Comments on: September 11, six years later

Glaskowsky republishes an open letter he wrote the morning of September 11, 2001.

[gcfd8]

We will never forget

SUN TZU ON THE ART OF WAR
Know your enemy
The art of war, then, is governed by five constant factors, to be taken into account in one's deliberations, when seeking to determine the conditions obtaining in the field.

These are: (1) The Moral Law; (2) Heaven; (3) Earth; (4) The Commander; (5) Method and discipline.

The Moral Law causes the people to be in complete accord with their ruler, so that they will follow him regardless of their lives, undismayed by any danger. We have the Moral LAW THEY DON'T They think they do.

Heaven signifies night and day, cold and heat, times and seasons.

Earth comprises distances, great and small; danger and security; open ground and narrow passes; the chances of life and death. These are the battle grounds of IRAQ and IRAN.

The Commander stands for the virtues of wisdom, sincerely, benevolence, courage and strictness. We have these commanders support them.

By method and discipline are to be understood the marshaling of the army in its proper subdivisions, the graduations of rank among the officers, the maintenance of roads by which supplies may reach the army, and the control of military expenditure.

These are the things that some in congress do not understand. They need to remember they too were targets of the 9/11 attacks, but thanks to the Lord Almighty they were spared. Ladies and Gentlemen of the Congress and you to Pelosi these great men and women of our military and emergency services lay thier lives on the line everyday for people like you!

We remember the fallen brothers of the 341 FDNY on this day six years later, may we always be ever vigilant.
We will never forget!

[JSN2849]

September 11, six years later

I have no reason to question anything about this article, short of its actual veracity - but only then solely on account of the astounding amount of level-headed good sense it shows, not least in hindsight, when it claims to be written at a time when so many people were so obviously extremely emotional.

The first observation is obviously that since no follow-up attack has yet been successful - well in the US, at least. The same, alas, can not be said for Bali, Madrid or London.

My only slight qualm is in whether or not I detect an slight isolationist sub-text.

I still think there are lessons from surely the most successful asymmetrical conflict - Northern Ireland (UN security council member, industrialised nation and nuclear power confronted by a minority insurgent movement within its own territorial boundaries). In the end, if you genuinely want to stop the killing, the only resolution is to face up to the grievances and actually sort them out. In the context of politico/Islamicist guerilla movements such as Al Quaida this means sorting out Palestine, and bringing peaceful transitions to democracy in states such as Saudi Arabia, Syria, Algeria, Pakistan, etc. Many will see these as a defeat and 'giving in'. Perhaps, but are they not also ultimately the right things to do? The same people will also say we are 'encouraging terrorism' but, in the meantime, surely there is also no other long-term means of discouraging or preventing further attacks and mass loss of innocent life?

[Peter N. Glaskowsky]

Thanks, I guess

As for my "veracity", the piece was actually published in the San Jose Mercury News on September 12, 2001, so please do not call that into question.

I don't know what you mean by the paragraph about follow-up attacks. There's a "that since" in there suggesting a line of argument that appears to have no conclusion.

I am an "isolationist" only in the sense that I think US military power should only be used to protect the US. I think the use of that power against the Taliban in Afghanistan was justified on that basis. In retrospect it's clear that conquering Iraq did not enhance our security, but these decisions can't be made in retrospect. It seems very likely that President Bush saw what he wanted to see to justify the war, but I wasn't there, and I can't be sure about that.

Commercially, I am strongly opposed to isolationism. I favor the greatest possible degree of foreign trade, immigration, etc. on the basis that these things make us stronger while simultaneously making the world safer.

. png