Here are several comments I have after reading this piece in the NYTimes about the use of Predator drones against Afghani’s and Pakistani’s.
- How stupid is the US government for thinking there wouldn’t be any retaliation? The US has had some famous individuals who have caused massive damage, like Timothy McVeigh and Ted Kaczynski (the Unabomber). A single person who wants to retaliate against government actions is entirely capable of doing so. The article uses the analogy of stirring up a hornets nest and thinking the US won’t get stung. 9/11 was the biggest sting we got from previous transgressions and all these wars and Predator drone attacks are just begging for more stings.
- In this current system of government, there are NO anti-war presidents. There may be anti-war candidates, like Dennis Kucinich, but Obama was never an anti-war candidate either. To all the liberals who thought they were electing an anti-war president, try watching the debates next time. President Obama clearly said he’d continue fighting terrorism militarily.
- The article states, “Figuring out cause-and-effect when it comes to the motivations of Islamic militants is always tricky.” Huh? These are not aliens from another planet, as much as the mass media seems to indicate, they are people who simply don’t like it when a much more powerful, resourceful and rich country humiliates their entire culture for generations and to top it off kills many innocents with reckless abandon and doesn’t show any regret. The US military frequently SAYS they regret the killing of innocents, but they never SHOW it. A good place to start might be to stop dropping them in the first place.
If you want to play an interactive version of my thoughts on this subject, you can play, “What Goes Around”. It’s not a proper game, but more an experimental game that communicates my thoughts on this.
© 2010, Reid Bryant Kimball. All rights reserved.