A Few Shiny Pebbles

Thanks to the extraordinary Bruce at the Conservative Cat, I have a Blog. I’ll be redoing some things and adding others as I find out what I’m actually doing, but the basic idea is to write and not spend too much time trying to tweak things.

The name, “A Few Shiny Pebbles” parallels part of something Isaac Newton wrote:

“I do not know what I may appear to the world; but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.” — Isaac Newton

We all of us walk that same beach of Life, finding interest and beauty where and when we can, and even, sometimes, a tantalizing scent of truth. Being creatures of speech, we seek to speak of it, to write it, to communicate it, that others who walk that same stretch of sand may make note of it, may even join us in our sense of discovery. Sometimes we may map a little space, or leave behind a special span of pebbles or of shells, that those who come after us may find their way more easily, may share a moment of joy or warning prepared for them, may know the companionship of others who passed that way and then moved on.

I’ve walked a distance on that beach, and I want to write of things I’ve come to know, to believe. Right now, I think we all must find what voice we can. Of course, it’s hard to know just where to start, so perhaps I’ll start in the middle of things. That great ocean of truth is out there, filled with pebbles and shells that have yet to be cast upon the shore. Let’s go wading.

Rethinking WMDs
By Minta Marie Morze
(originally written 11-2-06 and sent to some friends)

My friend wrote down, ‘No Weapons of Mass Destruction were found in Iraq.’

I looked at what she'd written and said, “Maybe it’s not what you think.”

“What do you mean?” she asked.

“It sounds like the emphasis was on the weapons, that people were looking only for certain weapons. Nuclear. Or mass amounts of chemical or biological warfare canisters, or the materials for a ‘Dirty Bomb’. That kind of thing. But what if the word “Mass” doesn’t really point to a kind of weapon at all? What if it refers to the ‘Destruction’ part of WMD?”

She hesitated, and I added, “Box cutters were Weapons of Mass Destruction on 9/11. They were used to kill close to 3,000 people, and their users wished to kill even more. The terrorists flew early in the morning, so the planes wouldn’t be full of people and thus harder to control. What if they had flown later, when the buildings had sixty- or seventy-thousand people in them or more? What if they had then hit the buildings at lower floors? You know, only a couple of people who were above the floors that were crashedinto got out alive. The terrorists could have flown later in the day and killed forty-, fifty-, sixty-thousand people or more. That’s more people than we lost in the entire Vietnam War. All in one day. Box-cutters are surely Weapons of Mass Destruction in the hands of people willing to use them that way.”

“Okay,” she said slowly, “but they needed the planes, and they had to take flying lessons, and . . .”

I said, quietly, “But planes and flying schools are normal parts of life. It’s not as though they had to sneak planes into the country, or had to have secret schools to train in. All they needed was some time and enough money. And if they had been already trained as pilots by some Air Force, all they would have needed was the money.”

She said, even more slowly, “But then you’re saying that the most dangerous Weapon of Mass Destruction is a person willing to use terrorist means.”

“Exactly.” I sighed. “Look at Saddam Hussein. He hates America, he was violating the terms of the Gulf War cease-fire, he was receiving a fortune from the oil in Iraq by cheating on his UN agreements, he had already tried to expand by conquering a neighboring country, Kuwait, and he was already a mass murderer of his own people. More, he was paying $25,000 each to families of suicide bombers. Once 9/11 happened, the war between the ‘Western World’ view and that of the Islamist terrorists demanded participation. People had to pick sides, and Saddam was already against America.

“Islamist terrorists have been committing atrocities for more than two decades: in Beirut, in U.S. embassies in Africa, the first Twin Towers bombing, the Cole, ships and planes hijacked, people kidnapped and tortured and murdered—an official terrorist mindset is already in place. Money and the will to spend it for terrorism opens doors. Biological and chemical weapons can be manufactured, the materials for dirty bombs can be obtained, clever formulas for explosives and innovative ways to use them can be developed. People can be bribed, land and equipment can be provided so that people can be trained, people can be indoctrinated and mentally prepared to face death as martyrs. People can be infiltrated into a country with relative ease or trained in rogue mosques and prisons already there. Suddenly you have willing terrorists with money and plans to be carried out. Suddenly there are bottles of ricin or sarin gas, or anthrax, or plague, or homemade explosives carried into subways, onto planes, with bombs in backpacks, in shoes, in baby bottles, in vests, in cars . . .

“Surely Bin Ladin, Saddam Hussein, Stalin, Hitler, Mao, Pol Pot, DrugCartel bosses and too many others have taught us that someone with money and the will to destroy is capable of devastating the lives of millions and millions of people. And they’ll find no shortage of willing players to help them. So the true Weapon of Mass Destruction is the human brain that is committed to terrorism.

“Weapons of Mass Destruction look out at the world through hate-filled eyes, waiting their chance. Removing a Saddam Hussein removes a vast source of such chances, furthering our cause in giant strides. The future demands no less of us than this, that we take such risks for such gains, and that we count ourselves blessed that there are brave hearts and spirits willing to shoulder our dreadful burden.”