The Sword of Damocles
Reader comment on: Al Qaeda Cell May Be Loose in U.S., British Plot Hints

Submitted by Ash Dave, Aug 6, 2007 12:56

"The Sword of Damocles...the imminent and ever-present peril faced by those in positions of power."

What to believe is the peril we face in the West. Our demogogic obsession with protecting and defending our "way of life" has led us into the crucible of the "sword hanging over our heads".

While we continue to focus on the 'tip of the blade'...our collective peril. The West continues to dilute the ideals it claims to uphold for the 'benefit' of our defense. One of the components is this new paradym is 'disinformation'. The principle battlefront being controlling public opinion, not Iraq (or Afghanistan, or Al Qeada). The release of information, like the report above, can only be taken with a grain of salt.

Logic and deduction tell us that a network, like Al Qeada, would have established roots ( ie. cells) in the West simply as a result of immigration. Naturalization and citizenship are simply processes that have proven to be imprecise in guaging an individual's intentions and motivations. Al-Qeada's ideology is clear and rooted in history, legitimized by scholars and religious leaders. It is an ideal, a tragically flawed one, but dangerous nonetheless because it can never be erased like National Socialism was after WWII. Al-Qeada's appeal to its followers is strong because it is famaliar. It is not as far outside of the moderate views of most Muslims. In the same way that extremism and intolerance exists in the West. All individuals when faced with danger can adopt extremist and reactionary viewpoints as long as their views are shared by others.

Whether we are attacked, again, is irrelevant except to its victims. Our answer to the last attack and deaths of 3000 of our brothers and sisters was too hide behind our might, miltary and technological. The Wars we are fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan have been fought with timidity and half-heartedness by our political and military leadership. Public opinion in the West has shifted towards mistrust and suspicion of the motivation of our leaders resulting in politcal and moral paralysis, yet with a resolve that something must be done to defend ourselves. As a result, the "sword" continues to dangle over the West and will continue to until we decide to defend our ideals, with our ideals. It starts with 'truth'.

The West is at war, not with terror because we use terror ourselves as a weapon, but with itself. This is war not to defend our ideals, because we've compromised those. But rather, a battle between the competing forces of our market system, that provides for our material existance, and the political and social ideals of Western civilization that define who we are as human beings.

Note: Comments are screened, and in some cases edited, before posting. We reserve the right to reject anything we find objectionable.