On Wednesday, February 12, 2003, at 07:52 PM, Denys Beauchemin wrote:

> I like this thread, it is very educational.
>
> So, please explain to me which country had declared war on the USA
> when the
> USS Cole was attacked.  I was not aware that a state of war existed
> between
> the USA and another country, and it would seem that neither did the
> crew of
> the Cole.  Yes, there are dangerous areas in the world and the Cole
> should
> have been on high alert, especially where they were, but political
> correctness in those days was more important than security.
>
> Now you are going to tell me that no country had declared war on the
> USA at
> that time nor did any country declare war on the USA immediately after
> the
> USS Cole was attacked, or since.  If you say that some fanatical group
> or
> some religious group or some extremist group somewhere was behind the
> attack, then I will point out to you that it was indeed a terrorist
> act.  It
> was also a terrorist act to attack the Pentagon, even if you think
> it's a
> legitimate military target.  Since we were not at war when the
> Pentagon was
> attacked and that no country declared war on us after 9-11, the
> Pentagon
> attack was an act of terrorism.
>
> Even when Japan attacked Pearl Harbor, the Japanese tried to get the
> war
> declaration to Washington before the attack itself.  The Japanese
> diplomatic
> corps in Washington screwed up and presented the declaration several
> hours
> after the fact, but they presented the declaration.
>
> As of yet, the only person who declared war on the USA (and actually
> on the
> entire civilized world,) is Osama bin Ladin, who did not speak for any
> country.  Even the Taliban who ruled Afghanistan tried to tell us they
> didn't have anything to do with bin Ladin.  They certainly did not
> want to
> declare war on us.
>
> Earlier in this thread, I posted a URL to bin Ladin's full message to
> America.  I repeat it here, so that if you missed it the first time,
> you can
> see it now.
> http://www.observer.co.uk/worldview/story/0,11581,845725,00.html
>
> This is where OBL explains why he did what he did and what he wants
> from us
> in order to stop.
>
> As the proud father of three lovely girls, I cannot think of a worse
> fate
> than having the Western World become Islamic states.
>
> You can debate all you want whether some of OBL's targets where
> legitimate
> or not or whether what he did was terrorism or not, it's irrelevant.
> OBL
> represents a gang of thugs, a gang of terrorists.  He committed
> terrorist
> acts and none of the targets where legitimate.
>
> Denys

I agree with both the message and your feelings about OBL.

In your comments about "declarations of war", you seem to infer that it
can only occur between countries.

If my understanding is correct, then I ask:  How can we declare a War
against Drugs and a War against Terrorism? The last time I looked,
neither of them were countries.

On the other hand, I may have misinterpreted you comments. Please
clarify. Thanks.

FW

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