I debated with myself but decided I must respond to Nelson Strasser”s letter of September 18.
Beginning with his rhetorical question with respect to “Islamic Fundamentalist,” “But are they terrorists?” Mr. Strasser implies that the 9-11 terrorists were the only terrorists. Is he forgetting about such events as the Madrid railway attack, the London Underground bombing, Fort Hood and countless others? He describes the Islamic State fighters as follows: “There is no way that the mostly illiterate and mostly dirt poor Islamic State fighters are going to get to America.” Mr. Strasser would do well to read at least the first chapter of my book, “The Poppies of Mohammed.” He would be reminded as to how easy it is for them to attack us. The leadership of IS is made up of intelligent, well experienced and ruthless men. IS is well financed. It would be potentially easy for them to finance one or more of these “poor, illiterate fighters” to slip into the United States. If you do not believe that, ask our U. S. Border Patrol. Additionally, how can Mr. Strasser dismiss Europeans and Americans who have gone to fight with IS and the danger of them returning home to carry-out attacks?
Like many others critical of the Military-Industrial Complex, Mr. Strasser likes to portray the “complex” as made up of greedy, heartless men. Notwithstanding President Eisenhower”s warning against the complex, it provided the materiel allowing us to win World War Two and stop the North Korean”s attempt to invade South Korea. There are more than a few other examples of the Military Industrial Complex helping keep us safe. Additionally, without the work of the complex you would not be able to fly cross-country in five hours, navigate with GPS or have the benefit of satellite information and communication.
As to why “many people in the Arab world hate us”, the hatred goes back nearly 1,000 years and predates the current problems.
Mr. Strasser asserts that we are guilty of the “death of hundreds of thousands of children due to malnutrition and attendant disease .supplied the arms .that led to the death of millions of people, and on and on.” The jury is still out on that one. Certainly we caused some of those deaths. However, just how much “collateral” casualties can be attributed to us and how many internal terrorist attacks or local army attacks caused innocent deaths depends on whose numbers one believes. What is the credible source of Mr. Strasser”s information?
Finally, Mr. Strasser”s inclusion of Martin Luther King”s Vietnam era statement that, “America is the greatest purveyor of violence in the world today” is spurious. The United States is by far the largest contributor of world aid and assistance. In the last hundred years nearly all U. S. military action has be “responsive” rather than “aggressive”. One will argue, “Ah, but what about Vietnam?” Our involvement began under Eisenhower as an attempt to counter Communist North Vietnam”s invasion of South Vietnam. Right or wrong, during the Cold War, the fear of creeping Communism was a viable justification. Hindsight is nearly always 20/20 and foreign policy is an inexact science. Nearly all nation-states make serious policy mistakes. Allowing that mission to gradually escalate was a major one on our part. With respect to our invasion of Iraq and ousting Hussein, Hussein made no bones about wanting to be the ruling party in the Middle East and the control of Middle East oil. Eisenhower declared that oil is a strategic commodity and worth fighting for. Some of us remember the oil embargo of 1973. We were not the only ones who believed Hussein possessed weapons of mass destruction. Nearly every intelligence service in the world also believed it. If one thinks Bush lied to us, ask the Kurds in the north and the Shiites in the south whom Hussein gassed whether or not he possessed weapons of mass destruction.
Mr. Strasser”s frustrations with the situation in Syria are well founded and shared by many. The world can be a messy place. Sometimes the old adage is true, “The enemy of my enemy is my friend.”
Peter MacRae, Lakeport
