Category: Opinions (Page 10 of 11)

I was thinking about the Moussaoui case a short while ago, while discussing the issue of the Guantanamo Bay prisoners with some friends. The US government, in prosecuting Moussaoui, claimed that he knew about the plans for 9/11 and, had he told them about them, they would have been able to prevent it. What I was wondering is if anyone in the Justice Department, the American intelligence forces or anywhere in government, actually believes that claim.
Do we have a government that is plain evil or plain incompetent?
The best evidence that Moussaoui did not know about 9/11 is that it happened. I’m pretty sure that the one lesson they teach you in Terrorism 101 is that if a plan you’ve made has been compromised, then you should not carry on that plan. If they arrest someone who knew about the plan, you have to assume the plan was compromised. No matter how much you trust the person or how much you like them (and really, would anyone have even trusted Moussaoui?), you have to assume that they will be tortured or otherwise “pressured” and that they will sing. So you change your plans, or at least you postpone them.
Now, you’d expect the administration and the justice department to both know that this is basic operating procedure for any organization of any kind conducting secret operations, and to trust that al-Qaeda members would be intelligent and organized enough to follow procedure. If they don’t know this, then we might as well give up on this so-called War on Terror, we just are not going to win.
If they do know that, and their whole point on going after Moussaoui was, as it’s safe to suspect, a clumsy attempt at propaganda – then perhaps we should start thinking that our government is filled with people who really have no respect not only for democratic ideals, but for the American people in general. Ok, OK, this is what many of us have thought for a long time. But there is always the voice of doubt (in my case, my husband) standing up and shouting “it’s incompetence, not evil” – but just how incompetent can a government be?

Marga

I just read the ballot information for Prop. 82, which would institute voluntary universal preschool for 4 year olds in California by taxing the very rich (those who make over $400K per person). My initial feeling was to vote for this measure – I remember signing the petition to put it on the ballot some months ago. And given that research shows that a good quality preschool can make a big difference in the life of underprivileged children, why wouldn’t one support it? Specially, when it’s not I but the richest Californians who will have to pay for it.
But after reading the details of the measure, I can’t imagine voting for it. The measure is supposed to take in about 2 billion dollars a year. That money would be spent to build preschools, for teacher training and on teachers

I’m not a Christian – at least not one of the God-believing variety – but if I was one, I think I’d be a quaker. Their commitment to peace and non-violence is admirable – but perhaps not unusual, the Jains, after all, won’t harm a bug – but it’s their active commitment to social justice, to putting their believes into action, which makes me respect them so much.
Quakers believe in equality among human beings, and have done so since they were founded in the 17th century. That belief led them to be deeply involved in the struggle to abolish slavery -including the running of the underground railroad which helped escaped slaves find freedom. In WWI they founded the American Friends Committee to allow Quakers to help ameliorate the miseries of a war, mostly by helping refugees. Since then AFC has become a force for peace and justice worldwide and has been awarded the Nobel Prize.
As a human rights activist, I run into Quakers everywhere. Indeed, like Tom Fox, they go where other activists fear to tread. Their courage and commitment awes me – but also inspires me, not just in my work but to be a better person altogether.