Jim TT

I don't know how many of you are aware of the fact that the Ayatollah Khomeini basically kidnapped Islam for his own twisted political ends. This was the beginning of the extreme miss interpretation of the Koran which we now see manifesting itself in the poisoned rhetoric coming from Bin Ladin. I bring this up because it is high time the truth about Islamic beliefs are published and repeated again and again especially to those idolaters who follow Bin Laden. The Koran says that "only God can give life and only God can take life", thus suicide and mindless killings are in direct conflict with its teachings. Remember the outrage that we heard from the Egyptians when it was made public that their Egypt Air pilot had committed suicide? And consider the following passage "to kill one innocent life is to kill all of civilization, and to save one innocent life is to save all of civilization". We all need to understand that Islam stands for peace and harmony, perhaps that is way Bin Ladin does not quote from the Koran directly but rather drapes his messages with misleading but sacred sounding language. Over time the Islamic people who follow these misguided leaders need to hear the truth about their own religion.
I have heard many talk about how hard it will be to deal with the terrorists and no doubt it will. But you and I don't know what our intelligence community knows and we don't see what they see and further we don't know the true capabilities of our own special forces. Lets leave the mission to them. There is a parallel in history, which is relevant to our situation today. At one time piracy was a scourge on the high seas. These people were far worse that the modern day Hollywood portrayals and the butchery they committed was severe. The Untied States and Great Britain finally decided that something had to be done and formed a coalition to rid the word of pirates. At that time they called piracy "a crime against humanity" and together they systematically eliminated the problem. It was not easy and it took years and many lives. One trouble spot for US merchant ships of the day was the area of modern day Libya (our eternal enemy it seems) it is interesting to note that President Jefferson did not declare war on Tripoli but rather on the Barbary Pirates themselves. JIM

RTinNYC(again)

Interesting thoughts and well said, thank you Jim.

GuilTTy

Very well put.

SoloTTech

Yes, interesting.

Rennen

...than them and come up with incidious means to destroy just those extremists who wage this war of terror.

Levent

Agree. Thanks.

0TT0 BURNER

attacks of the Rangers. They noticed that by the eighth assault the attack was the same and on that eighth assault a trap was sprung which cost many elite lives. The organization and execution was very well done, like the WTC bombings. His people are excellent field commanders particularly in that terrain and culture. Our leaders have made it very clear that there is no war against specific states and the coalition is very well supported to their credit. This Holy War will not spread like wildfire as Bin Laden hopes. Our special forces is not what it was during the Reagan era. Too much hype and many logistic errors create a force with a reputation greater than capability. Bin Laden's men come from 3 generations of hardened warriors. The country has been at war for over 25 years. These guys don't train, they execute day in and day out, and are very accustomed to working together for many field victories using civilians as bait and shield. My only point in sharing this information is that the American public watches a few movies and feels very safe and proud. In reality meeting this foe in his own mountainous terrain and hit and run strategy must not be taken for granted again. Vietnam was a cakewalk in comparison to this op. Overkill with our strike teams should be the sonnet of the day and keeping the press out and locked down is the best decision we could start with, IMHO.

YosemyTT

I love to read here when people show that they have actually thought about things. I had been considering leaving the forum for good today when I read some stupid s*^t written by angry people who have not taken the time to think about history (let alone consider the consequences of their own words).

I agree with much of what you wrote and have plenty of opinions. It just seems that most people are reluctant to examine history for the lessons it can yield.

Thanks for giving me hope. Guess I'll stick around here a while longer...

Jim TT

These are very dangerous people, we will loose solders there is no doubt you make very good points.

jgriff

strong Spainards. Pirates were condoned and allowed safe harbor in british ports as they attacked and stole gold and treasure laden spainish ships from the new world. Finally with spain weakened and teh pirates (such as black beard) were sent packing from england. This was only after Spain had squandered it's riches and lost several sea battles with England.