[lit-ideas] Re: Europe's September 11 ?
- From: "Andreas Ramos" <andreas@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 15 Mar 2004 11:31:16 -0800
> Surely what characterizes al-Qaida, besides their ruthlessness, is their
incredible efficiency. Have there been any other groups of similarly limited
size and resources that have inflicted comparable damage on such mighty
opponents?
The Islamic jihad's greatest victory was to force the USSR to abandon
Afghanistan. The Soviets were utterly ruthless, with indiscriminate bombing,
massacres, and so on, yet Islamic fundamentalists won against a superpower.
Mr. bin Laden (as the New York Times calls him) was one of the principal
organizers of that jihad.
Who else has had such a level of success? I can think of T. E. Lawrence, who
led desert tribes in an insurgency to throw the Ottoman Empire out of the
Saudi peninsula. Ho Chi Ming threw the French and later, the USA, out of
Vietnam.
yrs,
andreas
www.andreas.com
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