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Undertoad · 10-24-2001, 08:15 PM

2) The media and government overreaction was necessary to allay the worst possible fears of a public that is already looking to cancel Halloween. The complete education may now prevent them from stopping Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just think of what it'd be like if the facts were coldly presented WITHOUT the followup of attention and details. And stopping Thanksgiving and Christmas would kinda put a damper on all that economic recovery, which had better kick in sometime soon.

5) The fact that the al queda is vague is up to them, not us. The biggest problem is that getting to the al queda is always said to be some sort of first step. Certainly there is political support right now for doing that. The whole question will then boil down to what the social climate is like once that's done. I'm not sure how you sell staying in the middle east after that.

Clearly the inability of anyone in the administration to define a specific endgame other than the ending of all terrorism everywhere. Well, obviously that's not going to happen, so what's the REAL endgame, guys? Everyone knows you have to have a defined mission with a goal.

But I suppose I don't even blame them for being loose with this matter. The big problem is that the rest of the world has to sign on too.

But to face the really big picture, none of any of that matters if all of NATO, Russia, AND China are playing on the same side. Enough of the tiles are one color on the "Risk" board.

One of the CNN guys noted today that Putin was one of the first to offer support after WTC, and actually stopped a military exercise they were having just so there'd be no confusion. That's totally amazing: the Russians went out of their way. After they said thanks but not thanks to us when we offered to help get their sub...

Point is, I guess, the administration has to decide whether there's enough political capital not only in the US, but overseas as well, and that's a lotta balls to be juggling.

But the nice thing about this war is that the boogieman enemy is better than the previous boogieman enemies. It's not on your own citizens, that's a big plus. It's not against the other half of the entire world, another big plus. Sometimes I have felt that the politicians have wanted to stoke the human urge to war - for whatever reason than the voters like to see them doing something. Well, finally a war with some moral grounds to it - at least for now.

10-24-2001, 08:15 PM	#4
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	2) The media and government overreaction was necessary to allay the worst possible fears of a public that is already looking to cancel Halloween. The complete education may now prevent them from stopping Thanksgiving and Christmas. Just think of what it'd be like if the facts were coldly presented WITHOUT the followup of attention and details. And stopping Thanksgiving and Christmas would kinda put a damper on all that economic recovery, which had better kick in sometime soon. 5) The fact that the al queda is vague is up to them, not us. The biggest problem is that getting to the al queda is always said to be some sort of first step. Certainly there is political support right now for doing that. The whole question will then boil down to what the social climate is like once that's done. I'm not sure how you sell staying in the middle east after that. Clearly the inability of anyone in the administration to define a specific endgame other than the ending of all terrorism everywhere. Well, obviously that's not going to happen, so what's the REAL endgame, guys? Everyone knows you have to have a defined mission with a goal. But I suppose I don't even blame them for being loose with this matter. The big problem is that the rest of the world has to sign on too. But to face the really big picture, none of any of that matters if all of NATO, Russia, AND China are playing on the same side. Enough of the tiles are one color on the "Risk" board. One of the CNN guys noted today that Putin was one of the first to offer support after WTC, and actually stopped a military exercise they were having just so there'd be no confusion. That's totally amazing: the Russians went out of their way. After they said thanks but not thanks to us when we offered to help get their sub... Point is, I guess, the administration has to decide whether there's enough political capital not only in the US, but overseas as well, and that's a lotta balls to be juggling. But the nice thing about this war is that the boogieman enemy is better than the previous boogieman enemies. It's not on your own citizens, that's a big plus. It's not against the other half of the entire world, another big plus. Sometimes I have felt that the politicians have wanted to stoke the human urge to war - for whatever reason than the voters like to see them doing something. Well, finally a war with some moral grounds to it - at least for now.