Hermit wrote:Forty Two wrote:What ought to have been done in the aftermath of 9/11/2001?
Bomb Saudi Arabia' Madrassas. Liquidate the Saudi princes. Stop Raegan from arming the Mujahadeen.
Reagan was President from 1980 to 1988, and arms were provided to the Afghans at that time in order to fight off the Soviet Union which had invaded the country in a war of conquest. That's not the "aftermath" of 9/11/01.
You'd suggest a better course of action than going after the culprits of 9/11/01 in the location where the culprits were located would be to have just murder children in Islamic schools in Saudi Arabia?
The madrassas that are said to have focused on warring against infidels developed mainly in Pakistan and Afghanistan, by the way.
But, let's rewind to September/October 2001. What would have been your reaction had George W. Bush had said the following in a speech:
"Good morning, my fellow Americans.
I am here to address a grave and growing problem in the world. The United States was attacked. A group calling itself Al Qaeta downed the World Trade Center buildings, drove a plane into the Pentagon, and but for the heroism of some passengers on Flight 93, would have likely destroyed another target. This is the same group that bombed the American embassies in Kenya and Tanzania, killing hundreds of Americans and others. This is the same group that bombed the USS Cole and Khobar Towers, killing more Americans. This is the same group that tried to take down the Twin Towers in 1993 with a truck bomb. They have issued a Declaration of War Against the United States and published it throughout the world. They are located mainly in Afghanistan, but have cells throughout the world.
So, my fellow Americans, we will take action against these murderers. This morning I issued orders for the American Sixth Fleet to enter the Persian Gulf, and our air forces are already in motion from Diego Garcia and other bases. Bombing has commenced of Mecca, Medina, Riyadha and other major locations in Saudi Arabia. The primary targets are mosques and their associated religious schools, called "madrasses." We have also issued a call from the King and other ruling family members of Saudi Arabia to step down and leave Saudi Arabia, so that the Coalition can set up a provisional Saudi government. Absent their agreement to step down by noon tomorrow, we will destroy the Saudi royal family's infrastructure, command, control and communications, and eliminate this pernicious threat.
We are not at war with Islam, mind you. We are just going to bomb religious Islamic schools that we think are teaching fundamentalist messages. The children and young adults attending these madrassas are the real enemy. We will not be attacking Al Qaeta or its training camps in Afghanistan. That would be stupid, and shortsighted.
Thank you, my fellow Americans, and God Bless."
“When I was in college, I took a terrorism class. ... The thing that was interesting in the class was every time the professor said ‘Al Qaeda’ his shoulders went up, But you know, it is that you don’t say ‘America’ with an intensity, you don’t say ‘England’ with the intensity. You don’t say ‘the army’ with the intensity,” she continued. “... But you say these names [Al Qaeda] because you want that word to carry weight. You want it to be something.” - Ilhan Omar