With all due respect to the countless victims at the WTC, I think that the Pentagon attack is more important. The reason for this is that the Pentagon is a US _MILITARY_ installation. Using aircraft in a kamakazi role changes them from a vehicle designation to a weapon. Firing a weapon against a Military installation is AN ACT OF WAR according to the Geneva Convention (I think it was the GC, anyway). Granted, the culprit (alleged) is an individual, not a country, and a nation-state cannot wage war against an individual. However, said individual is being _knowingly_ harbored and protected by a nation-state, which in my eyes makes the nation-state culpable as well. And war CAN be declared on a nation-state, as we all know.
Note: I am not saying this is a good thing; in fact, just the opposite. A paraphrased quote from a movie (cant remember the name) sums it up best, I think: "Here and now, in the nuclear age, the real enemy is not a nation, but war itself." So the question is: does President Bush hold a similar view, or will the US get into ANOTHER armed conflict/war? From what I've heard, he and I are not of a like mind.
One final note (and favorite phrase from a book): The terrorists think that god is on their side. For their sake, I hope so, because they have angered a sleeping giant, and all the "power and rage of this country" shall be turned against these misguided souls. They got in a good second punch; unfortunately they are the 120 lb fighter who caught the heavyweight champion in the chin with that second punch.
[This message has been edited by dumbluck (edited 12 September 2001).]
Re: War....
Threaded Mode