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Well, I was going to stay out of this discussion, but......
If I hear Mr. Bush talk about "justice" one more time, I think I will scream: he has absolutely no idea about what the word means. By bombing Afghanistan and doing everything that he's doing at the moment, he is after revenge not jusice - and there's a big difference. What exactly is bombing Afghanistan going to solve? You get Bin Laden, then what? Someone just steps up and takes his place. Then you've got someone even more pissed off at the US because of all the bombing that's happened in their back-yard, and then you have an even bigger problem. So you retaliate with a bigger strike, which, in turn, gets them even angrier and so on and so on until we're at war. What's the point? Has it solved anything? Has it brought back the lives of those who died on Sept 11? No, it hasn't.
Justice would involve getting into Afghanistan, getting Bin Laden then leaving quietly. I know it's not that simple, but my point is that they've bombed 85(?) sites over the past few days, and has any of them gotten the US anywhere closer to finding Bin Laden and seeking justice? Nope. Bush may have gone some way to getting revenge, but hasn't made a dent in bringing anyone to justice. And don't tell me that those 85 bombs have softened Afghanistan up either - there's nothing left to bomb that's worthwhile in the first place. They can carpet bomb the landscape for years and they'll still be no closer to finding Bin Laden. They would, however, succeed in strengthening his resolve to commit further attrocities, and that's what - in my opinion - is happening now. They're throwing fuel onto the fire nothing more.
The other thing that's annoyed me about this whole ordeal is America's inability to think rationally about why this may have occurred. Nineteen people, in case you were wondering, don't just fly planes into buildings for no reason. Some people say it's because they dislike the west, and believe that the west is morally corrupted or something - which may or may not be true - but it's still not enough to drive someone to take their own life.
Firstly I would argue that their war is not with the west, but with the US. You never see these muslims burning British, French or Canadian flags, even though these countries (as well as several others obviously) are also very powerful representatives of western society. The reason, in my opinion, is because the US - since the 2nd World War - have become almost megalomaniacal in their treatment of foreign affairs or international diplomacy. They are fueled by the misguided belief that their way is the right way and, above all, the only way. They interfere in wars and take sides - sure they may make great allies this way, but look at all the enemies they've made at the same time. How about the Cold War? America disagreed with communism and were so certain that they were right, that they were prepared to bring the world to the brink of a nuclear war to make a point. Addmittedly the Russians were hardly angels in this case, but America took an unnessecarily hardline stance towards something (the system of government in another country) that really didn't concern them. Just take a look at the rampant McCartyism in the 50's and compare it to what's happening now - the only difference now is that America's embarking on a moral war against terrorism in the 00's, instead of communism in the 50's.
So, to put it bluntly, in my opinion it is this patriotic self-righteousness in the way that it's conducted foreign affaris that ignited this recent spaight of terrorism. They put their foot in the door too often in the Middle-East (look at the wars fought against Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, plus all the troops situated in Saudi Arabia, Libya etc, etc.), taking sides, fighting optimistic moral crusades and ending nowhere. They helped Iraq defeat Iran, and no look what's happened. They're helping the northen alliance usurp the Taliban when they have just as bad a track record, and just as solid an Islamic fundamentalist ferver. And if you happen to disagree with the US then it's trade sanctions - no soup for you. The US must take a softer line with these sorts of things otherwise Sept 11 is just going to happen over and over again.
Now I'm not being unsympathetic towards the US when I say all this. I was almost moved to tears several times watching the coverage from New York - I was sincerely moved by the whole ordeal. But in the last few days, watching Bush bomb Afghanistan and threatening to bomb other countries, you kind of wonder if anyone's actually learnt anything. Instead of clambering atop his moral soapbox and preaching bullshit about "justice", George Bush would be better off considering how to prevent this sort of thing from happening in the future, instead taking the predictable knee-jerk reactionary response. Carpet bombing countries who disagree with you (and I don't think Bush needs an excuse to send troops into Afghanistan - they'd be there whether there was evidence pointing to Bin Laden or not) he has to back off, commit only those actions that are necessary to bring those responsible to justice, and to try and understand that the American way of life is not the only way of life. If he fails to do these things, then he should have no reason to be suprised when Sept 11 happens all over again.
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), in 1997 they stopped another group from carbombing Buckingham palace so inway i dont think it is just against the USA but right now it is focused on us.In the bombings I somewhat agree with the "why are we bombing them" but for a different reason the fist couple of days to knock airports and communication, and anti aircraft weapons sure but thats about it my difference and i know ill get flammed is we as the USA are dropping ordinence on targets that cost 1/10 of the ordinence and thats just plain stupid. a 5 million dollar cruise missle to knock out a bunch of tents. i dont know if you live in the US but there has been an antsy feeling of late of why havent we done something in response yet so i think we have shown great restain as of so far.See i think in all of the this we forget who we are dealing with here : Bin laden and the Taliban bin laden has tons and tons of money to carrey out these plans and a government to back him they society back to how it was 2ooo years ago they want all western influence out of the middle east not just the USA but all
