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| Bomb them with Butter, Bribe
them with Hope Kent Madin A military response, particularly an attack
on Afghanistan, is exactly what the terrorists want.
It will strengthen and swell their small but fanatical ranks.
Instead, bomb Afghanistan with butter, with rice, bread, clothing and
medicine. It will cost less
than conventional arms, poses no threat of US casualties and just might
get the populace thinking that maybe the Taliban don't have the answers.
After three years of drought and with starvation looming, let's
offer the Afghani people the vision of a new future. One that includes
full stomachs. Bomb them with information. Video players
and cassettes of world leaders, particularly Islamic leaders, condemning
terrorism. Carpet the country
with magazines and newspapers showing the horror of terrorism committed by
their "guest". Blitz
them with laptop computers and DVD players filled with a perspective that
is denied them by their government. Saturation bombing with hope will mean
that some of it gets through. Send
so much that the Taliban can't collect and hide it all. The Taliban are telling their people to
prepare for Jihad. Instead, let's give the Afghani people their first good
meal in years. Seeing your
family fully fed and the prospect of stability in terms of food and a
future is a powerful deterrent to martyrdom. All we ask in return is that
they, as a people, agree to enter the civilized world.
That includes handing over terrorists in their midst. In responding to terrorism we need to do
something different. Something unexpected.. something that addresses the
root of the problem. We need
to take away the well of despair, ignorance and brutality from which the
Osama bin Laden's of the world water their gardens of terror. |