Sunday, September 16, 2001

My Thinking

Arthur Noll

Osama Bin Laden has been in the news a lot recently.  Whether he is in back of the recent attack or not, it seems worthwhile to note some of the things he has said in the past.  He considers all Americans targets for death.  His hatred started during the Gulf War, the result of all the destruction visited on the Iraqi people.  The culture of the west and it’s relentless advance on the rest of the world, is also repugnant to him and many other Muslims.

It does seem a bit unfair to be considered a target, if one was like me, strongly opposed to the Gulf War, and is not in favor of the western culture that is dependent on oil.  There are those here who agree with me that the culture has lost needed restraint about catering to human instincts, fulfilling wants, not needs.  A war for oil made no sense at the time for me.  Better to have spent the resources on weaning away from it, bowing to the inevitable end of the stuff.  Instead, we made bitter enemies and have come no nearer to losing our addiction.  Unfair or not, we are in the situation and must deal with it.  Probably the Osama Bin Ladens of the world, would say, too bad, the US killed lots of peace loving people too.  Get in the way, and you die.

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