wOpinion.Henson

SOLUTIONS: Suggestions for Long-term Security ## Lessening the Costs of Empire ### An agenda for peace and prosperity after the World Trade Center catastrophe by Scott Henson After the World Trade Center catastrophe and the attack on the Pentagon, the entire nation, including our political leadership, has been asking: “How do we respond? What can we do to make sure this never happens again?” I would offer these modest suggestions. Propositions of “war” now swirl liberally in the air, but all beg the question, “war against whom?” The more narrow agenda of going after the bin Laden terrorist network which likely committed the atrocities – using at most targeted military force designed to avoid collateral damage – so far appears the only rational strategic option on the table. I believe we should go after Osama bin Laden, but in the context of international law, not essentially as an assassination plot. What he has done is no worse than the crimes of the Germans tried at Nuremberg or of Yugoslav President Milosevic. He should be treated no differently. Though it’s a cliché, we are a nation of laws and not men, and therefore our government must pursue justice, not revenge. We can’t just say we are “good” and our enemies “evil.” We must prove it through our actions for the world to take the claim seriously. But even killing bin Laden wouldn’t resolve the political conflicts which left our country teetering on the brink of this unhappy abyss. Instead, longstanding U.S. policies in the Middle East are to blame. These policies must be altered for peace to flower. In addition to prosecuting perpetrators, the United States should take three unilateral political moves that would more or less end Middle Eastern terrorism against us for the foreseeable future: end the Iraqi embargo and the U.S. military presence in the Persian Gulf which has cost more than a million lives; vacate and hand over U.S. military bases in Saudi Arabia (home to the Muslim holy cities Mecca and Medina) to that country's government; and tell Israel that their aid ends tomorrow unless they vacate settlements in the Occupied Territories and cease all bulldozing of homes (and of course follow through if they didn't comply). These policy options are not only free, they would make oil cheaper, save tens of billions of U.S. tax dollars in the short term, and create a large peace dividend which could be used to shore up Medicare and social security. Even better, they would extract our nation from the Middle East's political maelstrom. Best of all, very few Americans would notice any change in their daily lives except that the threat of terrorism would diminish. National security experts will moan that we have strategic interests in the Arab oil reserves. But it’s not our oil, after all. And what will the worst dictator do with their oil besides dump it on the world market like everybody else? The big battles within OPEC these days are whether to produce more oil and drive down the price, not whether to hoard. We have nothing to lose and much to gain by extracting ourselves militarily from the Middle East’s affairs. Go after terrorists the way a democratic society pursues anyone who commits murder and mayhem. Treat this crime against humanity as just that and prosecute under the international institutions that govern such affairs. But also take the political steps necessary to ensure that the motivation for such future acts of horror exponentially diminishes. Don’t think these actions would stop terrorism? When was the last time an American was killed by Vietnamese in a political attack? Not since we pulled out, of course. Why would they? The same logic applies. In 1962 after the Cuban missile crisis, the idea that we would leave Vietnam rather than fight communists there seemed inconceivable. But thirteen years and one-million plus dead later, that’s exactly what we did. In my view we face the same option today. The question is whether we are willing to pay the growing costs of empire, embodied most recently by the horrible pile of rubble in lower Manhattan. Ultimately, I think, some version of the three stratagems listed above will turn out to be the only path to long-term peace. The question on the table is whether we pursue the path of wisdom before, or after, another million or more people die in a conflict of our own creation. By Scott Henson, Austin, Texas, September 18, 2001

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HENSON IF YOU WOULD LEAVE A DECENT FORUM TO ILICIT A RESPONSE I WOULD GIVE YOU MY NAME BUT YOU ARE SUCH A COWARD THAT YOU WILL NOT. THEREFORE, I AM FORCED TO POINT OUT IGNORANCES ALONG WITH YOUR COHORT MS. DEL LANO. #1 ALL CRIMINAL INVESTGATIONS ARE PUBLIC RECORD WHEN A P.C. AFFIDAVIT IS FILED. CITY EMPLOYEES ARE NOT SUBJECT TO ADDITIONAL SCRUTINTY BECAUSE THEY WORK FOR THE CITY OR THE POLICE DEPARTMENT AS YOU OR MS. DEL LANO WOULD LIKE PEOPLE TO BELIEVE. IT IS THE SAME. YOU CAN GE IT. #2 MS. DEL LANO HAS SHOWN HER COLORS WHEN SHE ADAMENTLY CAMPAINGNED FOR "HOMELESS PEOPLE" TO BE ON THE CITIZENS OVERSIGHT. OK I DO NOT WANT TO INSULT MS. DEL LANO BUT COULD SHE PROPOSE HOW THE HOMELESS PEOPLE COULD BE REACHED IN CASE OF AN EMERGENCY CALLING OF THE REVIEW BOARD. MAYBE SENDING A FEW OFFICERS TO THE 600 - 800 BLK OF IH 35 WOULD BE ACCEPTABLE. #3 HENSON LEAVE A METHOD TO RESPOND TO YOUR ONE SIDED BOARD(HALL OF SHAME)INSTEAD OF POSTING WHO DID IT LEAVE A WAY TO RESPOND. THAT IS IF YOU ARE A TRUE JOURNALIST. WHICH I DOUBT??????????????????? IT IS OBVIOUS THAT MS. DEL LANO HAS A PERSONAL VENDETTA AGAINST AUSTIN POLICE OFFICERS, FOR WHATEVER REASON. I ONLY ASK THAT YOU SHOW THE SAME RESOLVE IN DETERMINING MUG MUG@aol.com 03/23/02 07:38:37 GMT