Jim Austin

His previous columns are archived HERE.

JIM AUSTIN

Vision not revenge

Now is a time for solidarity and clear thinking.

We have underestimated our enemies and thousands of innocent people have paid the price. Our leaders have made mistakes in policy, diplomacy, and vision that left us unprepared for the vile rage of Muslim extremists. We must not now compound our lack of preparedness and errors by lashing out like a wounded animal.

We have an enormous, painstaking job ahead. Our intelligence agencies need to be brought up to Cold War standards. Our allies have to be brought under an umbrella of grim purpose. That purpose is to root out extremist groups and bring them to justice. It has been done before with success.

Some may recall the carnage caused by the Baader-Meinhof Gang, also known as the Red Army Faction. They were responsible for several murders, kidnappings, and hijackings in the late 60s and into the 70s. Where are they now? Their leaders were captured and after a few years committed suicide in their cells.

Now is the time to recall old stratagems and develop new ones.

Of course we must suppress the urge to lash out at Arabs of all stripes. When one of our Congressmen, I forget who, said we should strike without regard for collateral damage he was reacting like an idiot child. He was lowering himself to the level of bin Laden himself who hates us and considers us all deserving of destruction.

This is not to say that because Islam is a faith with millions of adherents it should not be criticized. Without having great knowledge of this vast religious movement, I will say that violence seems sanctioned at the highest levels.

If Ayatollahs don't like the writings of authors like Salman Rushdie they pin a death warrant on them. When bin Laden publicly called for Muslims to kill any American, no matter where they were found, where was the outrage from Saudi Arabia, or Egypt, or even Kuwait?

These countries are allies of convenience only. It certainly appears that their real allegiance is to Islam even if it calls for murder. I don't believe their protestations and outrage over Tuesday's mass murder of our citizens. I think they are reveling in our pain. I also think that bin Laden and those like him could not exist without funds from governments like Iraq, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, and others.

We have ample reason to attack the government of Afghanistan. In addition to being oppressive, misogynistic fanatics they are the ones who give safe harbor to bin Laden and his ilk.

But wait a minute.

A massive ground war against Afghanistan might not be such a great idea. Our battle ardor will certainly cool if our men and women start coming home in body bags. Remember that Afghanistan was the Vietnam of the Soviet Union. The Soviets were driven out of the country in ruins having lost billions in ordinance and thousands of men.

We can't make that mistake.

Perhaps supplying the rebels that fight against the Taliban is the way to destroy this rogue government. It worked once. It was us who supplied arms to rebels fighting the Soviet invaders.

We can also change the rules here at home.

Obviously we need to adopt a more El Al approach to airline security. Armed marshals on aircraft virtually eliminated the rash of hijackings about fifteen years ago. I, for one, would be amenable to paying more for my ticket and having to spend extra time at security check points if it meant I would arrive at my destination in one piece.

We can also make a national effort to make ourselves less dependant on Middle East oil. This means not only development of alternative energy sources but a limit on gas-guzzling SUVs. If safely drilling in Alaska would give us long term oil reserves and allow us to wean ourselves away from the oily teat of OPEC, then let's do it.

Whatever we do, let's do it intelligently from many different angles. Let's get behind the President and urge caution, diplomacy, and above all, include our allies. The isolationism advocated by men like former Senate Foreign Relations Chairman Jesse Helms, whose policies held the rest of the world in contempt, is what lead us to this juncture. It is ignorance of our enemy that blasted our security.

We will get the results we need by fighting as a global team and forcing our will on Middle Eastern countries by diplomacy and foresight. It will take time but we will find these maniacs that have murdered our people and we will live to see their leaders commit suicide in prison.