The American Spectator

Reader Mail

(Page 4 of 5)

br> -- Jenny Woodward br> Bloomington, IN /p>

Now that we know that not all of the terrorists arrested or held here were temporary visitors. Some of the vermin came as students, tourists etc. to escape this highly objectionable world I take in writers of great learning and erudition. One such writer was Albert Jay Nock. In his Journal of These Days an entry of May 5, 1933, from Portugal includes the following:

"In these days of passports, surveillances, and inquisitions, it seems to me that some country might do itself a good turn by establishing a strict cultural test for tourists, as a measure of self-defense, like our silly formulas for keeping out anarchists and adulteresses. Portugal might set a wholesome fashion by doing this. Suppose, for instance, an American came in for a visa with a passport marked 'travel,' the Portuguese consul in N.Y. would say, 'Sorry, but my government demands unimpeachable evidence that you are a man of high culture, and that you have a specific cultural purpose in mind for coming to Portugal. We are very particular about this, as particular as your government is about moral character and political opinions -- we are not interested in those. It is not enough to say you want to go places and see things; we must know specifically why, and all about it. If you satisfy us of this we shall...but if you do not satisfy us, we do not think your interests or ours would be furthered by your presence in our country, and we can not admit you."

p>Certainly from a much more discerning and discriminating time. br> -- Edward Del Colle /p>

Jed Babbin has it half right, but all his conclusions are defensive in nature and any student of Clausewitz will inform you that the defense has never won a war. Here is a list of my top twelve methods of stopping terror:

1) Kick the Syrians out of Lebanon. This occupied country is the key to the situation in the Middle East. Kick out the Syrians and the terrorists attacking Israel's northern border don't have a base. Plus, this country will regain the initiative we squandered in November.

2) Replace the United Nations with a new world organization that allows Democracies to participate, not dictatorships. Give the Iranians, Syrians, Iraqis, and especially the Egyptians and Saudi Arabians the boot. Some of their "diplomats" are scouting targets and funneling in arms and explosives in diplomatic pouches. The arsenal of democracy should not belong to an organization that allows thugs and murderers equal standing.

3) Stop giving foreign aid to Egypt as long as it remains a dictatorship. Perhaps some Egyptians actually like us, but it is no accident that Egyptians are heavily represented in the top echelons of Al Qaeda. A democratic society can never trust a dictatorship.

4) Send the Marines into Pakistan. Al Qaeda is holing up in Pakistan. You are either with us or against us. Pakistan is a dictatorship and its ISS intelligence agency hates America. Why does our government continue to pretend otherwise? When the nuclear weapon explodes in New York, Washington D.C. or Los Angeles, Pakistan will be behind it.

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