AS asks:
We should listen - and learn - so that we can sidestep, and thereby discredit, their narratives, which helps, in the short term, to contain them, and in the long-term, to attenuate their appeal.
The problem is that, for their own political reasons or because there is no consensus on what I just wrote (I know, it seems obvious, but it isn't), there are many people who feel as though listening is tantamount to endorsing or according stature. So, as soon as you try to do sound counterterrorism, there is a swath of people on the far right (and a bunch on the far left who enable them) who seize on that as "appeasement", etc., etc.
It's not. It's just being smart and doing smart counterterrorism. With some luck, a few of the Democratic Party members will adopt that message, which is not so far left as to be simplemindedly "singing for peace" and definitely not as far right as Bush-Cheney have sadly conditioned the GOP center-right to be today, even.
(Separately, is Ron Paul going to end up like Alan Keyes, fighting his way on stage? LOL.)
So should we listen to OBL in trying to understand the motivations for his actions? Or shouldn't we?
We should listen - and learn - so that we can sidestep, and thereby discredit, their narratives, which helps, in the short term, to contain them, and in the long-term, to attenuate their appeal.
The problem is that, for their own political reasons or because there is no consensus on what I just wrote (I know, it seems obvious, but it isn't), there are many people who feel as though listening is tantamount to endorsing or according stature. So, as soon as you try to do sound counterterrorism, there is a swath of people on the far right (and a bunch on the far left who enable them) who seize on that as "appeasement", etc., etc.
It's not. It's just being smart and doing smart counterterrorism. With some luck, a few of the Democratic Party members will adopt that message, which is not so far left as to be simplemindedly "singing for peace" and definitely not as far right as Bush-Cheney have sadly conditioned the GOP center-right to be today, even.
(Separately, is Ron Paul going to end up like Alan Keyes, fighting his way on stage? LOL.)
