I don't think ANYONE here likes the Taliban one bit, or sympathizes with their approach toward running a society. I sure don't. Never did.

On the other hand, to make further impassioned statements about how awful and heinous it is for those terrorists to blow up buildings full of civilians would serve the same purpose as saying "Water is wet!!! DAMN WET!"

Yeah, okay. We all know that. It's totally obvious. Now what?

It is the "now what" part that we are debating about here...as in "what would be the best response to this situation?". Various of us differ on that. To so differ does not in any way indicate approval for acts of terrorism or empathy with those acts.

To suggest that past western policies have helped incubate terrorism does not in any way indicate approval of terrorism.

The only thing that bugs people in a debate like this is: when someone else tends to beat a different emotional drum than they do. They get mightily offended by that, and tend to assume that the other person believes all kinds of wrongful stuff...which may not, in fact be the case. Well, that's the way it goes...we don't all focus on precisely the same angle all the time, do we?

But we (on Mudcat) do all agree that the Taliban are a horrifically awful regime.

What we do not necessarily agree upon is that high-tech war may not be the most appropriate and effective means of resolving longstanding international problems.

- LH

Doug - I pay for the tea. :-) Like I do for other stuff, cos I have no other choice at present (well, I could steal it, I guess, but I don't regard that as a realistic choice...). If some goddamn corporation had a way of cornering the market on air and sunlight, I would have to pay for those too, but they haven't quite managed that yet. Thank God. I do pretty well have to buy bottled water now, cos most tap water is getting not too clean, so that's one more thing that used to be free, and now is not, cos our uncontrolled expansionism has polluted most of the fresh water.

I envision, however, a situation where the tea would not have to be paid for, by me or anyone else, but would simply be there for all to drink. For a reference to that notion, view reruns of "Star Trek Next Generation" to see how it could be done (and I don't mean with replicators), what the motivation to accomplish work would be in such a society, and why money is not a necessary part of the equation in such a society.

Utopian? You betcha! The hard won social rights and freedoms we in North America take for granted most of the time now were considered Utopian by most people only a rather short time ago, historically speaking.

It is today's utopian who envisions tomorrow's greatest achievements, so I am proud to be seen as one.

- LH