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I think there is enough of this.  This discussion is about a ride across 
Africa.  Lets keep it to that as there will never be an answer, only 
viewpoints and there are many. ts
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Lewis" <mikelewis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: "Truman Prevatt" <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>; "Tom Sites" 
<goearth@xxxxxxxxxxx>
Cc: "ridecamp" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 6:02 PM
Subject: Re: [Norton AntiSpam] Re: [RC] bin Ladens son wants to put on an 
Endurance Ride across Africa


> Thank you, Truman.  I appreciate the historical context you presented on
> this matter--very good information.
>
> One thing I'd point out, though, is that stepping to the middle of the 
> room
> is not an option when "giving peace a chance" means destruction of one's 
> own
> way of life.  There is no middle ground when Osama wants me to deny my
> beliefs and take up his.  I might as well suggest he do the same for me. 
> If
> there is any "middle ground" it is shared among those of us of different
> faiths, who see the enemy as a radical Islamic faction who would push its
> beliefs forcefully on the rest of us.  There cannot be compromise here; 
> our
> enemy certainly will not compromise on our behalf.
>
>
> Mike
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Truman Prevatt" <tprevatt@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> To: "Tom Sites" <goearth@xxxxxxxxxxx>
> Cc: "ridecamp" <ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
> Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 10:02 AM
> Subject: Re: [Norton AntiSpam] Re: [RC] bin Ladens son wants to put on an
> Endurance Ride across Africa
>
>
> > Tom,
> >
> > I think we lose sight of history.  Afghanistan was caught in the Cold
> > war between the Soviet Union and the US. Eisenhower was the first US
> > president to offer aid to Afghanistan as a wedge in the region against
> > the Russians. Afghanistan provided a land wedge between our long time
> > ally Pakistan to the South and the Soviet Republics of to the North.
> >
> > With the fall of the pro US Government in Iran Afghanistan took on even
> > greater strategic geo-political importance for the US.  When the Soviets
> > invaded Afghanistan in '79 then President Jimmy Carter saw no option but
> > to act. He withdrew the US from the Moscow Olympics and many of our
> > European allies followed suit.  He also put into place a covert
> > operation to provide military aid, military training to the Afghan
> > "Mujahid" to fight the Russians.
> >
> > Part of the strategy was to train the Afghan's to hate the Russians -
> > actually not all that difficult. The US CIA tapped a young fellow named
> > Osama BinLaden to aid them. The CIA provided all the educational
> > material used in the schools to instill the desire on the part of the
> > Afghans to throw out the Russian invaders. The CIA trained a young Bin
> > Laden and his lieutenants how to train insurgents. Much of what you see
> > used on us today in the insurgent warfare is right out to our playbook.
> > What President Carter put into motion worked quite well as the Russians
> > had to withdraw from Afghanistan in defeat. Maybe it worked too well 
> > :-( .
> >
> > However, we had in the process built a huge network in Afghanistan that
> > would come back to later haunt us when Al Qaeda spun off of the Mujadid.
> > With the US invasion of Iraq in '92, Desert Storm, they turned their ire
> > toward the US and as they say the rest is history, they turned the
> > educational material we provided them to target the Soviets to target
> > the US. the first World Trade Center bombing in '93, the SS Cole and
> > finally the World Trade Center in 2001.
> >
> > Of course the killing of innocent folks at the WTC is not justified,
> > however, all incidents in history need to be put into a historical
> > context. The history of human conflict is that peace is never attained
> > until all parties are willing to step to the middle of the room, see the
> > world from each others eyes and compromise.
> >
> > I for one feel that no offering of an Olive Branch - no matter how small
> > - should be ignored. To quote Jimmy Carter, "War may sometimes be a
> > necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never
> > a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each
> > other's children."
> >
> > Truman
> >
> > Tom Sites wrote:
> > > There was a time when Russia was in Afghanistan and we supported Osama
> > > because it was to our advantage, and he helped us "tear down that
> > > wall".  I've seen diplomacy change over the years that our friends and
> > > our enemies are interchangable.  Look at the Germans, the Japanese,
> > > the Vietnamese and the Chinese....all our 'friends' now
> > >
> > >
> > > My son is now in training in the Va. National Guard for a tour in
> > > Afghanistan.  If i can ride with the son of the Father of his enemy
> > > and prevent his deployment i would do it.
> > >
> > > Maybe this is a better ride for the Long Riders and CuChullaine
> > > O'Reilly and not RC.  ts
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > “He who fights with monsters might take care lest he thereby become a
> > monster. And if you gaze for long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also
> > into you.”  Friedrich Nietzsche, Beyond Good and Evil
> >
> >
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