I really did not expect Bush visited Mosque and payed deep concerns about Muslims and broiling hatred domestically. Domestic violence to Muslims and people who look like them will be a very good excuse for the terrorists who did horrendous acts to us. They will use it as their political campaign to promote America as anti-Islam and anti-Arabs. If he can win hearts of moderate Muslims and liberals by showing them what he is saying is what he means by his actions, he can really change political scene in Middle East in the future. Here is the news: http://dailynews.att.net/cgi-bin/news?e=pri&dt=010917&cat=politics&st=politicsattackbush...
Ike, this a very good article about Taliban written by Ahmed Rashid in Foreign Affairs. Is he your friend Rashid or just the same last name? Taliban is not a simple band who protects Bin Laden and other terrorists but a big and troubling source to destabilize the whole region and further destabilize the whole Muslim world such as Egypt, Saudi, Algeria, etc. by supporting and exporting extreme Islamic militants (or terrorists) and religous views.
Taliban has influence on immediately surrounding countries and far away ones too: Chechnya, China, Kashimr, Pakistan, India (through Kashmir), Iran, Uzbek, to Saudi, Algeria, now to USA. Also, to fund their activities, they (including Bin Laden) export opium for all surrounding countries, which we Americans consume,I guess, and indirectly support terrorist's acts.
For one sad thing, this group, Taliban is a step-child from parts of the remnants of the Cold War Era-Soviet and USA conflicts. And it is a misguided result of shortsights of CIA, Saudi, and Pakistan Inteligence and political parties. This article is one of the best I have read:
After read this article, it is a joke to me for many writers, professionals or amateurs who expressed their opinions that if Talibans hand over Bin Laden and his groups to us or US wipes out only Bin Laden and his groups, everything will be OK or satisfied. Because we do not root out the main source, Taliban. I hope our government knows that. We need to change the whole regime, Taliban with the ones with sane minds. The following article shows one of those shortsights and plus a dangerous thought excluding Pakistan if they don't cooperate and further deteriorate us-relationships with Muslim world. Sad:
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