if you take a look around the world you'll find these type of things and worse. I also feel that the press has chosen to focus on these things more, thus making them seem more common as well as causing more copycat crimes.
As far as the level of despair that may be true but I think it is part of our wake up call. We were living in a dream and much of the world lives in a nightmare. I feel blessed to live in the US and wish that the Twin Towers hadn't come down, but I also know that God is ultimately in control and that maybe we are better off losing our imagined invulnerability.

 

[LED-FX]

but have your family butchered in a terrorist attack and then tell me how outraged you are at politics and the economic damage going on.

I'm not saying that to be mean to Adam or anyone else, but it's a little hard to understand sometimes unless you are in the thick of it.

I'm talking about fighting and defeating pure naked aggression and evil. Politics and economics are thrown into it as an excuse or to cloud the real issue. If you don't think that these people are evil and wouldn't hesitate to kill you (no matter where you are from) to get what they want, then I am truly saddened

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Arial">I do feel lucky that I have no direct experience of terrorist attack.The point being that if the attack on the WTC and Pentagon was meant to de-stablise the US, it failed miserably.

Instead weevils chewing away at the fabric of trust that uderpins the world economy have done much more damage with more effect on peoples lifes, investors are scared to invest, and without investment companies cannot grow and create employment.

But perhaps in Europe terrorism has a longer history and the `new type of war` that America refers to it as, is not so new.

Part of the UK is Northern Ireland, taking no position on either side of wether it should be a Republic or not, or Catholic or Protestant or whatever.The fact remains that for 30 years a `war` of terrorism was fought there and on the UK mainland, over 3000 people died in this `war`.Most of them were completely innocent people from all sides of the divides.

Its not a `war` that`s fought on a conventional battle field, its a war in shopping centres , crowded railway stations and just in the streets.Having a massive military presence offers no advantage, sophisticated weapons are no help against an enemy who simply needs suprise and the crudest of improvised devices.

Fanatics are driven by the unquestioning feeling that they are right and simply look on any retaliation as further proof that they are right.

Removing the figurehead is no guarantee of an end, the evil that underpins it will simply mean a new figurehead rises to fill the vacuum left by what the fanatics will view as a martyr.

Adam

 

[B@rt]

Very sad, but, imho also very true...