TALES FROM THE BARSTOOL
By: Clint Lien

Arabs Part II

Had an interesting response to last month's column from a Canadian fellow living in Morocco. He wanted to thank me for separating Bin Laden and his ilk with the general people of the Islamic faith. He went on to say that he was sick of a media run by red neck Americans attacking all Muslims. He felt a war against Islam was their true desire. No problem, I told him, but I had to ask, what news reports was he watching? The news bores the hell out of me. I can see right through those self-serving rabble rousers, but I've made a point of flipping around for an hour at the end of each day because this is big. From CNN to the BBC I'm hearing the same thing over and over and over again - this is not a war against Islam but a war against terrorism. The line is repeated so often you almost want to yell at the screen - "Ya, ya, ya! We know!" The only people I hear in a "public" forum saying otherwise are the terrorists and some Muslim point men, like Louis Farrakhan. Am I wrong? Someone out there tell me who's saying otherwise - in public.

In private it is a different matter all together. Folks are saying other things. Things that are not too Christian. I'll tell you what I'm hearing whispered in the bars and the cafes, at the bus stops and in the back of taxi cabs. What they're saying is "Kill 'em all and let Allah sort 'em out." I'm not talking about skinny guys with greasy peak hats and pointed cowboy boots. I'm talking about guys in Brooks Brothers suits sipping martinis. You mention that there are almost a billion Muslims on this planet and they'll respond "We've got that many bullets."

People are angry and scared. They want revenge and they don't want to live in fear. Logically the way to that end is to eradicate the source and the source is a group of fanatical Islamic fundamentalists. What's the alternative?

Bin Laden says we will be the target of attack as long as there are Americans in Kuwait, Americans in Saudi Arabia, suffering in Iraq and, here's the kicker, American support of Israel.

Do you remember the movie "Die Hard?" The terrorist made a list of demands that could not be met because they had an alternative agenda. Bin Laden has an alternative agenda as well. He wants a holy war. You'll have to ask him why. My only guess is that some people just like to fight. He's probably one of them.

How many people does he have behind him? Islamic independent TV reported that twenty-five percent of all Muslims supported Bin Laden in his efforts. If that's true then we really are in deep shit. But the same network reported that all the Jewish folks in the WTC evacuated the buildings before the planes hit, suggesting it was a Zionist plot. Their journalists aren't much different than ours I guess - just trying to stir the pot. Remember when the cops found a pair of sneakers in a park near Chandra Levy's place? It was in the headlines for a week. It didn't matter that they were men's shoes, three sizes bigger than hers. Obviously they were wrong about the Zionist plot so I don't mind assuming they are wrong on the twenty-five percent figure. But those guys sitting in the bar remember those buildings and they'll remember the images of people dancing in the streets of Palestine, Pakistan and Iraq. Every day they gather, under risk of death and continue to shout and burn effigies. They gather by the thousands and pray to their god for our death. We are up against more than a few lunatics.

It's hard to find someone in North America who does not support the bombing of Afghanistan. Point out that women and children are dying and the response is uniform - "Better their women and children than ours. They started it. We'll finish it." But here's the problem. It may feel good to drop those bombs, but are we closer to a terrorist free world?

FLASH BULLETIN: The Taliban has been eradicated and Bin Laden's head is in the box sitting to my right.

Now what? Is the problem solved? No, not by a long shot. In fact it may even be worse. Now they have a martyr and recruits to their cause are lining up. Acts of terrorism will be on the rise.

Does that mean we stop our campaign in Afghanistan? No. The government of that country housed and supported the men who committed the acts of September 11th. They should be made to pay the highest price - but we had better be well aware that things are going to get worse before they get better.

There has been a lot of rhetoric about how brave and united we are. I hope it's true because in the coming YEARS we're going to find exactly what we are made of and we're going to need body bags. We will have to be prepared to bury our own because we will not get the Taliban, we will not get Bin Laden and we will not end terrorism without sacrifice. Israel has been dealing with the issue much longer than we have. We should be looking to them for guidance. To truly win against these thugs there is one thing of which I'm certain - we can not let them terrorize us. We must continue on in spite of our fear. We have to keep flying and keep delivering mail. Four people have died from anthrax and there was talk of shutting down the post office. How many more die each day because of traffic accidents and no one is talking about shutting down the highways? The terrorists succeeded beyond their wildest dreams on September 11th. Who amongst us doesn't know at least one person who lost their job because of it? I know three and I live on an island in Canada. People are afraid. I'm not suggesting that we should not be afraid. I am suggesting that we have to act like we are not. Killing them all is not an option. Target the ones we know and stay in the right.

I voice all this to my martini sipping friend. I'm a bleeding heart liberal, he says. How is he supposed to tell if the Arab sitting beside him on the plane is saying his final prayers or if he's just a regular guy flying across the country? Arabs aren't allowed on Israeli airplanes. We'll do the same - and while we're at it, we'll round up all the non-American Arabs and ship 'em out of the country. He assures me that when we do that we can live in peace. It'll never happen. It should never happen and we won't live in peace if it does happen. That's what I say. He doesn't want to hear that. He does not offer to buy the next round.

So to my reader in Morocco, I don't see the news reports you're talking about. But I do feel the pulsing hatred that's simmering below the surface of America and it scares me.

Reactions? Comments? Write me at barfly@netlistings.com