Random Thoughts, Notes, & Incidents

In a nutshell, there are two points I want to make. First, I think we're going a little too far with our current military actions, but that some sort of action certainly is called for. But you've heard that already.

Second, what I've been thinking about for a while is that the anti-war movement is operating under a number of false assumptions, the biggest and most dangerous of which is that Osama bin Laden is on their side.

The critique of globalization that the same anti-war protesters have presented at various WTO events over the past couple of years has some very real and strong points that need to be addressed - But those points were not the motivation behind the events of September 11. I'm fairly certain that Osama bin Laden hates progressive, latte-sipping activists in San Francisco and Seattle as much as he hates any American.

The changes in lifestyle and policy direction advocated by my fellow progressives are all good and important - I agree with them. BUT, if anybody thinks that these changes will happen overnight, or that working on these changes will put an end to terrorism anytime soon, they are horribly and dangerously deluded.

The movement against globalization and the defeat of terrorism are both important. But they are two very different issues and must be approached separately. Yes, there are ties (some of the conditions caused by globalization help to create the atmosphere for the rise in terrorism), but they are not the same, and Osama bin Laden is not a fellow progressive.