October 21, 2001
The essence of terrorism is to kill or injure opponents in ways specifically designed to cause fear, and thus to disorganize the opposing society to a degree far out of proportion to the number of victims. Whether this strategy is used in wartime or against a nation at peace, the desired effect is the same. The German V-1 flying bombs and V-2 rockets launched against London in 1944 killed civilians in each attack, but their psychological effect on the population was far greater than the number of dead might suggest.
We Americans are now experiencing terrorism for the first time on American soil, as well as forms of terrorism new in world history. But the phenomenon of terrorism itself is ancient. What can we learn from the past that could help us cope?
We often suppose that it was the 20th century that introduced terrorism as a conscious tactic of war. It's true that bombing of civilians in World War II to break their morale elevated military terrorism to new technological heights. Yet low-tech military terrorism has been with us since the recorded origins of war, as illustrated by 19th century Ethiopian armies' castration of prisoners, Pizarro's conquistadores' chopping arms off Inca soldiers and the Spartans' murder of their Plataean prisoners, described 2,400 years ago by Thucydides. Apart from such wartime terrorism, terrorist raids by neighboring tribes were a chronic fact of traditional life for New Guinea highlanders ? much as terrorist attacks have persisted against Israel for decades.
Among societies targeted by terrorists, some cracked under the stress but others didn't. For instance, much to the surprise and disappointment of those bombing them, Londoners and German and Japanese city-dwellers did not crack during World War II. What explains that varying impact of terrorism? I can discern at least three factors: novelty, sense of helplessness and lack of warning.
New forms of terrorism are most frightening in their first use, when the targeted society is unprepared psychologically as well as physically. This was true for the first use of chlorine gas in World War I, the first use of nerve gas in the Iraq-Iran war, and the introduction of smallpox into the New World by Europeans and their American descendants ? inadvertently to the Aztecs and intentionally to some North American Indian tribes.
Targets of terrorism tend to become most demoralized when their society appears to be helpless to protect them. Like terrorism itself, countermeasures against it have a psychological value far out of proportion to their effectiveness. For instance, on Sept. 10, 1940, when British anti-aircraft guns were first fired against the German bombers that had begun nightly raids on London on Sept. 7, their big roar gave an enormous boost to the morale of Londoners even though they hit only a few German planes.
Terrorist attacks that cannot be seen or heard coming are more damaging to morale than those detectable before arrival. A lack of warning means that a possible attack must be feared constantly.
Civilians in World War II did not crack under bombing attacks for several reasons. Over time, the attacks lost their novelty. The bombers were seen to be met by anti- aircraft fire and defending fighters. And bombs other than German V-2 rockets were delivered noisily or visibly, allowing civilians to prepare for attack.
What has just happened to us in recent weeks is awful beyond anything that we have experienced previously. That makes it all the more important to understand events since Sept. 11 in full context.
Before Sept. 11, we assumed that we were protected by the oceans and our nuclear arsenal. Without warning, we were catapulted in a single day from peace to a terrorist war, and then to bioterrorism within a month. The telescoping of our experience in this war, with its forms of terrorism unprecedented anywhere, is what makes the events of the past several weeks so incomprehensible and nightmarish.
Other novel forms of terrorism probably await us, but a future attack can no longer shock us: in fact, the possibility of attacks is now a main focus of attention in the press and in conversation. While the first hijacked suicide planes and anthrax envelopes arrived without warning, we have already learned to see our world differently, scrutinizing unexpected envelopes and airline passengers for potential weapons. Although the effectiveness of these first countermeasures may be like that of London's first anti-aircraft barrage (few hits but a lot of noise), their sophistication and therefore effectiveness will increase with time. Though we may feel vulnerable, the United States is better able to devise and deploy countermeasures, whether against skyjacking or anthrax or any still-to-be- deployed threat, than any other nation in history.
The current crop of terrorists, unlike the bombers of World War II, has no chance of conquering us or (realistically) of killing a large fraction of our population. They cannot destroy us; our biggest risk is our own panic. What we face is terrorism in the most elementary sense: actions whose hoped-for impact is paralysis of the target rather than direct damage from the action itself. We cannot appease these terrorists or surrender to them, any more than Londoners could give in under the Blitz. We will track them down, because we are much stronger than they and we have no other choice.
Jared Diamond is a professor of physiology at the U.C.L.A. Medical School. His book ``Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Socie ties'' won a Pulitzer Prize.
The word friend is one of the most common misspelled words in the English language. The word according to Webster means "one attached to another by respect or affection." We all have a friend, or friends, but what exactly do we mean by that phrase and attachment? Are they just people we work with, live by, grew up with, keep in touch with or what?
Why are some friends closer to us than our own flesh and blood? Why are friends sometimes more important than our own family?
If you look at the word "Friend," you notice that the word "end" is the last part of the word. Now, does this mean that a friend is someone that will be with you till the END of your life? We all hope so, and in fact make it a point to set nametags on people early on in life. "She?s my best friend," "He?s my best friend."
Dogs are supposed to be man?s best friend. I often wonder, who is the dog?s best friend? The hand that feeds him or the bunny he playfully chases down the road everyday and barks at?
Friendships are a nucleus in our lives. Sometimes it?s a popularity contest growing up of how many friends you have or how many friends went to your birthday party instead of Bill?s or Jane?s or Mary?s. Nine times out of ten, Bill the boring kid had a better party as he had real friends that came to his party instead of yours...(remember the one that hardly anyone came to that had all the decorations and the clown?) Well, maybe not, but, it did happen in every town in America when we were all growing up. It was part of learning the word disappointment. We all got over it, or did we?
Somewhere in all our pasts the bad feelings come out. Geez, why did I do this, or why didn?t I do this? Since September 11, 2001 so many "bleeding hearts" wearing red, white and blue have come to confess their love for America, appreciation for a great government, and everybody just loves everybody else in America.
Look around at all who now just love the USA, or is a new born religious fanatic and gives blood and money to the Red Cross. What I wonder is this; Is anyone giving a damn about what their life was before September 11, 2001?
Now all the sudden if you have a flag you are perfect, but are you 100% perfect in the eyes of your co-worker you disagreed with on September 10th? Will your son or daughter forgive you that you promised them a movie on 9/11 and had to cancel and told them you were just too tired only because they are too young to know the truth of the tragedy?
Will you be so paranoid not to open a letter with no return address sent from the same city your best friend lives in? Oops, they forgot to put the return address label on it in a hurry as they wanted to send you a card to tell you that they missed you. Will you just turn that letter into the CIA and use taxpaying dollars to find out it?s a card of best wishes instead of Anthrax?
Why is it that America is giving into paranoia and forgetting our family and friends? I wish I could remember all the friends I?ve met through my journey in life and I hope to meet hundreds more before my time on earth is done.
I hope that if the only thing I?ve done right in life is teaching my son to love and to keep ties and friendship; then I?ve done right. I?ve had many friends I?ve met throughout my years that I never saw again. I dedicate this to them and hope they know I loved them and how they brought me to the true meaning of love.....UNITY. United we stand and divided we fall, that is so cliché, but so true!
This is for my friends! The ones that stick to the "END" of friend!
October 19, 2001
Julie L Madden
http://www.gotlaughs.com/funpages/talibansingles.cfm
Take all American women who are within five years of menopause - train us for a few weeks, outfit us with automatic weapons, grenades, gas masks, moisturizer with SPF15, Prozac, hormones, chocolate, and canned tuna - drop us (parachuted, preferably) across the landscape of Afghanistan, and let us do what comes naturally.
Think about it. Our anger quotient alone, even when doing standard stuff like grocery shopping and paying bills, is formidable enough to make even armed men in turbans tremble.
We've had our children, we would gladly suffer or die to protect them and their future. We'd like to get away from our husbands, if they haven't left already. And for those of us who are single, the prospect of finding a good man with whom to share life is about as likely as being struck by lightning. We have nothing to lose.
We've survived the water diet, the protein diet, the carbohydrate diet, and the grapefruit diet in gyms and saunas across America and never lost a pound. We can easily survive months in the hostile terrain of Afghanistan with no food at all!
We've spent years tracking down our husbands or lovers in bars, hardware stores, or sporting events...finding bin Laden in some cave will be no problem. We know every trick there is for how they hide, launder, or cover up bank accounts and money sources. We know how to find that money and we know how to seize it ... with or without the government's help!
Uniting all the warring tribes of Afghanistan in a new government? Oh, please ... we've planned the seating arrangements for in-laws and extended families at Thanksgiving dinners for years ... we understand tribal warfare.
Let us go and fight. The Taliban hates women. Imagine their terror as we crawl like ants with hot-flashes over their godforsaken terrain. I'm going to write my Congresswoman. You should, too!
http://allisonsheart.com/yourhand2/stairwell.html
09.19.01 - SAN FRANCISCO -- Frequently Asked Questions about the World Trade Center Bombing.
Q. At a surreal time like this, how does humor help us cope?
A. Think of this mindboggling assault as a giant bean bag chair we're
forced
to carry as we go about our daily business. The only thing humor does is
help put a handle on it.
Q. But surely there's nothing amusing about a tragedy of this dimension?
A. Of course not. But we all have our job to do and mine is rooting out
the
items emanating even the faintest aroma of irony, like when Mayor Giuliani
cautioned all New Yorkers to remain calm, unless they lived below Canal
Street.
Q. Anything else?
A. Yeah, my favorite crawl was on MSNBC: "NYC reports no unusual looting."
Apparently, there was just the normal summer Tuesday night load.
Q. What are the possibilities of rebuilding the World Trade Center?
A. Talk is circulating of constructing not just twin but triplet towers
with
the middle one 50 stories taller positioned latitudinally so it looks like
we're flipping off Afghanistan.
Q. Can we be positive this catastrophe was the responsibility of Islamic
Fundamentalists?
A. No, of course we can't be sure, yet. It could have been Iceland. For
all
we know, they're still pissed at us for making Bjork wear that silly swan
dress.
Q. Might there not be real long term problems if, in our lust for revenge,
we rush to judgment?
A. Without doubt. Don't forget Oklahoma City. Foreign terrorists were
suspected because bystanders reported two Middle Eastern-looking guys
running from the scene. Well, come on, wasn't everybody running from the
scene? Besides, what does Middle Eastern-looking mean in Oklahoma City?
"They had curly hair, and they weren't wearing no baseball caps at all,
and
I'll tell you something mister, they had a tan on both of their arms. It
was
eerie."
Q. What's the worst part of the Pentagon crash: the destruction, the death
toll or the possibility of compromised national security?
A. Actually, its having Pentagon officials asses their own damage
estimates:
"Considering the quantity of four hundred dollar hammers and sixty dollar
screws required, we conservatively calculate the costs of repairs will
exceed a minimum of four gazilliondy dollars."
Q. Do any analysts believe Saddam Hussein was involved?
A. Doesn't matter, we're going to kick the crap out of him anyhow. Think
Pavlov.
Q. Wasn't it eerie how all eyewitnesses remarked on the cinematic nature
of
the tower crashes?
A. Yeah, I know, where the hell was Bruce Willis when we needed him?
Q. Speaking of MIA, what happened to Dick Cheney?
A. I thinking the conversation might have gone like this: "Dick, I'm
sorry,
but what better wartime consigliore is there than my father?"
Q. Of all the correspondents, who should we trust the most?
A. Well, Andrea Mitchell is married to Federal Reserve Chairman Alan
Greenspan, so there is always speculation when she cites an unnamed
source,
she's referring to notes taken naked and horizontal.
Q. Did Jerry Falwell really blame the attack on gays for causing God to
forsake America?
A. Yeah, but don't forget this is the same guy who claimed the purple
Teletubbie is a homosexual recruiter. I suspect in a previous life Falwell
was a re-usable pinata at an El Paso gay bar.
Q. Are Americans equipped to fight this kind of a war?
A. One problem is Americans can't even conceive of suicide terrorists:
"Well, how do they get paid? Is it a union deal? Obviously they don't have
a
decent dental plan."
Q. Any chance these guys might succeed in their attempt to destroy America
as we know it?
A. Are you kidding? You can't destroy America
A. America isn't just a nation, its a notion, its an aspiration, its a
dream. You never hear people talk about the Afghanistanian Dream, now, do
you? Except for bearded hermit asthmatics with a fetish for uneducated
women
dressed as beekeepers.
© 2001 WorkingForChange.com
the devil came down on NYC
he was lookin for souls to steal
and he was in a bind
cause he was way behind
with an arab he'd made a deal
When he killed our own on American soil
we knew it was an evil plot
Bush stepped upon that podium
said boy let me tell you what:
I bet you didn't know it
but we got plans of our own too.
And if you care to take a dare
I'll make a bet with you.
You may have begun this battle boy,
but give America it's due
we're gonna find you know matter where you go
we'll win this war against you.
The marine said:
my names Johnny
this is where I come in
I'm part of this bet
your gonna regret
cause we're the best that's ever been.
Air Force load up our planes and bomb
those Arabs hard
Cause hell's broke loose in America
bush called out the national guard.
And when we win you'll not see those
shiny streets of gold
you'll have lost, now the devils got your soul.
The navy jumped on our ships and said:
"we'll start this show"
fire flew from there turrets
as they struck a mighty blow.
The army marched across the sands
and they made an evil hiss
then a band of volunteers joined in
and it sounded something like this.
When you attacked America you said
"look what I have done"
but just cower there in your hole
and let our soldiers show you how it's done.
Fire in the towers run boys run
America was attacked at the rising sun
terrorism's always been a faceless foe
it's gonna be a dogfight don't cha'll know.
The devil bowed his head
cause he knew that he'd been beat
and he realized our American spirit he can not
defeat
bush said: devil just come on back
if you ever wanna try again....
I done told you once
you son-of-a-gun
America's the best it's ever been!!!!
So let me see if I've got this all straight now: Pakistan will allow us to use its bases Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays - provided we bomb only Taliban whose names begin with Omar and who don't have cousins in the Pakistani secret service. India is with us on Tuesdays and Fridays, provided it can shell Pakistani forces around Kashmir all other days. Egypt is with us on Sundays, provided we don't tell anyone and provided we never mention that we give the Egyptians $2 billion a year in aid. Yasir Arafat is with us only after 10 p.m. on weekdays, when Palestinians who have been dancing in the streets over the World Trade Center attack have gone to bed. The Northern Alliance is with us, provided we buy all its troops new sandals and give U.S. passports to the first 1,000 to reach Kabul.
Israel is with us provided we never question the lunacy of 7,000 Israeli colonial settlers living in the middle of a million Palestinians in the Gaza Strip. Kuwait would like to be with us, it really would, since we saved Kuwait from Iraq, but two Islamists in the Kuwaiti Parliament spoke out against the war, so the emir just doesn't want to take any chances. You understand. The Saudis, of course, want to be with us, but Saudis are not into war-fighting. That's for the household help. Don't worry. Prince Alwaleed has promised to rent us some Bangladeshi soldiers through a Saudi temp agency - at only a small markup.
The Saudi ruling family would love to cooperate by handing over its police files on the 15 Saudis involved in the hijackings, but that would be a violation of its sovereignty, and, well, you know how much the Saudis respect sovereignty - like when the Saudi Embassy in Washington rushed all of Osama bin Laden's relatives out of America after Sept. 11 on a private Saudi jet, before they could be properly questioned by the F.B.I.
And then there's my personal favorite: All our Arab-Muslim allies would love us to get bin Laden quickly, but the Muslim holy month of Ramadan is coming soon and the Muslim "street" will not tolerate fighting during Ramadan. Say, do you remember the 1973 Middle East war, launched by Egypt and Syria against Israel? Remember what that war was called in the Arab world? "The Ramadan war" - because that's when it was started. Oh, well. I guess the Arab world can launch wars on Ramadan, but not receive them.
My fellow Americans, I hate to say this, but except for the good old Brits, we're all alone. And at the end of the day, it's U.S. and British troops who will have to go in, on the ground, and eliminate bin Laden.
Ah, you ask, but why did we have so many allies in the gulf war against Iraq? Because the Saudis and Kuwaitis bought that alliance. They bought the Syrian Army with billions of dollars for Damascus. They bought us and the Europeans with promises of huge reconstruction contracts and by covering all our costs. Indeed, with the money Japan paid, we actually made a profit on the gulf war; Coalitions "R" Us.
This time we'll have to pay our own way, and for others. Unfortunately, killing 5,000 innocent Americans in New York just doesn't get the rest of the world that exercised. In part we're to blame. The unilateralist message the Bush team sent from its first day in office - get rid of the Kyoto climate treaty, forget the biological treaty, forget arms control, and if the world doesn't like it that's tough - has now come back to haunt us.
And who can blame other countries for wanting to shake down U.S. taxpayers when Dick Armey and his greedy band of House Republicans are doing the same thing - pushing a stimulus bill with more tax breaks for the rich, lobbyists and corporations, and virtually nothing for the working Americans who will fight this war?
My advice: Try not to focus on any of this. Focus instead on the firemen who rushed into the trade center towers without asking, "How much?" Focus on the thousands of U.S. reservists who have left their jobs and families to go fight in Afghanistan without asking, "What's in it for me?" Unlike the free-riders in our coalition, these young Americans know that Sept. 11 is our holy day - the first day in a just war to preserve our free, multi-religious, democratic society. And I don't really care if that war coincides with Ramadan, Christmas, Hanukkah or the Buddha's birthday - the most respectful and spiritual thing we can do now is fight it until justice is done.
http://www.nytimes.com/2001/10/26/opinion/26FRIE.html?ex=1005123383&ei=1&en=c9e1adb4075d49a0
Copyright 2001 The New York Times Company
"The situation where we are now, there are two things: either death or victory. To those who are fighting and bombarding us, they should understand the Afghan man is a fighter willing to die for jihad." -- Taliban supreme leader, Mullah Mohammed Omar, 10/2001
"I want you to remember that no bastard ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb bastard die for his country." -- General George S. Patton, 6/1944
Our thoughts and prayers are with all those that were affected by the recent tragedy. In these times, many of the hero's are our servicemen and women who are being called upon to defend our way of life. Thank you for your service.
HAVE YOU SEEN THE silly photo of a tourist supposedly standing on top of the World Trade Center -- and in the background a jet is heading toward the building he's standing on? Happily, MOST people who saw/sent it knew it was a hoax, but a few thought it was real. (The date stamp on the photo showing "9/11/2001" was just too perfect!) If you'd like to see it AND a number of hysterical takeoffs showing that "tourist" at the scene of many other disasters, take a look at: http://www.sillygirl.com/hoax.html
Why are airport security people taking a closer look at cell phones? Because cell phone guns have been discovered OCONUS.
These phones are not in the U.S. yet, but they are in use overseas. Beneath the digital phone face is a .22 -caliber handgun capable of firing four rounds in rapid succession using the standard telephone keypad. European law enforcement officials are stunned by the discovery of these deadly decoys.
They say phone guns are changing the rules of engagement in Europe. We find it very alarming, says Wolfgang Dicke of the German Police Union. It means police will have to draw their weapons whenever a person being checked reaches for their cell phone.
Although cell phone guns have not reached the U.S. yet, the FBI, Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms and the U.S. Customs Service say they have been briefed on the new weapons. All U.S. ports of entry have been alerted.
These covert weapons were first discovered in October of 2000 when Dutch police came upon a cache during a drug raid in Amsterdam.
In another recent incident, a Croatian gun dealer was caught attempting to smuggle a shipment through Slovenia into Western Europe. Police say both shipments are believed to have originated in Yugoslavia. Interpol sent a warning to law enforcement agencies around the world.
If you didn't know they were guns, you would think they were cell phones, said Ari Zandbergen, spokesperson for the Amsterdam police. Only when you have one in your hand do you realize that they are heavier than a regular cell phone.
Be patient if security asks to look at your cell phone or turn it on to show that it works. They have a good reason!
Within days of the World Trade Center's collapse, one of the first humorously defiant e-mails began hopscotching around the country. The electronic image showed the trade center complex rebuilt to resemble a giant hand, with the middle tower rising like an upraised finger. Not subtle, but perhaps effective.
As the war has been carried to Afghanistan in the weeks since, dozens of e-mail jokesters have pitched in. Some anonymous Web artist, for instance, created Taliban Singles Online, a mock dating service featuring eight burqa-clad women under such headings as "I declare a Jihad on U, Baby." Another contributed the "Taliban TV Guide," with such entries as "Mad About Everything" and "Children Are Forbidden From Saying the Darndest Things."
While the news remains relentlessly grim -- anthrax, terrorism, war -- the Internet's smart alecks, cynics and satirists are still going strong. They have pumped a fast-moving stream of electronic wit, shtick and kitsch into the nation's data networks for the past six weeks. It's the kind of stuff that used to circulate around the office water cooler or over the backyard fence. Now it travels from computer to computer at a speed no book publisher or Hollywood producer could hope to match.
Much of the most widely circulated work -- as determined by the ever-widening address histories attached to them -- mirrors what polls say about the mood of the country: a bit apprehensive, but also determined and patriotic, with a jingoistic undertone. Many reflect an abiding faith in the technological superiority and lethality of the U.S. military.
One e-mail contains the image of a B-2 bomber that has been doctored so that its bat-shaped wings carry the message, "If You Can Read This . . . You're [Expletive]." There's another showing U.S. bombers unleashing a fearsome payload with the logos of commercial aircraft painted on the planes' tails; the caption reads: "United and American Airlines Announce New, Non-stop Service to Afghanistan." A popular animated e-mail features a parody of the calypso "Banana Boat Song"; as bombs rain on Osama bin Laden, Colin Powell, backed by George Bush on conga, sings, "Come, Mr. Taliban, turn over bin Laden."
An anonymous essayist offered some tongue-in-cheek thoughts on why America is "the most insane nation on earth" and why picking a fight with the United States is a very bad idea ("We're nuts enough to give all four of our branches of military services extremely powerful and deadly aircraft, even though only one of them is actually called the Air Force.")
Some of this can be chalked up to Americans' need for reassurance, says Michael Cornfield, a professor at George Washington University who studies politics and the Internet. "When times get stressful, you go back to your authority figures," he says. "Right now, there's maximum uncertainty, so we're cleaving to the traditional sources of stability," such as patriotism and the military.
It may also be a kind of people's propaganda. Although much of the pro-America e-mail pokes fun at bin Laden and the Taliban, some of it uses racist stereotypes to vilify and degrade the enemy, just as state-sponsored propaganda has done through the ages.
"Now there are millions of competitors to the government's control of information," points out Howard Rheingold, the author of "Virtual Community," a book about the Internet and social communication. "The one-to-many characteristic of the Internet shows that every computer is potentially a printing press, a broadcasting station and a place of assembly. What it all tells you is that the government is no longer the exclusive source of propaganda."
Not everything in the news gains traction, however. In an odd display of restraint for the freewheeling Internet culture, there are few references to the past week's most dominant story, the spread of anthrax through the U.S. mail.
The bioterrorism that has claimed three lives in the past three weeks has largely been met with silence. "There's sort of an unspoken moratorium on humor because of the deaths," Cornfield says. But he adds, "As soon as we know what we're dealing with, and who's to blame, the anthrax humor will start."
Among the few dissenting voices making the circuit is that of David Rees, 29, a part-time cartoonist and temp office worker from Brooklyn. Rees's Web site strip, "Get Your War On," offers irony, absurdity, biting social commentary and a generally skeptical attitude toward the prevailing war culture. "You know what I love," asks one of his clip-art characters. "I love how we're dropping food aid packages into a country that's one big [expletive] minefield! That's good!"
Rees's work might have stayed obscure had it not been for e-mail. About two weeks ago, he e-mailed a page of panels to about 10 friends. One of them posted a link to Rees's site (www.mnftiu.cc), and from there it started to snowball. Since then, his site has gotten more than 5 million hits.
"I have no illusions as to how devastating [the destruction of the World Trade Center] was," says Rees, via an e-mail interview. "But, still, the idea of bombing Afghanistan until the Taliban are overthrown and terror is ended begs for satire."
So far, most of the e-mail Rees gets in reply to his strip tends to agree with his point of view. But as he reaches a broader audience, he expects the negative reaction to grow. Which probably says something about the boundaries of acceptable debate, even on the Internet.