Mark,

Excellent points you make here. This is one of the reasons why our response
should not focus on hot retaliation, but should be focused on humble
reconciliation with our estranged Muslim brothers. That doesn't mean
becoming like them, nor does it mean expecting them to become like us.
Rather, it means acknowledging each other's equal worth and strengths in the
sight of God/Allah, and forgiving each other's weaknesses.

I'll be linking to your editorial from the 911 index.

Sterling D. Allan
http://www.greaterthings.com/News/911/
Prophetic Ramifications of the 911 Attack (Index)

==================

How The Terrorists May
Ultimately Win
By Mark Rostenko
editor@...
9-14-1


Interesting times ahead of us. We,re all gung-ho on fighting the war against
the terrorists but the war is not going to be won. If we couldn,t take out
the guerilla forces in Vietnam because of their mobility and "unconventional
fighting methods, how do we expect to win a battle on a global front, where
we don,t even know who the enemy really is nor where they live? Especially
given that they live all over the place, including in our own neighborhoods,
apparently.

I,ll tell you who is going to lose this war: American citizens. The "war on
terrorism is going to further erode our rights, restrict us further and
further, in a futile attempt to eliminate all risk from life. Our generals
will fight the last war; they they have already instituted all kinds of
policies designed to prevent people from hijacking planes with razor blades.
But nobody anticipated that move. We were busy fighting the last battles in
which hijackers used guns and bombs. While we were fighting those battles,
the terrorists were developing new ways of war.

With all the newly imposed rules and airport restrictions, do you think
perhaps the terrorists will find another loophole? Design another strategy?
Of course they will. In the future, it,s unlikely that anyone will hijack a
plane with razor blades and fly it into a NYC skyscraper. But the possible
variations, and risks, are infinite.

Terrorists will go for the weak points in our system, and there will always
be weak points. Nobody ever anticipated such a bold move as trashing the
WTC, so no one prepared for it. And inevitably, we will now go overboard in
trying to close every loophole. In so doing, life may become very
restricted.

It,s a tricky situation because obviously you have to do something. And at
this point in the game, the notion of "we have to give up some freedom in
exchange for safety will be an easy sell. The reflexive urge toward safety
is a natural human response. So Americans will want for something to be
done. In that sense, the terrorists may end up winning. Life in the u.s.
won,t be as free as it was. The attack has the power to shake the
foundations of our philosophy, our way of life.

Nobody,s going to win this. We,ll wipe out some terrorist camps and we might
even assassinate some high-profile leaders. But you can break through any
wall if you have a small enough hammer. That hammer can be one guy with a
vial of anthrax. How are you going to stop him? What laws will you impose
sufficient to prevent him from committing this act? Will every man, woman
and child on every street be searched from head to toe?

We need to recognize that life isn,t safe, and it never will be. And while
we need to do things to protect ourselves, we have to think long and hard
about just how much freedom we,re willing to give up in order to ATTEMPT to
protect ourselves from occasional attacks.

What happened in NYC was horrific and I would never try to trivialize the
incredible suffering of all those involved. But in the grand scheme of
things, most people are doing well and carrying on. How much freedom are we
willing to give up in order to protect the few, that ultimately can,t really
be protected in these modern times when ONE person can inflict so much
damage on so many?

We,ll put sky marshals on planes. And then one day, someone will disarm the
sky marshal and hijack the plane and we,ll all cry "whose crazy idea was it
to put an armed person on a plane? And we,ll go back to fighting the last
battle, trying to insulate ourselves from what happened last time. And the
terrorists will look at our new laws and rules and find yet another way
around them.

You,ll notice that the world has grown increasingly restrictive, more
military, more police, more laws, more rules designed to protect us. And
yet, the terrorism and mayhem are on the INCREASE.

Life is risky. There are nasty people out there. You can build walls, but
the other guy can build ladders. Eventually, the wall can get high enough to
block out the sun. And still, the other guy can build a ladder just a bit
higher.

Are we willing to risk blocking out the sun in an attempt to out-build the
ladder-maker?

Mark M. Rostenko Editor The Sovereign Strategist www.sovereignstrategist.com

P.O. Box 129 Nederland, CO 80466

==============

see:
http://www.greaterthings.com/News/911/
Prophetic Ramifications of the 911 Attack (Index)