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03.15.2004 || 10h47 Spain, Canada, and Al-Qaeda So, now they're talking about security in Canada too. They fact that Al-Qaeda has already mentioned Canada by name should be enough, they say. We're just waiting for *our* big bang, they say. So, here's where it gets kinda weird. I still feel absolutely that we were right in staying out of the stupidity that was committed in Iraq. I never believed in Iraqi WMD, I don't think that removing Saddam Hussein from power was neccessarily the privilege of the USA and its Coalition of the Willing (fer chrissakes). I know that it was just the harbinger of what's to come. They got a sample of blood in Afghanistan, and they got a taste for it. Who's next? Who really knows, but I've got a few ideas... But Iraq had nothing to do with Al-Qaeda, and only the least educated people would believe otherwise. Simple fact: Bin Laden and Saddam hated each other. Saddam Smoked, drank, and womanised like an actor, and that's anathema to the Al-Qaeda way. Simple: Al-Qaeda gave Washington an excuse. They've grabbed onto that in a big way, and are effectively trying to take over the world with it. Except that they won't touch people who already have WMD. Much sabre-rattling with regards to North Korea, but they won't do anything -- probably. They'll just keep trying to negotiate. So, the moral is: make sure you've already *got* the WMD before the US notices you. That being said, I *do* believe that the stupidly-named 'War on Terror' is a good fight, and I think that Canada needs to be part of that ( I think that this extends to actually *funding* the freaking Canadian Forces, though). It's clear that we need to be out there, and hell, we're ripe for our own terrorist attack, so maybe we should see some more security around here, too. But I'd hate to actually *see* that security. Is it better to live in dignity and take your chances, or is it better to let go of a few of the civil liberties to which we've become accustomed? In the US, they handed away a whole lump of liberties, and they're still there. They still walk around and do everyday things without being inspected at every corner. And as for Afghanistan: I'm still not sure. I'd love to say that we fought the good fight and changed the world, but I've never fully believed that. part of me always thought that it was just an excuse to knock over the ruling party of another nation and bring it into the US-Lite fold (See 'Iraq' above). Even to-day, many people mix up Al-Qaeda and the Taliban, which was the ruling party and defending soldiers of Afghanistan. I mean, sure, the Taliban was a group of religious zealots who abused their populace, but that doesn't make it right for the West to walk in and change the place to our likings. And at the end of the day, recent events in Spain have showed us that no, we didn't stop Al Qaeda in its tracks when we knocked over the government in Afghanistan. I don't know if you *can* stop them that way. Might as well try to punch out a ghost. So, do we secure ourselves to the hilt before They Can Get Us Too? Argh, I dunno. I'd love to say no because I believe in the way of Canada, the magic of it; the fact that I can walk onto a train and travel several thousand kilometres, without having to go through checkpoints and hassles. I love the fact that crossing the border from the US into Canada, the border guards don't have guns in bold profusion, and are actually kinda nice. But we're runnig a risk, here. |
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shite One last little note... - 09.21.2006 de-stressing, biking and terrorism - 06.06.2006 Mildly stressed... - 05.29.2006 More crime stupidity - 05.28.2006 Scary stuff - 05.25.2006
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