Vince Avedon – 9/19/04

This page was last updated on September 20, 2004.

Military can’t stop terrorism; Vince Avedon; Beaver County Times; September 19, 2004.

The only conclusion you can draw from Mr. Avedon’s letter is that terrorist attacks on Americans are our fault.

Below is a detailed critique of the subject letter.

“President Bush’s biggest mistake is failing to recognize that terrorism cannot be stopped by military might alone. Israel has the greatest military might in the Middle East yet terrorists continue to strike Israeli citizens.”

[RWC] I’m not a big fan of Israel, but what would Mr. Avedon have Israel do? Regardless of how many concessions Israel makes, terrorists keep killing innocents.

“Bush put America in this same situation. Military might does nothing but inspire more terrorists.”

[RWC] How idiotic. Should we disband the police because fighting crime does nothing but inspire more criminals?

“Terrorism is nothing but a method of the fundamentalists. It is not enough to cut down the weeds. We must deal with the seeds of religious zealotry, and we must examine our policies that generate the hate.”

[RWC] “We must examine our policies that generate the hate.” In that one sentence Mr. Avedon transferred responsibility for terrorist attacks from the terrorists to the United States. In case Mr. Avedon missed it, the “policy” cited by Islamic terrorists is that the United States is not an Islamic theocracy.

It is true we must deal with what breeds the hate, but that will take decades and we have terrorists who want to kill us right now. “Turning the other cheek” is not an option. Terrorists view that as weakness and another reason to kill.

“President Harry Truman and Gen. George Marshall recognized that the best way to win the hearts and minds of people was through rebuilding and providing hope.”

[RWC] In case Mr. Avedon missed it, President Truman and Gen. Marshall used this approach only after we thoroughly defeated our enemies and they surrendered. Using Mr. Avedon’s logic, we should not have warred with Germany, Italy, and Japan. Instead, we should have examined the American policies that caused these countries to declare war on our friends and us.

“This is what earned us the respect of the world, and what Bush fails to comprehend. The long-term solution is to provide the Muslims something to live for and for an alternative that gives them hope. Bush fails miserably to understand this.”

[RWC] On what planet does Mr. Avedon live? What does he believe is the goal of helping rebuild Afghanistan and Iraq – like the Marshall Plan – and helping establish democracies? President Bush understands this perfectly.

I also take a little exception that programs like the Marshall Plan earn us respect. In an ideal world, that would be true and it is true for a small number of our friends. Unfortunately, the reality is that compassion without military power to defend it gets you dead.

“How can anyone possibly think with statements like ‘Bring ‘em on,’ ‘They can run, but they can’t hide,’ and ‘Bring him back dead or alive’ can win the hearts and minds of desperate and impoverished people?”

[RWC] Mr. Avedon worries about harsh words directed at killers? Incredible!

In case Mr. Avedon missed it, many terrorists come from well-to-do families. Bin Laden himself is estimated to have something more than $50 million. Terrorists murder because they like it and because of baseless hate, not because of poverty. In any case, poverty isn’t an excuse for terrorism by any stretch of the imagination.

“Since the invasion of Iraq, has Bush met with other world leaders to win the peace? No. Bush has burned his bridges, and it’s now up to us to elect someone who can eliminate the poverty, repression and despair throughout the Arab world and win the peace.”

[RWC] President Bush has met with other world leaders since the Iraq War, even that weasel French President Jacques Chirac. Mr. Avedon should keep up with his current events.

I’m an optimist by nature, but if you believe any president “can eliminate the poverty, repression and despair throughout the Arab world,” you are beyond optimism and into fantasyland.

“The United States cannot afford four more years of reckless and imperialist policies that generate nothing but anti-Americanism.”

[RWC] I wonder if Mr. Avedon knows what imperialism means. Can anyone tell me the last time the United States conquered a country and made it a possession of the United States?