+++++Now that Obama has taken the reins he has to review policy on foreign affairs. This includes the question as what to do in Iran and Afghanistan. It has always been clear to me that we had no business in Iran, yet there were parties in Afghanistan that attacked the United States; not the country itself as it was not an elected group or a declared war. Yet, that was their home base.
+++++In the time since the September 11 attack there have been many phrases used and comparisons made in order to try to comprehend the event. Most of them invoke the idea of opposites; contradictory forces unable to coexist. President Bush himself said that "If you're not with us, you're against us." This is a simplistic catch phrase to account for an extremely complex and perhaps incomprehensible situation. It is akin to the Cole's Notes version of current affairs that has been presented to the public during the last decade. Whether due to the shrinking attention span of the mases or a decreasing intelligence we seem able to speak of local and world events only if condensed into bumper-sticker sized slogans. For example, repeat criminal offenders are not analyzed on a sociological or psychological perspective but are presented to the public in a "Three Strikes and you're out" political ad campaign. Capital punishment is not undertaken as an ethical or economic debate. Rather, it is dismissed with an out of context Biblical quote: "An eye for an eye." Likewise, homosexuality is not a discussion of nurturing versus genetics but if often left to debate on talkshows by callin pundits offering such wisdom as "It's Adam and Eve not Adam and Steve." Such limited thinking takes us periously close to the cognition, or lack thereof, displayed by our enemy.
+++++Yet, for arguement's sake, let us proceed with this thinking and see where it takes us; if it were as simple as us versus them---offence and defence. There has been much discussion of this battle in terms of good against evil. The Taliban has referred to this as a Jihad. President Bush initially used the term "crusade" before his handlers pointed out to him that the very group we're fighting found the term offensive.
+++++It's interesting that this war is couched in terms of the forces of light against dark. During the Administration of the first George Bush there was much reference made to the "thousand points of light" in relation to the "New World Order". While a free market economy is desirable andn serves us well, some amongst us crossed into the cult of greed. Financial gain was the raison d'etre or mantra of these people. No thought was given to the human suffering or environmental dmage that resulted. The ticket to heaven came via a higher corner office in our steel towers. Everything was made available for sale in this market without means; anthrax by mail order and assault rifles at Walmart. After all, as the film said, greed is good. This thinking has resulted in what can surely be called a depression.
+++++The actions and thinking of the Taliban epitomize the historical period referred to as the Dark Ages. Kknowledge is limited to clerics. Enlightenment, open dialogue and artistic creativity are negative attributes met with harsh punishment. Hundreds of years ago Western church leaders put Gallilleo to death for his scientific beliefs. The Taliban do this today. The infrastructure is so poor that people literally live in the dark in stone hovels. At the start of the war, I read that one out of five citizens was dependant on aid from the evil infidels they purport to hate. The women are encased in dark shrouds that restrict their movement while their minds and spirit are similiarily deadened by starvation and forced ignorance.
+++++The truly spiritual have a conviction which allows for exposure to the opinions of others. Debate of idealogical principles is welcomed as an exercise to further formulate one's beliefs. Enlightenment is attained via a broad base of knowledge.
+++++These men, the Taliban are ignorant and fearful. Like schoolyard bullies they strike out at those they do not understand those they fear. Through their own short fallings they are unable to attain and achieve that which they covet. Thus, the targets of their rage are the very symbols of our civilization's achievements. They used our planes to destroy the very best of our commerce, just as they ransacked the ancient artwork of Buddhist dynasties. They could earn none of this on their own and like the sandbox bully they broke our toys. It is this mentality that prohibits our reasoning with them and forces us to finally strike back militarily. Their tantrum is not a Holy War but more a symbiosis of Marx's class antagonism and sociopathy. It is a case of want by a group of people unable to do for themselves. They resent our competency and put the blame everywhere but on themselves. Their lustful misdeeds are the fault of women; therefore females must be covered and hidden. Their nation's economic and cultural dismalness is the responsibility of the west and therefore we must be wiped out. These are not Holy Men wish a Holy Grail, but hoodlums and thieves bent on destruction and vandalism. It is in this way that they might be perceived as the dark force. But, it is not in the way described by George Bush. Rather, the darkness derives from the lack of insight they have into themselves or that which actually propels them. Without this introspection upon ones own consciousness (our soul, if you will), one cannot reach or define the goal we seek.
+++++The irony is that in this fight between the forces of the dark and the light we both end up suffering the same malady. We both end up blind; unable to see the path before us. The Taliban cannot see because they have shut their own eyes to the world around them. Those who suffer under their regime cannot see because they have been wilfully blinded by those in power. Education and knowledge of the most basic sort is illegal for all women. For many boys, only religious education is made available.
+++++We are blilnd from staring at those thousand points of light in our frenzied and materialistic pursuit. Like the moth that destroys itself in reaching the light, we have harmed our very planet and health to achieve our ends. Now our economy itself may be beyond repair. We have handed over the tools of our own destruction to the Taliban and other terrorist groups in allowing destructive weapons to be sold for profit.
+++++To end this blind, curcuitous flailing we must both find another way of seeing or risk losing our way forever. Perhaps the new regime in the United States will seek a new means of dialogue with other nations which will at last end their harbouring of the Taliban. More than ever it should be evident that our global economy depends on this, whether or not all nation states care about the well being of their citizens.
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