Hi-jack fall-out

Wojtek Sokolowski sokol at jhu.edu
Tue Sep 11 09:55:30 PDT 2001


At 11:44 AM 9/11/01 -0400, Max wrote:
>The likelihood is bombing missions against
>Afghanistan & Libya, maybe Iran. Tonight.
>Clinton nat'l security people are quoted as
>saying *only* Osama Bin Laden could have
>done this because of the logistical burden.

I do not think so - the logistics require a very small number of people involved, essentially only those who flew the hijacked planes and a coordinator. In fact, the fewer people the better for the sake of keeping the operation secret. It would not surprise me if it was the work of a group operating mainly in the US, just as in case of the first attack on the WTC. In that situation, indiscriminate bombing of other countries would be arguably the most stupid thing to do - showing in fact how clueless and desperate Uncle Sam really is.

BTW, the book _Blowback_ by Chalmers Johnson comes to mind in the moments like this one. Johnson argues that terrosrist attcks on US targets are in fact delayed revenge for old grievances stemming from arrogant foreign policies carried by people in Washington. What I find particularly disturbing is that it is office clerks and secretaries pay with their lives for that arrogance, while people in the government who are responsible for these policies take it as yet another opportunity to strike heroic poses.


> If anything, this
>reduces the case for Star Wars, and inflates
>the case for everything else.

Absolutely. It is hard to imagine a better case AGAINST the star wars. It clearly demonstrates that all the star wars hoopla notwithstanding, a few guys armed with plastic pistols (to avoid detection) and minimum training can do as much damage as a nuclear bomb.


>
>Mostly I'm worried about a couple of my oldest
>friends who work in lower Manhattan. Haven't
>been able to reach their homes due to busy
>signals.

Same here - my friends live near Williamsburg bridge in Manhattan and he teaches in various public schools - cannot get through to reach them.

wojtek



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