h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

As a resident of the Washington, D.C. metro area, I fully understand the current sense of rage, and desire for revenge. I wish for justice, but I hope we can avoid the loss of innocent life. If you could please read the following link to an article by an Afghan-American, and then rethink your war sentiments. Maybe we can spare other innocents our current feelings of sorrow and misery.:

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I agree COMPLETELY!!! Even though I am a resident of Canada ("I AM CANADIAN" ) I feel the sorrow and extreme hatred towards whoever did thing. I don't want a war--heck no!--but some people cannot be reached by words alone...No one will like it, but if a war is going to take place, then I hope the people responsible (sp?) for this tragity (sp? sorry, I can't spell!) will be brought to justice!!!!

Aquarius leaves one for each live that was lost on the ground as she soars into the sky and vanashes...

Hi

I read this before the link was removed, and I urge other researchers to do the same.

It is chilling and compassionate. I will provide two quotations:

'When you think Taliban, think Nazis. When you think bin Laden, think Hitler. And when you think "the people of Afghanistan" think "the Jews in the concentration camps." '

And:

"The conquest of Pakistan would have to be first. Will other Muslim nations just stand by? You see where I'm going. We're flirting with a world war between Islam and the West. ... [bin Laden] figures if he can polarize the world into Islam and the West, he's got a billion soldiers..."

I am putting a link to it on my Links Page, (http://www.bbc.co.uk/h2g2/guide/A545320) and I have suggested to Creative Name that he puts the link on his home page.

Read it - it will make you weep for the people of Afghanistan, and make you hope that Bush is well-advised.

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a human-being called Ben

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I've said elsewhere that whatever else the plotters behind this are, fools they're not. They knew *exactly* how the USA would react to what happened on Tuesday and went ahead anyway. They must be expecting a massive military strike against an Islamic nation. America should take note - you don't defeat an enemy by doing exactly what he expects of you.

Wow.

What else is there to be said?

The U.S. is beating the war drums. I am very, very afraid that a new world war is just what will happen. What will a war accomplish? The death of millions of innocents, American, Islamic and other. I speak as one who was born and raised in an American city and lives right now in the countryside. The mass media is crying, screaming for revenge. I fear that much of the American people are going along with it. With Bush as president, the worst, most bloody thing possible may very well happen.

Below is something I sent to all my friends and family when I heard of the bombings:

Hello everybody,

I am in rural Wisconsin, but I am not out of touch. When I heard about the
attacks in Geology Lab at 10:30 this morning (11:30 ET), my feelings were those of
intense shock and fear. As I write this now, I am also watching the news and thinking
of all the friends and family that I have on the east coast. I also watch pictures of the
collapse of the tallest towers in New York City and think of all the people, all the
thousands of innocent lives that have been taken in such a short period of time. I
know that I am not alone. Many people here have friends and family that live on the
eastern seaboard. One person had an aunt and cousin who lived on the top floor of
the WTC.
Though I find strength from those people around me, and give what strength I
posess to others in need, it has a hard time quelling the great fears I have that this is
only just the beginning. I fear for all who I know, especially those of you in or near
high-population areas. I fear that the lives of millions around the world may be lost as
a result of these events in coming weeks, months and years. I fear for Joel (a friend in training for the army).
I fear for
my brother, who is 16 years old and will too soon be man enough to be trapped, if
the situation should arise as such, into killing service. Because of a twist of fate, a
medical fluke, I myself will likely face no such danger. One would think that my fear
might be abated by this fact; instead it is only deepend for those around me, new
friends and old, who could be pressed into service. I fear a worst-case scenario, but
nevertheless one that is possible.
Amidst the fear, I have had dig into my ideology and ask it what I may believe
today. I want all to know my position: Terrorism is a deadly threat to ALL life
on Earth. I believe whole-heartedly in world peace, and I will never, ever condone
any action that purposefully targets innocent human life. This is at the root of my
beliefs, and at the root of my fears. I fear that if, no, when retaliations are made in
anger against the alleged purportrators of this act, whether they be actually
responsible or not, it will only worsen the situation, possibly to the point of total
annihilation of humanity, or at least to the cost of millions of innocent lives. Violence
begets violence. We must ask ourselves: how can we STOP the cycle? Will we be
able to avoid massive amounts of bloodshed by continuing our current way of life,
that of taking what we want when we want how we want and controlling
international affairs, while tightening our own regulations in a vain attempt to guard
against the inevitable backlash? Will it be by valuing profit above all else? We must
take a good, long look at why we are hated by so much of the rest of the world. The
events of today are truly a great tradjedy, an "act of war" that will live in infamy and
has put fear and horror into all of our hearts. But can we really bomb the root causes
out of existence? I think not. If anyone would like to share what they think with me, I
would be more than happy to recieve it. In fact, I think it is vital that our thoughts be
shared.
Only love can help. Only love can bring us out of this burning hellhole. We must all
reach out to all, no matter what race or creed, and join hands. I reach out to you. I
love you all and hope with all my heart for your well-being and safety. I will keep
you all in my thoughts through this uncertain time.

This is my tragic perspective as an American

Pakistan has agreed to comply with all United Nations resolutions in combating terrorism following the attacks on New York and Washington. If the UN passes a resolution saying that the Taliban either hand over Bin Laden or face strikes against Bin Laden's camps in their territory, then Pakistan will agree to it. They may well agree to a multinational peacekeeping force to go through to get Bin Laden, and that multinational force would include muslim forces.

Of course if the Taliban had had any sense whatsoever, they'd have just handed him over.

The plotters ARE fools. How many countries didn't condemn the attack?

These people did more damage to the USA in one day than any other group, nation, or event in history. This plan was put together and executed with chilling precision. I wouldn't call them fools at all.

Certainly most nations have condemned the attack. Or I should say, the *governments* of most nations - the populations of many Islamic nations contain those who support the attack. And condemning the attack isn't the same as suporting unreservedly any US response to it. If the US attacks an Arab or Islamic nation and appears in any way to be overreacting or unjustified, there will be dissenting voices from around the world.

The plotters knew all this. I think they wanted to provoke a war between Islam and the west. At the moment it seems to be working.

>. How many countries didn't condemn the attack?<

I'm pretty sure only one - Iraq.

though anyone can call me on that.