Sunday, January 29, 2006

Stupid or Foolish? Why Choose?

John Arquilla (via RCP) thinks we make a mistake dismissing Osama's truce offer out of hand.

He thinks we should accept it:

In sum, the practical upside of giving peace a chance looks very attractive. Our ethical obligation to try in good faith to negotiate is even more compelling.

Twenty months ago, I suggested in Insight that an era of perpetual warfare need not be our only future and observed that the peace process might begin simply with the release of a conciliatory tape by Osama bin Laden. He has just done this.

Now it's our turn. Reconsidering the immediate dismissive response to his overture is the necessary next step. I pray we have the courage and compassion to take it.

I am dumbfounded by this man's thought processes. The last time I ran across one of his articles, I concluded he was a netwit. He wanted a negotiated settlement with the terror boys then, too. Actually, I've heard of him before and I think little of his analytical abilities on defense issues. Perhaps it is only a coincidence that I only catch his really stupid pieces. Perhaps.

I stand by my earlier conclusion. God help us, but he is a professor of defense analysis at the U.S. Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey.