As IF Times

link Expert: Security Checkpoints Near Soft Targets May Soon Become The Norm « CBS New York.

So for almost 10 years, the West has had to be extra vigilant for any signs of ongoing terror activity in their daily lives.  All kinds of cumbersome and debatable programs and techniques were implemented at airports and other public transportation hubs by government ‘experts’ purportedly to keep everyone safe.  All of this was necessary since the mastermind of the 9-11 terror attacks was still at large and could be plotting mayhem anywhere and at any minute.  People were told to go about living their normal lives in defiance of the terrorists, but just in case, keep looking over their shoulders and suspect everyone.  Even 6 year old girls and frail grandmothers could not be ruled out as pawns in the diabolical methods of the terrorists.  A whole new workforce of government employees was created to molest, harass and humiliate us…..in order to ensure our safety.

Well, now the 9-11 mastermind has apparently been killed. Yet somehow, the experts exhort us to be even more vigilant and sensitive to possible retaliatory attacks by Bin Laden’s fans.  !!!  So, were we better off with him at large plotting the west’s destruction when he was alive, or now with his lackeys pursuing revenge after his death?   As of now, it seems like a lose/lose scenario. 

This sounds vaguely familiar…oh I know where I’ve heard this before!  Global warming!  People may recall the earnest bleats that a decade of supposedly increasing average temperatures, over the earth’s life of over 10 million years, was convincing evidence of global warming.  Over the past year or more however, the climate has never been cooler with snowfall and cold temperatures setting low records all over the place.  The Global Warming crew see this as EVIDENCE of global warming, or as they now call it, climate change.  So now we have to redouble our efforts to fight this man caused disaster.

In the case of the terror alerts, how about we recognize that the West will always be targets for our way of life and for our conspicuous affluence.  Unless there is technology to inspect every stick of gum, every lining of every jacket and every stitch of bulky underwear and the contents of every single car on the planet, we will be subject to the efforts of the people that hate the west.   Pretending to live normal lives while inside a plastic bubble is institutionalized lunacy.  Unlike Western culture which attempts to be inclusive and tolerant of variant peoples, Middle Eastern culture is still largely stuck in the mindset of edicts created thousands of years ago with no revision.  In a famous poem, The Ballad of East and West,  Rudyard Kipling concluded as much. 

Classic wisdom it seems.  As time goes on, people may want to cast some skeptical eyes upon the on-going ‘security’ regimes imposed upon them.  Like the global warming scam, someone benefits and it’s not the public.  It’s easy to project the hysteria that will be fanned by a concerned government so that all kinds of security measures will be imposed upon the helpless people.  We’ll have people who are armed and “protecting’ us and the rest who are dependant on their presence.  Years ago,  Ronald Reagan stated that the most dangerous words ever uttered were, “We’re from the government and we’re here to help”.  If TSA practices are what we can expect as government continues to “help” us,  I think we’d be better off looking after ourselves.

link Analysis: Core Qaeda priority is survival, not succession | Reuters.

Survival is right.  With the death of Bin Laden also dies the financial benefactor of the Al Qaeda movement.  It’s well known that Osama was worth a few hundred million bucks, or at least was until he decided that the rich playboy lifestyle wasn’t enough stimulation.  Instead he opted to spearhead a higher calling and no doubt used a lot of his money to fund it.  And so he launched Al Qaeda with the intent of lobbing missiles, bombs, mayhem and terror upon the West.  As long as the troops and the bombs and guns were paid for, it was all tickety boo.   No doubt the World Trade Center bombings impressed lots of rabid supporters and most certainly his fund raising was helped by the new street cred.

He could buy protection from governments and pass out some bonus cheques to keep the recruits loyal.  Now that he’s gone, the payroll may be iffier to meet.  Think of it;  someone has to pay for food, weapons, housing, transportation and benefits.  I’m sure the recruits were not all dummies.  They could read about the rich pension and work benefits received by other workers elsewhere.   Even  here in B.C. the minimum wage went up yesterday.  It’ s going to be harder to convince families to give up their sons as suicide bombers  if there is no certainty as to being paid for it.    The funding uncertainty may be what kills Al Qaeda in the end.

Every organized war since men first began disagreeing depends on financing.  Even Coke versus Pepsi needs dough.  Now that the main benefactor is gone, either some state has to come to the table and guarantee the costs of running a worldwide terrorist organization, or else that organization shrivels and becomes only regionally effective.  Who would that state now be?  All middle eastern states are in disarray.  Even Ahmadinejad in Iran may be tossed out by their supreme Poohbah.  As psychologically important as it was to cut off the head of the snake, it was more important to cut off the flow of funds.  It doesn’t matter how charismatic the new guy is if he can’t write the cheques.  It’s possible the zealots will chase after someone with deeper pockets.  Yikes, global warming may get a whole new army!

Update: June 19th 2011:   http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5iF3Qn-z3csL9aYAC9C8EDkXqodnA?docId=64989b1e8d634c01ba004f04c52b1b03