Demon Drawer's Tangental Thoughts
Created | Updated Sep 2, 2004
Welcome to the weird and wonderful world of Demon Drawer's
Tangenatal Thoughts, or D2T2 for short. For a while know I've realised that my brain goes off on quite obscure tangents at times and so I thought I'd start to share that with you dear reader of The Post. I do not promise that I will go off on a tangent every week but if I do The Post Team will be the first to know.
This weeks tangent:
The Winnability of War
There is no historical precedent
To put the words in the mouth of the President
There's no such thing as a winnable war
It's a lie that we don't believe anymore
Sting Russians
The above words come from a different war; the Cold war. A different
Republican President; the recently deceased Ronald Reagan. A different fear; nucleur holicost rather than terrorism. However, the words of President George W Bush this week brought this song seeping back into my brain.
President Bush went on to say 'But I think you can create conditions so that those who use terror as a tool are less acceptable in parts of the world.' I wonder where he has been for the last few years as plenty of suggestions have been rattling around of how just this can be done.
For starters not all Muslims are terrorists - this appears to have somehow washed over Old George. Just over eight years ago the greatest
American Muslim, Mohammed Ali, lit the Olympic flame. Just last week
Britian's last medal winner in this year's Olympics, also a boxer, also a muslim, Ashir Khan, stood on the medal podium wrapped in the Union Flag. His family who were there as happy as punch also showed their patriotism in the red, white and blue of Great Britain.
Secondly how many former Terrorists are now in power around the world? Russia and China were more or less started by the Communist terrorist who seized their country. South Africa is now ruled by the ANC - formerly considered a terrorist organisation by the National Party, the two parties have recently merged. History also shows that America's ally in the Middle East, Israel, was formed after terrorist activity against the occupying British forces. Palestine itself, which has regularly been a subject of peace negotiations in Washington, democratically elected a former terrorist to make up its first government. For the Irish American's of course Sinn Fien, the political wing of the IRA, are now the majority voice of the minority Catholic population. They were once considered terrorists.
In all the above cases the so-called terrorists did have a point to make - usually about oppression from some force which had overwhelmingly out of proportion, excessive power. Most of these people came to a peaceful solution at some point in their history although some of them did not stick. This peaceful resolution came through dialogue. Amazingly this is an approach which George W Bush has not even contemplated with Al Queda. Maybe he would be able to sit down over a nice cup of tea and discuss things to find out what their grievances are. But then that would remind everyone of America's start of their own militia's terrorist activities against the forces of King George III, now commonly known as the American War of Inpendence.
This is DD having been barred from Madison Square Gardens, New York.
Can't think why?
