Return-Path: <sentto-279987-3037-1003290443-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com> Delivered-To: fc@all.net Received: from 204.181.12.215 by localhost with POP3 (fetchmail-5.1.0) for fc@localhost (single-drop); Tue, 16 Oct 2001 20:48:10 -0700 (PDT) Received: (qmail 1370 invoked by uid 510); 17 Oct 2001 03:47:04 -0000 Received: from n10.groups.yahoo.com (216.115.96.60) by 204.181.12.215 with SMTP; 17 Oct 2001 03:47:04 -0000 X-eGroups-Return: sentto-279987-3037-1003290443-fc=all.net@returns.onelist.com Received: from [10.1.1.222] by n10.groups.yahoo.com with NNFMP; 17 Oct 2001 03:47:23 -0000 X-Sender: fc@big.all.net X-Apparently-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Received: (EGP: mail-8_0_0_1); 17 Oct 2001 03:47:23 -0000 Received: (qmail 1698 invoked from network); 17 Oct 2001 03:47:22 -0000 Received: from unknown (10.1.10.27) by 10.1.1.222 with QMQP; 17 Oct 2001 03:47:22 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO big.all.net) (65.0.156.78) by mta2 with SMTP; 17 Oct 2001 03:47:22 -0000 Received: (from fc@localhost) by big.all.net (8.9.3/8.7.3) id UAA26879 for iwar@yahoogroups.com; Tue, 16 Oct 2001 20:47:21 -0700 Message-Id: <200110170347.UAA26879@big.all.net> To: iwar@yahoogroups.com In-Reply-To: <20011017032906.78656.qmail@web14509.mail.yahoo.com> from "e.r." at Oct 16, 2001 08:29:06 PM Organization: I'm not allowed to say X-Mailer: don't even ask X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.5 PL1] From: Fred Cohen <fc@all.net> X-Yahoo-Profile: fcallnet Mailing-List: list iwar@yahoogroups.com; contact iwar-owner@yahoogroups.com Delivered-To: mailing list iwar@yahoogroups.com Precedence: bulk List-Unsubscribe: <mailto:iwar-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com> Date: Tue, 16 Oct 2001 20:47:21 -0700 (PDT) Reply-To: iwar@yahoogroups.com Subject: [iwar] Some (rare) commentary by yours truly Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Per the message sent by e.r.: > As strickly an observer to this "discussion" might I mention that > regardless of who is talking, we all have agendas. While Steve Emerson > drives a powerful personal agenda, we should try to remove from > consideration bias as it gets in the way of improving America's > relationship with all nations, profesionally. Here here. We must all fight the desire to express ourselves personally in order to do our jobs well. Many of us have very personal feelings regarding the attack of 9/11 - and these are often deeply reflected in the information posted to this venue - typically from 'other sources'. > The press has, for a long > time, attempted to influence policy making and it is filled with peril > as CNN and others are now global. The media's influence on policy is legend - and it makes it a lot harder for those of us who wish to influence it bu do not own networks to do well. > We all live in a tough neighborhoor > as of 11 Sept, and anyone who has the ability to try and improve > things-esentially try to seek and gain more friends in the Muslim world > would do us all a great favor. I feel I should disagree with the assertion that the tough neighborhood was as of 9/11. War has been with the world since the world was born. The US ignored the needs of the people of the Middle East and used a policy of 'stabilization' and 'nation building' to our detriment for many decades. The desire to seek friends in all quarters is a good one in my view, however, the US has a lot to make up for. > America has strongly allied with Isreal for years and it has hurt us > badly in the arab world and with Islam worldwide. It is high time that > we try to find a balance which does not harm Isreal, but also seeks > inroads in both the arab world and with Islamic nations. I will go a step further. Our policy of supporting Israel 'unconditionally' has always been a poor one. On the other hand, we have many other poor policies that we have propped up by the use of military might for a long time. This is what has to end if the US is to be a true leader of the world. We need to stop killing people - but we also need to protect and defend ourselves from those who would kill our people. It is a tough balance to achieve - and we often fail to do so. > We are making no friends with our military efforts in afganistan. While > it was necessary post 11 Sept, if we had developed Muslim friends that > would stand strongly by us and not play us against the Taliban-i.e. > Pakistan- America might be the nation we all knew prior to 11 Sept. If we had done our job well, there would not be a Taliban. We 'supported' then against the CCCP in the Cold War through the 'enemy of our enemy' policy - which is a poor policy and one that we handled badly. > Sadly, it is not and I lost 3 friends in the Pentagon attack. I think > that U.S. policy toward the arab and Islamic world has to be more even > handed. Both nations and subnational actors who would claim they are > fighting for Islam when their attacks are stepped in false prophesy as > both Bin Laden and the Taliban are problematic. But, if we had made > strong friend in the Islamic world, they may be fighting by our side > today. Now, our foreign policy must be aimed at developing such > alliances, or terrorism will be with us indefinatey. Unfortunately, our neglect of the fundamental issue in the Middle East has come back to haunt us and will do so again and again until it is addressed. And it cannot be addressed quickly because we have allowed the propagandists to sew the seeds of discontent into two generations of the peoples of that region. Such deep wounds are hard to repair. > I don't want to > worry about the loss of more life when this entire problem might have > never sprung upon us had our foreign policy had geostrategic (long > range) thinking as its underpinnings. Here here. > Terrorists might already have cyber infrastructure as a potential > target. We have no choice but to fight as a nation, however, be it a > journalist, government policy maker, or US military, the physicians > rule of "first, do no harm" should be an operating principle for us > all. No comment on this conclusion. FC --This communication is confidential to the parties it is intended to serve-- Fred Cohen Fred Cohen & Associates.........tel/fax:925-454-0171 fc@all.net The University of New Haven.....http://www.unhca.com/ http://all.net/ Sandia National Laboratories....tel:925-294-2087 ------------------ http://all.net/ Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
This archive was generated by hypermail 2.1.2 : 2001-12-31 20:59:55 PST