From Essays After Montaigne
Loe here wherefore in this uncertaintie and perplexitie, which the impuissances and inabilitie doth bring us to see and chuse what is most commodious for the difficulties which the divers accidents and circumstances of everie thing draw with them: the surest way, if other considerations did not invite us thereto, is, in my conceit, to follow the partie, wherein is most honestie and justice; and since a man doubteth of the nearest way, ever to keepe the right.
As in these two examples I have lately mentioned, there is no doubt but that it was more commendable and generous in him who had received the offence, to remit and pardon the same, than to have done otherwise. If the first had but ill-successe, his good intent is not to be blamed; and no man knoweth, had be taken the contrary way, whether he should have escaped the end, to which destinie called him; and then had he lost the glorie and commendations of so seld-seene humanitie. Sundrie men possessed with this feare, are read-of in ancient Histories; the greatest part of which have followed the way of fore-running the conspiracies which were complotted against them, by revenge or tortures, but I see very few, that by this remedy have received any good; witnesse so many Romane Emperours. Hee that perceiveth himselfe to be in this danger ought not much to relie upon his power, or hope in his vigilancie. For, how hard a matter is it for a man to warrant and safeguard himselfe from an enemie, that masks under the visage of the most officious and heartie-seeming friend we have? And to know the inward thoughts and minde-concealed meanings of such as daily attend, and are continually with us? It will little availe him to have foraine nations to his guard, and ever to be encircled about with troupes of Armed men? whosoever he be that resolveth to condemne his owne life, may at any time become Master of other mens lives.
And therefore doe Princes wisely publish such advertisements as they receive of the plots conspired, and treasons practised against their lives and states, thereby to make men beleeve, that nothing can be attempted against them, but they shall have knowledge of it. The Duke of Athens committed many fond oversights in the establishing of his late tyrannie upon the Florentines, but this the chiefest, that having received the first advertisement of the Monopolies and Complots the Florentines contrived against him, by Mathew, surnamed Morozo, one of the complices, thinking to suppresse this warning, and conceale that any in the Citie were offended at him, or grudged at his rule, caused him immediately to be put to death.
I've been asked several times in the past few days (even by my therapist) how I feel about the apparent imminent threat of terrorist acts. I'm too cynical to believe that the identified threats are real. This isn't to say that terrorists somewhere aren't plotting to attack American targets, especially New York City--such plots have been afoot for decades. But there's nothing in the history of our intelligence agencies to suggest that the threats of which they're warning us have anything to do with those plots. The terrorist threat to which we are subjected, and have been subjected for quite some time, is by its very nature unidentified. The threats of which we're being warned are not real or are, at best, half realized.
Being on our guard, being "alert, but not alarmed," won't protect us. Israel has been subjected to the most persistent, most clearly identified, and most regularly realized threat of terrorism of any nation--no nation could be more alert and no nation has pursued a more aggressive response. Yet its state of readiness and aggression have not protected Israel from a steady stream of terrorist attacks. The simple fact is that there's no demonstration of power, no threat of revenge or torture that can safeguard us from enemies who have resolved to condemn their own lives or from enemies who are masked under the visage of friends.
Thus, the means to ensure our safety being in doubt, the surest course of action is to follow the path of greatest honesty and justice. Expediency has not proven effective in the past, nor has it protected or enhanced our safety. Whether we're speaking of the expedient of arming Iraq in the war against Iran or the expedient of arming Al Qaeda in Afghanistan's fight against the Soviet Union, it's clear that those decisions have resulted in great harm. The decisions that we make now will determine our safety five and ten years hence. Great shows of strength in Afghanistan and Iraq won't intimidate future potential threats from Saudi Arabia and Pakistan, but our complicity with those nations will enhance those threats.
As Harald so succinctly put it, "the 'good' should distinquish themselves from the 'evil' by transparency and accountability." We should not be engaged in clandestine activities. Lurking about, providing resources to one dangerous faction to undermine another won't ever get us what we want. We should be engaged in efforts that we can all understand and accept (even if we can't all agree to them). We should be following a policy that plausibly explains why we've devastated Afghanistan and are planning to devastate Iraq without sufficiently providing for the rebuilding of those nations as stable productive allies rather than leaving them as ongoing sources of dissatisfaction and unrest. We should all understand why we aren't responding to the North Korean administration's real threat to its people, its neighbors, and us, but we're on the verge of invading Iraq to oust an administration that's a real threat only to its own people. And we should all be able to agree upon a common explanation (even if we don't all agree with the decision) why the tyranical administration in Iraq is of so much greater concern than the tyranical administrations in North Korea, Zimbabwe, and many other countries. I'm asking only to understand why I'm being forced to bear the increased risk that will stem from these decisions.
1:04:20 PM 
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