Jim Austin

His previous columns are archived HERE.

JIM AUSTIN

This is a letter sent to a 61-year-old businessman and native Brazilian, who is a friend of the family. I will share his perspective when he writes back.

Dear Luis,

So much has happened since we communicated last. This country is very confused and very afraid. 6000-plus families are mourning their dead and most of them don't really know why they were murdered.

Many people want to drop a big bomb on someone, but who? If we bomb Afghanistan, we will be just like the terrorists. Those people in the World Trade Center didn't control U.S. foreign policy any more than the Afghan people control the terrorists.

I am very interested to hear your point of view on this issue. Personally, I am very pessimistic. I heard on the news that the Afghan people have ten television sets per1000 people. Here every home has two or three. We throw TVs away when they break and just buy a new one. Afghans collect dung to use as cooking fuel.

The U.S., in the Cold War against the Russians, used the Afghanis as pawns. Just as the Russians supplied the North Vietnamese with arms in the 60s and 70s, so we supplied the anti-Russian forces in Afghanistan in the 80s. There are young adults in Afghanistan who have never lived during a time of peace.

We should expect resentment.

Add to that resentment the religious element and you have a deadly combination. The Mullahs stand up in their minarets and call the people to prayer. They encourage young men to become martyrs by strapping explosives to their bodies and blowing themselves to heaven where 77 virgins will serve them for eternity. This they do in the name of Allah.

Allah, according to the Koran, is the same as the God of the Jews and the Christians. Obviously, they don't see the contradiction. They don't want to see it I guess.

Middle Eastern leaders are talking out of both sides of their mouth. On one side they say how much they join the world in condemning the terrorists. I suspect they say this in English so that their people will not hear the message. With the other side of their mouth they whisper "Allah Akbar" as our people die from Bin Laden's attack dogs.

I believe that their shaky, unelected governments are afraid to alienate the Moslem majority by telling their mullahs they must stop supporting terrorist activity.

They say "Islam" means "peace". What do "fatwa" and "jihad" mean?

You would be astounded by the reaction of the Christian Right here in the U.S. Instead of sending their prayers out to the victims and their families, these Old Testament freaks are blaming our own society for the death and destruction. I hear condemnation of these Judas preachers on the radio and TV from broadcasters and social commentators but not a peep from other church leaders.

The major religious leaders don't dare contradict their fanatical Christian allies when they alienate gays, feminists, and those who would keep the church out of our schools. Why not? Because they agree with them and don't have the guts to say so, is one theory.

So many people, both internationally and nationally, have said that they are appalled but not surprised by these terrorist acts. I have seen former CIA and FBI people on TV say they knew this was coming.

I wonder why the American people were the only group that was surprised? And why did we have to learn about this horrible danger to our society by watching our people die?

Because of our prosperity and power, we have ignored the powder keg in the Middle East. We have stood by and watched terrorists strike in Africa, on airliners, and against our military for many years. How naïve we were to think it couldn't happen here. Our government takes reelection very seriously but not the security of the citizens, it appears. Now our options are limited.

We can't ignore the slaughter and say, "sorry we ignored your situation, we will try to be more understanding". That would show weakness and would invite more terrorism.

In my opinion, we must use our allies like Brazil and Argentina, as well as Europe, to eliminate terrorist cells around the world. However, if we do it with guns blazing and bombs dropping on innocent people we will be inviting more deranged martyrs to come over here and murder more of our people.

I think the United States is going to have to bite the bullet and learn diplomacy. Other than a brief skirmish with Paraguay in the 50s, I don't think Brazil has been involved in any wars.

Have you had any terrorist incidents? What is the general feeling in your country. Did the U.S. deserve this? What should we do to respond in your opinion?

Hope you and your family are well.

Your good friend, Jim.