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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Interesting letter I got forwarded from a
friend.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Colonel Bowman flew 101 combat missions in Vietnam
and directed all the "Star Wars" programs under Presidents Ford and Carter. His
PhD is in aeronautics and nuclear engineering from Caltech. He is president of
the Institute for Space and Security Studies. His web site is <A
href="http://www.rmbowman.com/" eudora="autourl">www.rmbowman.com</A> <BR><BR>If
deceptions about terrorism go unchallenged, then the threat will<BR>continue
until it destroys us. The truth is that none of our thousands<BR>of nuclear
weapons can protect us from these threats. No Star Wars<BR>system no matter how
technically advanced, no matter how many trillions of dollars are poured into
it, can protect us from a nuclear weapon delivered in a sailboat or a Cessna or
a suitcase or a Ryder rental truck. Not one weapon in our vast arsenal, not a
penny of the $270 billion a year we spend on so-called defense can defend
against a terrorist bomb. That is a military fact.<BR> <BR>As a retired
lieutenant colonel and a frequent lecturer on national<BR>Security issues, I
have often quoted Psalm 33: "A king is not saved by his mighty army. A warrior
is not saved by his great strength." The<BR>obvious reaction is, "Then what can
we do?" Is there nothing we can do to provide security for our people?" There
is. But to understand it<BR>requires that we know the truth about the threat.
<BR><BR>President Clinton did not tell the American people the truth about
why<BR>we are the targets of terrorism when he explained why we
bombed<BR>Afghanistan and Sudan. He said that we are a target because we stand
for democracy, freedom, and human rights in the world. Nonsense! We are the
target of terrorists because, in much of the world, our government stands for
dictatorship, bondage, and human exploitation. We are the target of terrorist
because we are hated. And we are hated because our government has done hateful
things. In how many countries have agents of our government depose popularly
elected leaders and replaced them with puppet military dictators who were
willing to sell out their own people to American multinational corporations?
<BR><BR>We did it in Iran when the US Marines and the CIA deposed Mossadegh
because he wanted to nationalize the oil industry. We replaced him with the Shah
and armed, trained, and paid his hated Savak National Guard, which enslaved and
brutalized the people of Iran, all to protect the financial interests of our oil
companies. Is it any wonder that there are people in Iran who hate us? We did it
in Chile. We did it in Vietnam. More recently, we tried to do it in Iraq. And,
of course, how many times have we done it in Nicaragua and all the other banana
republics of Latin America? Time after time we have ousted popular leaders who
wanted the riches of the land to be shared by the people who worked it. We
replaced them with murderous tyrants who would sell out their own people so the
wealth of the land could be taken out by the likes of Domino Sugar, Folgers, and
Chiquita Banana. In country after country, our government has thwarted
democracy, stifled freedom, and trampled human rights. That's why it is hated
around the world. And that's why we're the target of terrorists. People in
Canada enjoy democracy, freedom, and human rights. So do the people of Norway
and Sweden. Have you heard of Canadian embassies being bombed? Or
Norwegian,<BR>or Swedish? <BR><BR>We are not hated because we practice
democracy, value freedom, or uphold human rights. We are hated because our
government denies these things to people in Third World countries whose
resources are coveted by our multinational corporations. That hatred we
have sown has come back to haunt us in the form of terrorism and, in the future,
nuclear terrorism.Once the truth about why the threat exists is understood, the
solution becomes obvious. We must change our ways. Getting rid of our nuclear
weapons unilaterally if necessary will enhance our security. Drastically
altering our foreign policy will ensure it. Instead of sending our sons and
daughters around the world to kill Arabs so we can have the oil under their
sand, we should send them to rebuild their infrastructure, supply clean water,
and feed starving children. Instead of continuing to kill hundreds of Iraqi
children every day with our sanctions, we should help<BR>Iraqis rebuild their
electric power plants, their water treatment<BR>facilities, their hospitals, and
all the things we have destroyed and<BR>prevented them from rebuilding. Instead
of training terrorists and death squads, we should close the School of the
Americas [Ft. Benning, GA.].Instead of supporting insurrection, destabilization,
assassination, and terror around the world, we should abolish the CIA and give
money to relief agencies. In short, we should do good instead of evil. Who
would try to stop us? Who would hate us? Who<BR>would want to bomb us? That is
the truth the American people need to<BR>hear. <BR>---<BR>Now the current
follow-up by the same guy: <BR><A href="http://rmbowman.com/ssn/longshort2.htm"
eudora="autourl">http://rmbowman.com/ssn/longshort2.htm</A> <BR>--- <BR>The Long
and Short of Terrorism and Security<BR><BR>by Dr. Robert M. Bowman, Lt. Col.,
USAF, ret.<BR><BR>In 1998, I said that if the lies about the causes of terrorism
go<BR>unchallenged, then the terror war now unleashed will likely
continue<BR>until it destroys us. We are not the target of terrorists because
we<BR>practice freedom, democracy, and human rights, but because our government
denies these to people in the Third World whose resources are coveted by our
multinational corporations.<BR><BR>Now the World Trade Center is gone. The
Pentagon is damaged. And<BR>thousands of Americans have died. Almost every TV
pundit is crying for massive military retaliation. It's tempting to agree. I
have no sympathy for those who murdered our people. If I were recalled to active
duty, I would go in a heartbeat. At the same time, all my military experience
and knowledge tells me that retaliation hasn't rid us of the problem in the
past, and won't this time. If retaliation worked, Israelis would be the world's
most secure people.<BR><BR>We must make our people secure, and that requires
both long and<BR>short-term approaches. The short-term problem is to protect the
American people from the terrorists who already hate us. The long-term problem
is to stop making more people hate us, so that the terrorist threat can one day
go away.<BR><BR>The short-term problem is largely one of internal security. We
must try to make it very difficult for terrorists to succeed at causing
such<BR>massive damage again. To put all of the emphasis on the airlines would
be a mistake. Pilots in the past were trained to cooperate with terrorists and
negotiate after landing. Never again. They will not allow hijackers to take
control.Terrorists realize that this was a one-time deal. They will never try it
again.<BR><BR>But they will try other things. Smuggle bombs onto a cruise liner?
Nukes on light aircraft? Sabotage a football stadium with a hundred thousand
people in it? Poison water supplies? Who knows what else? We need a "red team"
to think like terrorists and come up with possible scenarios so that they can be
neutralized before they happen - not after.Improve intelligence (not CIA dirty
tricks). Implement computerized tracking of aliens on temporary visas. Freeze
terrorist finances. Dismantle their network. But security will never be
perfect in a free society. The long-term solution is to stop making new
terrorists and render current ones impotent.<BR><BR>Only one thing has ever
ended a terrorist campaign -- denying the<BR>terrorist organization the support
of the larger community it<BR>represents. And the only way to do that is to
listen to and alleviate<BR>the legitimate grievances of the people.<BR><BR>A
massive military retaliation causing the deaths of thousands of Arabs is the
worst possible thing we could do. It would only guarantee an endless supply of
fresh terrorists for decades to come. We can have security, or we can have
revenge. We cannot have both.<BR><BR>If indeed we can prove the guilt of Osama
bin Laden or others, we should indict them as common criminals. This would be
supported by the vast majority of the world's Muslims.<BR><BR>We should also ask
Muslim clerics around the world to condemn terrorist acts as contrary to the
true Islamic faith (which they are). Just as the pacifist religion of Jesus was
twisted by Christians to support Crusades and wars, so too has Islam been
twisted by fundamentalist militaristic Muslims with their own political agenda.
But the Jihad no more represents true Islam than the Salem Witch Trials and the
Spanish Inquisition represent true Christianity.<BR><BR>We must raise federal
mileage standards for SUVs. Promote gas/electric hybrids. Subsidize solar and
wind energy. Then adopt foreign policies toward the Middle East less obnoxious
to the people of the region (and less dangerous to the people of America!).
Withdraw financial and military support of Israel until they abandon the
settlements in occupied territory and return to 1967 borders. (The Israelis on
our Advisory Board oppose the mistreatment of Palestinians by the
current government of Israel.)<BR><BR>Allow Arab countries to have leaders
of their own choosing, not<BR>hand-picked, CIA-installed dictators willing to
cooperate with Western<BR>oil companies. Institute a Marshall Plan for
development of the region.<BR>It would be less costly than the war currently
being planned, and certainly less costly than the events of September 11th. Use
the UN and World Court to hear grievances, and then do something about them.
This will isolate the terrorists from the larger Arab community and
cause terrorism to slowly die out.<BR><BR>If we want security, we must pay
attention to both the long and short of
it.<BR><BR>==============================================================<BR><BR>Colonel
Bowman flew 101 combat missions in Vietnam and directed all the "Star Wars"
programs under Presidents Ford and Carter. His PhD is in aeronautics and nuclear
engineering from Caltech. He is president of the Institute for Space and
Security Studies. His web site is <A href="http://www.rmbowman.com/"
eudora="autourl">www.rmbowman.com</A><BR><BR>==============================================================<BR><BR>Dr.
Robert M. Bowman<BR>2066 Deercroft Dr, Viera, FL 32940<BR>home (321)
752-5955<BR>cell (321)
258-0582<BR>isss@rmbowman.com<BR><B><BR></DIV></B></FONT></BODY></HTML>