[lit-ideas] Re: Ground Zero Mosque's Saudi Patron
- From: Mike Geary <jejunejesuit.geary2@xxxxxxxxx>
- To: lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Tue, 31 Aug 2010 21:47:38 -0500
I agree, Phil. I have a great deal of respect for Eric as well as Lawrence,
their talents and intelligence are enviable, but I think they are both very
wrong in this regard. I don't believe that Lawrence's dreaded Islamist
enemy is a serious threat to this nation much less Western civilization.
Are they capable of doing grievous harm to this country? I doubt it, as
does Phil. September 11, 2001 was not a grievous nor even a serious threat
to this county, a deeply offense injury, yes. It was mass murder. But not
a serious threat to this nation. The assassination of President Kennedy was
a more serious injury, but not even that was grievous. We have killed how
many in Irag? In the hundreds of thousands. A nation that has never done us
any harm nor has ever been a threat to this country. We inflicted a serious
and grievous injury on Iraq and her people. It amazes me that so many
people are afraid of people who live in the 7th Century. I just don't get
it.
Mike Geary
Memphis
On Tue, Aug 31, 2010 at 8:55 PM, Phil Enns <phil.enns@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> Eric wrote:
>
> "Five simultaneous nukes in five major cities not an existential
> threat? Is Phil really imagining the consequences of such an attack?
> Yes it would likely be the end of the US. Improperly responded to, it
> would be the end of all countries."
>
>
> Despite my ability to imagine a great many scenarios that bring about
> the end of all countries, I still do not believe that a terrorist
> attack using nuclear weapons constitutes an existential threat. The
> ability to imagine a state of affairs, for example that the invasion
> of Iraq would be greeted with cheering and flowers, does not make that
> state of affairs probable or reasonable.
>
> What reasons do I have to support my belief? Despite the terrible
> loss of life, as well as the damage to property and the economy, the
> fundamental elements that support the functioning of the U.S. as a
> state would remain. There would still be a constitution and a legal
> system. There would still be a political process, at many different
> levels, for representing the citizens of the U.S., the legislating of
> new laws and the executing of laws and policies. There would still be
> law enforcement agencies to ensure law and order in the aftermath.
> There would still be a military and chain of command capable of
> projecting its power to a degree that would ensure deterrence against
> any other nation wanting to take advantage of the situation. There
> would still be many people who could go about their daily lives doing
> many of the same things they did previously. There would still be the
> many political and social relationships that construct the political
> and social identities of Americans.
>
> A terrorist nuclear attack does not represent a broad enough threat to
> the U.S. to make it an existential threat. It cannot destroy or
> replace the institutions and traditions that support the functioning
> of the U.S. state. Compare this kind of attack to the role of the
> Taliban in Afghanistan or Pakistan, or even the drug cartels in parts
> of Mexico, where these groups are able to either stop the government
> from functioning or go so far as replacing the government. In my
> opinion, these groups represent existential threats to their
> governments. Al Qaeda, despite the terrible damage it might be able
> to inflict, does not.
>
> Now Eric obviously disagrees, but he hasn't explained why he disagrees
> beyond stating that he can imagine certain outcomes following a
> nuclear attack. I hope he doesn't expect that we should be convinced
> by imaginative constructions and so I look forward to hearing more.
>
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Phil Enns
> Yogyakarta, Indonesia
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