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From: fritz@hpfclp.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.general
Subject: Re: Air raid on Libya
Message-ID: <7300004@hpfclp>
Date: Wed, 23-Apr-86 10:36:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: hpfclp.7300004
Posted: Wed Apr 23 10:36:00 1986
Date-Received: Tue, 6-May-86 05:47:36 EDT
References: <157@unido>
Lines: 71

>> I hope that on the net and in America are some people who share my views.

> Well, I doubt that you will find people in America who share your
> views, because the brainwashing there is getting rather complete.

Unfortunately, it is true that the majority of Americans seem to support
Reagan in this action.  One only has to watch the local stations with their
"man on the street" polls to see that.  However, don't assume that every
person in the US has been "brainwashed" into the Rambo mindset.

I have yet to talk to a single person who thought the attack was a good
idea.  Granted, most of the people I talked to were well-educated and
may have understood the ramifications better than the average citizen.
These are also mostly people who think Reagan is a bonzo movie cowboy
with absolutely no idea of what he is doing to our country and the world.
Reagan's agressive tactics (in Libya, in Grenada, with the Soviets, you 
name it) AND his irresponsible fiscal policies scare the bejeebers out of 
many of us!

And don't assume that the "American propaganda" is all tilted towards
Reagan.  As little as I watch TV, I still saw several shows (e.g. Nightline)
that asked some very hard-hitting questions as to why in blazes we did such
a crazy thing, what the rest of the world thinks of us, how it will affect
our standing in the world community, how it will affect the safety of
Americans AND others, etc.

Now, to be honest, I don't necessarily feel that attacking Libya (especially
with a ""surgical"" strike like this) was a 100% wrong idea.  I don't know
how else one gets the attention of a paranoid megalomaniac like Khaddafi.
I agree with Reagan on one point:  Khaddafi is a dangerous man.  He
harbors, trains, and encourages terrorists to strike around the world.
I am truly grateful he doesn't have access to nuclear weapons.  However, 
ALL OTHER POSSIBILITIES should have been exhausted before we went in with 
guns blazing -- if for no other reason than to show that we really TRIED, 
so that we wouldn't have looked quite so much like trigger-happy Rambo's 
(or cowboys, or state terrorists, or whatever you want to call it).

I object to the "state terrorism" label, because at least Reagan, unlike
Khaddafi's terrorists, didn't intentionally TRY to kill innocent civilians.  
The strike was very carefully planned to damage Khaddafi's headquarters, 
elite guard, and military installations.  They even tried to miss the
Libyan army installations that weren't fanatically loyal to Khaddafi!  
I believe that much of the damage to civilian areas was caused by Libya's
stray SAM-5 missiles.  (Even some of the pictures that Libya released
showed Russian writing on the wreckage of the "American" bombs and
"plane wreckage"!)  And if Khaddafi didn't hide behind innocent
civilians by putting his military headquarters in the middle of a
civilian area, perhaps NO civilians would have been hurt.

I don't want the US to be perceived as some kind of international bully
(at least, any more than it already is, *sigh*).  I don't want the people
of the world to think of America the way intelligent Americans (as opposed
to rabid "anti-Commie" types) think of the USSR -- as an agressive, warlike
nation that furthers its ideologies and political/economic needs by conquest
(in Czechoslovakia, Afganistan, etc.).  (I am not sure how to interpret
Russia's recent peaceful offers -- as genuine attemps to reduce the tension
in the world, or as propagandistic moves that they know Reagan will reject.)
But until this right-wing, aggressive, John Wayne/Rambo/kick-their-asses 
attitude swings back toward a more normal outlook, and we replace Reagan with 
a more sane leader, I fear America will earn itself more black marks in the
eyes of the world.

I just hope that's the worst that happens.

Gary Fritz
Ft Collins, CO
{ihnp4,hplabs}!hpfcla!fritz


The above are my own opinions, and in no way represent the views of
my employer or anybody else who might object.