Like Shooting Bullets at Smoke...

I'm guessing that anyone dropping by can find plenty of articles, posts, and whatnot dealing with the ricin and anthrax attacks, or the various terrorist bombings in Oceania, Asia, or Europe, the 9/11 attacks (although fewer might be aware of home-grown terrorism like this--thanks Orcinus), and so on.

For the record, I have no idea who did the ricin attack, although my suspicion is that it's a homegrown domestic creep--but that's just a hunch. The point is, though, that it certainly pokes a big old hole in the thesis that we're somehow "safer" as a result of Bush's foolish policies.

Things like this will continue to happen regardless of how long--and how devasting--our wars on Iraq, Afghanistan, the evil-doers, terror, or whatever, are fought. Terrorists don't fight the way nations fight. That's why every time I see/hear about yet another act of terror (or the 'appropriate' response) I keep thinking that, as the title of this post says: it's like shooting bullets at smoke--and, for that matter, after shooting, like trying to catch the lingering smoke with a wide mesh butterfly net.

Sorry I don't have the link, but Howard Dean (in one of the debates, I believe) got it dead-on accurate when he said the issue in the Middle East isn't between the West and fundamentalist Islam, but between MODERATE Islam and fundlamentalist Islam. Few of us will ever even VISIT, much less live in the region. And, with our heavy handed tactics, we're doing our best to alienate the shit out of a lot of people who otherwise would find our position quite to their liking--as long as we don't try to stamp down on them with a heavy boot.

A while back I came across this article in Salon (I think you can view it without needing to watch the ad) that says much the same thing. Terrorism, and terrorists, cannot be fought with conventional military tactics anymore than catching Derrick Todd Lee would require the bombing of St. Francisville. Lee was caught--fortunately (and, to be truthful, I hope he is the person because I'd like to see the case closed), because, in spite of mistakes, there were good police officers who did solid work, and who continued to push for him to BE questioned until, finally, he was (and additionally forced to submit a DNA sample).

That's how we need to go after international terrorists--with the assisstance, of course, of the police and/or special forces in the various countries where terrorists operate. No, it's not Shock and Awe--but the real world ain't a damn Rambo movie either. When we push for levelling countries to "parking lots," and damn the "collateral damage," we show as little respect for our victims as those who perpetrated the appalling acts on September 11th. Remember that.