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Subject: [MobyGrape] Fwd: Final words
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 Adrian is a regular contributor to the 2400 Fulton list, and is also a
specialist in nuclear technology, current completing a book on the
history
of nuclear tests. He has taken a lot of heat for posting the European
views
expressed here, but I feel it's important that we be aware that these
sentiments do exist, and as he states, they are not his sentiments.

----Original Message Follows----
From: Adrian Brown <adrianbrown@AIRPLANE.FREESERVE.CO.UK>
Reply-To: Adrian Brown <adrianbrown@AIRPLANE.FREESERVE.CO.UK>
To: 2400FULTON@LISTS.NETSPACE.ORG
Subject: Final words
Date: Sat, 15 Sep 2001 03:50:18 +0100

OK, this is going to be my last post on all of this, except for answering
any direct and rational questions or comments you may care to make. I
have
to say that I'm very disappointed in quite a few list members who have
launched into very bitter and sometimes downright abusive off-list
attacks
on me, when all I've been doing is passing on what news I've gathered
about
people's reactions around where I live. I've posted similar messages to
other lists I'm on (lists where outright flame wars are the norm, not the
exception, and where several members have friends or relatives involved
in
the events we've all been seeing), and this is the only list where my
comments have met with such a violent reaction. As I said in a previous
message, don't shoot the messenger, as I'm just reporting as objectively
as
I can what's been happening and said around here following Tuesday's
events.

Anyone who thinks that any of either Paul's or my comments were in any
way
offensive or misjudged should have been watching the BBC's "Question
Time"
programme Thursday night, when an audience of ordinary British people
showed
just how much many of them really and honestly hate Americans. At one
point,
they actually had a former US ambassador to the UK close to tears through
their attacks, and they were saying things far worse than "maybe you
deserved it" (which were never my words anyway, but some of you seem to
think that they were). Contrary to what some of you seem to think, I
personally have never, do not and never will support what happened on
Tuesday. If the call ever comes, I'll be there doing my bit to wipe out
those responsible, although with my qualifications etc, it probably
wouldn't
be on the front lines, and most likely not even in uniform, but I'll be
there doing what I can to the best of my ability. Hell, if you gave me a
map
showing where the guy who planned this was, a tooled and fuelled Tornado
and
someone to ride in the back seat, I'd be off after them like a shot!

Anyway, this is my reading of the causes, effects and future consequences
of
what's happened and the reactions to it all. I offer it up for considered
and informed debate, and will NOT reply to ANY messages containing any
form
of insults or abuse aimed at me.

1) America has always been complacent towards the threat of domestic
terrorism. This has led to a lack of effective security measures at many
vulnerable targets such as domestic airports.

2) American governments have always believed they can try and force their
will onto whichever country they wish, using force if needed, and that
because they have nuclear weapons they could do so without fear of
retribution at home.

3) Many people in other countries, based mainly on their experiences with
the stereotypical loud-mouthed, overbearing and constantly complaining
middle-aged US tourists, have a certain resentment towards many things
American, especially the "we won the war" attitude that many Americans
(including some on this list) seem to have. They also perceive Americans
to
be much richer than they are, and this leads to some feelings of envy
among
those in the lower-paid branches of society. This is especially true
among
the younger elements of society, who see TV shows with American
twenty-somethings living in huge apartments, driving fancy cars, working
in
glamorous jobs and earning lots of money etc, and think that everyone
lives
that way in the US.

4) Many countries allied to the US have faced threatened or actual
terrorist
actions as a result of their support for, or involvement in, military
actions mounted in support of American foreign policy. These actions have
killed a significant number of innocent civilians in these countries.

5) When the terrorists have struck in the countries described above, the
US
has often done little to help other than offer messages of support and
outrage. Usually only when US citizens have been directly involved has
the
US acted to do anything.

6) Many people in Europe see how the USA is often willing to stand by and
watch while Europe struggles with major problems, but expects Europe to
come
rushing to its side when it wants them. There is also quite a bit of
resentment over such things as the climate change issue, where America
seems
to have been saying FYWDW3 to the rest of the world, while still
expecting
everyone else to toe the line on other issues which would benefit the US
more than the rest of the world.

7) Many people in European businesses have seen how US companies, often
with
government support, have used dirty tricks and other unfair methods to
win
contracts, seriously harming or even destroying long-established European
firms. Many in the airline industry also resent the way in which US
airlines
demand the right to be allowed to fly internal European services, while
at
the same time European airlines are banned from flying internal US
routes.

8) Many people in Europe are also very unhappy with expanding US
ownership
of European firms, while at the same time the US government has very
often
done all it can to restrict or prevent outside ownership of American
companies.

9) The combination of the above circumstances has led to many people in
Europe and the rest of the world feeling that the USA has become arrogant
and as a result did deserve to fall victim to a major terrorist action as
a
way of taking the whole country down a few pegs. However, most rational
people here ARE appalled at the scale of things, and probably expected
(possibly somewhat naively and partly based on Hollywood's depiction of
terrorist methods) that such an attack, when it came, would be preceded
by a
sufficiently long enough warning for a proper evacuation to take place
and
that few, if any, people would be hurt.

10) There was a MAJOR failure in the US intelligence services in not
being
aware of, or properly raising the alarm about, what was planned by the
group
responsible for what's happened. This failure needs to be addressed very
quickly and measures put into place to prevent a repeat. One known weak
point in the US intelligence community is the CIA and its attitude
towards
the other intelligence services. It's vitally important that steps be
taken
to end the long-running inter-agency rivalry that exists between the CIA,
NSA, NRO and all the other agencies that most people have never even
heard
of.

11) Whichever way you look at it, the terrorists haven't just shot
themselves in the foot over this, they've blown the whole f*cking leg
off.
This has given the West a huge advantage over them, which must not be
squandered through over-hasty and too broad a response against what may
turn
out to be the wrong target. Those people calling for "revenge now" or for
a
major M.E. city to be nuked are just playing into the terrorist's hands.
A
massive and rapid response which may well hit innocent Afghans/Iraqis/etc
will only help to build support for the terrorist's fight against the
"evil
Satan America" and all it's allies. The death of just one innocent
bystander
in a US or US-led counterstrike is one death too many and will only help
the
terrorists. Any military action must not only be accurate, it must also
be
clean and carried out with the full support of the entire international
community, including the Arab states.

12) All these people coming out of the woodwork calling for various
things
we in the west take for granted to be permanently banned (PC flight sims,
films containing any violence, disaster movies etc) are just playing into
the hands of the terrorists. The aim of most terrorists is NOT to kill
people, as they know that's actually counter-productive to their cause.
The
more they kill, the harder the reaction against them. The real aim of
most
terrorists is to make their target population permanently change the way
it
thinks or behaves. By making these changes, we are giving in to the
bastards
who did this, and they end up winning. The way to show them that their
actions will never win is for life to go on with as little permanent
disturbance as possible. By all means have temporary withdrawals of some
things as a way of showing respect for the victims, but permanently
restricting our freedoms is tantamount to handing victory to the bad
guys.
They'll see that they've forced us to make changes which restrict our
freedoms and they'll just keep on doing stuff until we find ourselves
living
in a giant armed camp under constant surveillance even in our own homes
with
no freedom of any kind.

13) While a strong military, effective intelligence network and expensive
security systems may be a short-term solution to the problem, the ONLY
way
to really beat the kind of people who do things like this is to follow
the
example of the British forces in Malaya. By working hard to show the
local
population that they weren't the bad guys, they robbed the rebels of
their
support network and drove them into the open where they could be
destroyed
without risk to the locals. Immediate military action may eliminate the
current threat, but it won't solve the root cause of the problem. The
ONLY
way to ensure something like this never happens again is by working on a
global basis, not through the UN, but in the streets and alleyways of
Baghdad, Kabul etc, to show those who would harbour and support the
terrorists that doing so only prolongs the agonies they themselves are
also
experiencing through continuing sanctions, collateral damage from air
strikes or  the actions of (and often intimidation by) the terrorists
themselves. It won't be quick or easy to do this, but it MUST be done if
we
are to ever have a real and lasting peace. In all probability there WILL
be
some casualties along the way while we do this, but they are the price we
must pay if we really want peace in the world.

14) September 11th, 2001 will not be the last time the USA becomes a
target
for terrorists operating within its borders. All Americans must now get
used
to the kind of security procedures Europe has had in place for years.
It's
vitally important that the security measures applied to internal US
flights
reach or even surpass the same standard as those applied to internal
European flights. No longer must people be allowed to wander onto flights
with just a single pass through a metal detector and a very cursory
baggage
inspection by someone who can earn better money at a fast-food outlet.
The
same procedures applied to transatlantic flights MUST now be applied to
ALL
passenger flights originating at any US airport, regardless of their
destination. More stringent checks must also be applied at the Canadian
border, and people should no longer be able to simply drive across with
just
the most basic of checks. The same must also apply to other "open"
borders,
no matter where they are in the world.

15) Given the way in which the buildings collapsed so quickly and
catastrophically, a long hard look needs to be taken at the way in which
very tall buildings are constructed, and whether we really need them to
be
that high in the first place. In particular, ways need to be found to
stop a
building from collapsing after being hit by a plane as big and heavy as a
fully-fuelled B747, or at least delaying the collapse long enough for a
proper and complete evacuation of the building and surrounding danger
area
to take place. In addition, we need to look at new ways of evacuating
very
tall buildings, paying special attention to those trapped above a fire or
serious structural damage. This isn't the first time planes have hit
skyscrapers, and it won't be the last. If we don't use the recent events
as
a catalyst for new research, many more people could potentially die in
future tragedies which could be avoided if we take the time to learn from
what happened on Tuesday.

(please pass the following on to as many people as possible)

Now that the initial shock is starting to fade, it's important that we
channel the resultant anger into something constructive, something that
will
make the world a better and much safer place for us all to live in. The
world turned to shit earlier this week but, with a bit of care, from the
biggest pile of shit you can get the finest roses. If the victims of
Tuesday's horror deserve a memorial, as they surely do, let's not make it
some form of statue or plaque. Let their memorial be a brave new world. A
world where fear, terror, intolerance and loathing have no place, and
where
those who would try to use them as weapons can find no sanctuary. It'll
be a
hard road, but it's the only one we can take if we want future
generations
to inherit a world they can be proud of.

Adrian.

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