I don't often use this forum for political topics. I am sure most of you don't read my blog to hear my opinions. You all have opinions of your own and think your's are the best. But once in while I just have get stuff off my chest.
The shooting at VA Tech is horrific and tragic, and my sympathies go out to all the lives it has touched.
What I can't help thinking about is the ease at which this was able to happen.
If we are fighting a 'war on terror', this is the kind of event that we should be protecting ourselves from. It doesn't matter if it's a disturbed student or a religious fundamentalist. This is the type of thing that terrorists do. This illustrates that they don't need to spend years coming up with elaborate plans to hijack planes and crash them into buildings. They strap a bomb to themselves and take out a half dozen folks at a marketplace. How easy would it be to get a a few AK47's and head down to the nearest university, mall, or public lobby? It would easily succeed if their objective is terrorizing the country.
So if an act like this can be carried out so easily, and as George Bush has scared the country into believing that there are legions of fanatics out there (apparently all living in Iraq) wanting to do us harm, why haven't they? Is this threat of terrorism bogus? If these 'evil doers' were clever enough to carry out the 9/11 attack why can't they even get it together to blow up a truck in Times Square? One single troubled college kid just went out got a gun and has sent shockwaves of fear across the country. After all terrorism isn't about mass casualties or defeating the military; it's about random frightening attacks on civilians. The 9/11 hi-jackers didn't fly planes into naval or army bases did they?
Terrorism is not your typical enemy. You can't locate it on a map and attack. It isn't a nation that you battle with tanks and troops. It's something that you fight with police, FBI and CIA work. That's how the British and Canadians have foiled plots. Why would terrorists all congregate in Iraq, where the entire might of the US military is focused? It's not the military that the terrorists target.
What if the perpetrator of the VA Tech shooting had been an Iranian or simply visited Iran recently? Would Bush today be bombing Tehran? Just perhaps. It's the same reasoning he used for the war in Iraq, but even less logical since they were mostly from Saudi Arabia via Afghanistan. If terrorists really wanted to get to us, to shock and frighten us, they could easily do it. The VA Tech tragedy makes it more obvious that pouring more troops and money into Iraq will not prevent a group or an individual from carrying out a killing spree somewhere in this country.
Bush's war in Iraq is like blowing up a house to kill a mouse. Even if you get that mouse, the house is destroyed at a loss of thousands of dollars, and there are still other mice out there. Instead, for a few bucks you close up the holes, and set a few traps. You might even try to figure out what brought them inside in first place.
The shooting at VA Tech is horrific and tragic, and my sympathies go out to all the lives it has touched.
What I can't help thinking about is the ease at which this was able to happen.
If we are fighting a 'war on terror', this is the kind of event that we should be protecting ourselves from. It doesn't matter if it's a disturbed student or a religious fundamentalist. This is the type of thing that terrorists do. This illustrates that they don't need to spend years coming up with elaborate plans to hijack planes and crash them into buildings. They strap a bomb to themselves and take out a half dozen folks at a marketplace. How easy would it be to get a a few AK47's and head down to the nearest university, mall, or public lobby? It would easily succeed if their objective is terrorizing the country.
So if an act like this can be carried out so easily, and as George Bush has scared the country into believing that there are legions of fanatics out there (apparently all living in Iraq) wanting to do us harm, why haven't they? Is this threat of terrorism bogus? If these 'evil doers' were clever enough to carry out the 9/11 attack why can't they even get it together to blow up a truck in Times Square? One single troubled college kid just went out got a gun and has sent shockwaves of fear across the country. After all terrorism isn't about mass casualties or defeating the military; it's about random frightening attacks on civilians. The 9/11 hi-jackers didn't fly planes into naval or army bases did they?
Terrorism is not your typical enemy. You can't locate it on a map and attack. It isn't a nation that you battle with tanks and troops. It's something that you fight with police, FBI and CIA work. That's how the British and Canadians have foiled plots. Why would terrorists all congregate in Iraq, where the entire might of the US military is focused? It's not the military that the terrorists target.
What if the perpetrator of the VA Tech shooting had been an Iranian or simply visited Iran recently? Would Bush today be bombing Tehran? Just perhaps. It's the same reasoning he used for the war in Iraq, but even less logical since they were mostly from Saudi Arabia via Afghanistan. If terrorists really wanted to get to us, to shock and frighten us, they could easily do it. The VA Tech tragedy makes it more obvious that pouring more troops and money into Iraq will not prevent a group or an individual from carrying out a killing spree somewhere in this country.
Bush's war in Iraq is like blowing up a house to kill a mouse. Even if you get that mouse, the house is destroyed at a loss of thousands of dollars, and there are still other mice out there. Instead, for a few bucks you close up the holes, and set a few traps. You might even try to figure out what brought them inside in first place.
