Re: LOTR and 20th Century Western European Prejudices

                    Wednesday, the 3rd of December, 2003

Jordan179 wrote:
  I agree with you that the French are caught in a trap of their own
  making, because they have urged appeasement of the Muslim world for so
  long. I believe, however, that if the Islamic atrocities escalate
  _against the French_ (the French don't give a damn about what happens
  to any other country) the French will turn on their tormentors.

I don't understand why you imagine Muslim terrorism would be
directed at the French. It seems to me that most of such terrorism
has been deliberate and highly intelligent in design, from a
strategic viewpoint. Terrorism is a mode of warfare that the
FLN used successfully in Algeria (losing every military engagement,
but winning the war), the VietCong used successfully in the
South Vietnamese countryside (losing every military
engagement, but winning the war), and that the Palestinians
have been using in Israel. In each case, the terrorism is
distinct from any "guerrilla" warfare. The terrorism involves
killing of noncombatants, and a deliberate assassination campaign
to take out the political center, to create polarization and
to deny any hope of political compromise. It seems to me that as
long as the terrorism is confined to the "colony", and that colony
is the colony of a liberal democratic regime, it works so as
to alienate the colony from the colonial power. Thus, in Algeria.
Thus, in Vietnam. Thus, in Israel, and thus in Iraq at present.
The Palestinians blow up some women and children with a suicide
bomb on a city bus in Israel. The Israelis respond with a rocket
attack at Hamas. In Europe and in the States, this plays out
mega-techno-death Israel beating up on poor Palestinians. Israel
gets urged to make more "concessions", in the hopes that that will
buy peace. It's been going on like that for about 30 years.
Now with Iraq, the terrorists lose every time they go after
the Americans. But, they win when they attack Iraqis or
NGO's like the Red Cross or the UN or US allies like the 
Spanish.

Terrorism as a mode of warfare presupposes I think a
liberal democratic regime to manipulate. As such, September
11 was probably a big mistake, in much the same way the
FLN once made the mistake of striking directly in France.
That only galvanized french public opinion against independence
for Algeria, and the FLN quickly dropped that course of action.

              Mike Morris
        ([EMAIL PROTECTED])