At 10:08 PM 2/19/2002 +0000, Billet and Acrylic UK Gold Services wrote: >That makes interesting reading John >It makes you wonder if the war on Terrorism is winnable (if there is such a >word)
There is no War on Terrorism any more than there is a War on Drugs. There are only wars on people who displease or effectively resist the powerful. The West has promoted itself as supporters of the rule of law, but only the sheeple really believe this. The challenge for America and its allies is whether it can diffuse the root causes which are leading to the asymmetrical warfare being waged against them without our societies becoming an unwelcome place to reside. I'm betting they cannot and that Davidson and Rees-Moog are correct. They predict that we are witnessing a geopolitical point of inflection brought on by simplified, widespread and even anonymous electronic value transfers and a shift in the economic return on violence which will increasingly favor smaller entities (even individuals) wielding weapons of mass destruction. Another factor which may come into play is the ability to anonymously contract for or encourage acts against the powerful either by individuals or through anonymous pooling and distribution of electronic money (unbundling and dissociation of actors). A cross-posting... ---------------------------------------------- In people's conflict, time is the terrain and tradition the target. Clandestine warfare is not about "hiding," but "constantly escaping." (I believe T.E. Lawrence wrote on that extensively.) What you really escape is not the enemy, but arranged conflict. You break space to fight in time. Most people see guerrillas yielding territory, and talk about how they master space and mobility...but, they are territory-focused. They see "hiding," because they are space-focused. TIME is their terrain, their tool, and even their terror. The Apaches were time warriors, they didn't stand their ground -- they stood their time. Terrorism is "time warfare" with noncombatant targets. Disperse war through time and space -- and you've hit the American blindspot. Unbundle and disassociate the actors also, and yes, you might have something... -------------------------------------------------- steve --- You are currently subscribed to e-gold-list as: archive@jab.org To unsubscribe send a blank email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] Use e-gold's Secure Randomized Keyboard (SRK) when accessing your e-gold account(s) via the web and shopping cart interfaces to help thwart keystroke loggers and common viruses.
