#10
Date: Thu, 20 Sep 2001
From: "JOSEPH DRESEN" <DRESENJO@WWIC.SI.EDU>
Subject: Re: 5452 - Response to Matt Taibbi
I don't want to bog down the discussion on JRL, but I have some comments on
Matt Taibbi's response.
If my previous comments seem to Mr. Taibbi to be hysterical; well, I work in
Washington in the second largest federal building after the Pentagon, so I
candidly admit that I am not coldly dispassionate about the subject.
It seems that in an exchange of ideas between two continents, some
misunderstandings are bound to crop up. For example, I was not aware of
Kagarlitsky's role in publishing the alleged connection between the FSB and
the Kazan bombings. So my comment about his article being a parody is out of
line, and I apologize for that - I admire his courage in publishing such
investigative journalism.
But being in Moscow seems to engender some misunderstandings as well. I am
not quibbling with Kagarlitsky's translation of "nelyudi" - but with
ascribing that quote to, as I read his piece, American (far-right)
politicians speaking openly in the media. If the quote was supposed to refer
to Russian sentiment in the press, he should have said so. And yes, all of
the terrible incidents Mr. Taibbi referred to have happened, and public
opinion is running hot right now (how could it not?). But, as Mr. Taibbi is
aware, the administration is fighting those sentiments, and police and the
FBI are cracking down on the incidents against muslims, calling them hate
crimes. It's a struggle - but at least there is a struggle.
I won't refute Mr. Taibbi's assessment of surveillance and the threat of
expanded federal powers. The former is a serious issue, and we have to be
cautious about the later. We can continue to disagree over the willingness
of American far-right groups to kill the innocent passengers on the four
jets; but I question his conclusion that Americans are better able to beat
the system. The hijackers were in the country for a long time, lived
quietly, and prepared for the attack.
But how would these "far-right" groups (usually, Christian and
white
supremacist) recruit 19 muslims from outside the country to participate in
these suicide attacks? Wouldn't it be easier to recruit McVeigh-types and
train them how to fly? Why, as Americans, it would be even easier for them
to move around the country in Mr. Taibbi's estimation, wouldn't it?
As an American, I hope that we do wait for solid proof of culpability before
retaliating - the attack may have different sponsors, or additional ones.
But it is a crock that this attack is beyond the capabilities of foreign
terrorists. The simultaneous bombings of our embassies in Africa were a
dress rehearsal for the coordination involved - or did the McVeigh crowd
arrange those as well?
Finally, I might be able to get behind the Reichstag metaphor as a caution
against whipping up anti-Muslim fervor. (A better one would be the Japanese
internment camps after Pearl Harbor.) But Kagarlitsky conflated the
Reichstag with the image of American "masterminds" plotting a
"final
solution" of genocide. If it was a coincidence on his part, it was an
unfortunate one.
