[extropy-chat] ENOUGH already

[Harvey Newstrom]

Russell Evermore wrote,
> Fundamentalist Islam, led by Osama Bin Luddite, has chosen
> this age (my age, my son's age) to wage a war of aggression 
> against modernity. When war has been declared on your person, 
> your continent, and your core values, you have but two 
> choices - you fight or you flee.

I thought we were talking about the war started by Bush, not the war started
by bin Laden.  But it doesn't matter because the principles are the same.
An evil party attacks an innocent party killing thousands of people with no
provocation in hopes of terrorizing them to such an extent that other
parties only vaguely related to the attacked party will be shocked and awed
into retreating.  Both of these actions failed and triggered a more
aggressive backlash than any conflicts that existed before.

> Is it extropic to fight?

It is extropic to defend, it is not extropic to attack.  
Defense is extropic, initiating force is not extropic.

> Is it extropic to flee? Where will you flee - Mars?

Depends on the situation.  I don't know of any suggestions to flee relating
to current wars, so I can't comment without details.

> >From the inside flap of _Onward Muslim Soldiers_ by Robert Spencer:

I think this author and you conflate bin Laden, Saddam Hussein, and
Palestinians all into the same group.  I believe this is too simplistic and
will result in faulty intelligence.  You cannot expect bin Laden, Saddam
Hussein and Palestinians to believe the same things or act in the same ways.
They are radically different religious/political factions only vaguely
related under the banner of Islam.  Saddam was about as non-religious as you
could get and still claim to be Islamic, while bin Laden is about as
extremist fundamentalist as you could get and still claim to be Islamic.
The Palestinians seem to be more territorial than fundamentally religious in
their battles.

-- 
Harvey Newstrom, CISSP, CISA, CISM, IAM, IBMCP, GSEC
Certified IS Security Pro, Certified IS Auditor, Certified InfoSec Manager,
NSA Certified Assessor, IBM Certified Consultant, SANS Certified GIAC
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