That GWB has better people than me to provide him with ideas.

And, however, in addition to that, off the top of my head, there are some things I'd be tempted to do.

Let me preface this with a long story. Once when I was 19 and in college I went to a large city for Thanksgiving. A girl I was trying to befriend lived there and I thought if I just wound up on her doorstep I might get invited for turkey. Stayed with a friend, and met his older sisters' boyfriend. He had a Harley, I had a Honda, and we rode around one evening.

Wound up in a tavern where I been a few times. These were the days and that was the type tavern where they just asked if you had ID. They didn't ask to see it.

The guy I was riding with was about 30, a ski instructor, had spent 8 years enlisted in the service, was sort of a Ph. D. in physical stuff. Paratrooper, DI, all that. And, frankly, pretty tough. Scared me.

One of the guys in the tavern I knew a bit. Gary was mean-tempered, faster than hell, and talked a lot about various altercations. He was also good-looking, mouthy, a bad drunk. He also scared me. I was scared of pretty much everyone anyway.

I told the guy I was with what I knew about Gary, including his self-proclaimed reputation as a mean SOB.

He looked at Gary for about 30 seconds, concentrating, obviously focussed. He looked at me for a couple of seconds, then said Gary was mouth, talked his way into and out of problems, wasn't a fighter.

I was shocked. Didn't believe it. Then asked why he thought that.

He said, "No scars. If you really are tough, if you really do fight as you say he does, you have scars. There's always someone who will come up behind you with a 2 by 4, three guys who will jump you, someone will blind-side you. Can't avoid it. Even if he were big, fast, tough, and smart that ain't going to protect him when he has enough enemies. Someone will club him just for the fun of it.

"Nope, no scars."

Bullies think the fight is over when the fight is over. Not true. The use of power always creates enemies. Always. As I've said, you might be able to force me to do something, I might smile, and I'll hate you for a long, long time. Friends come and go, enemies last forever.

I think WTC was someone coming up behind us with a 2 by 4. And, there are more 2 by 4s out there.

So, one idea would be to fund an Islamic think tank. Hire some Islamic thinkers, doers, and charge them with contacting Islamic groups which dislike the US and finding out what they think. The idea that people will hate you enough to kill themselves because they envy "freedom" or material things is feel-good pap that even the writers can't believe.

For instance, the Iranians hate us for the Shah's regime. What is it exactly they think? Why? What events? As you pointed out there may be times when it's necessary to make enemies. And, it may be important for the American public to know they are being made.

The Iranians remember, and their impressions are reinforced by other US actions. But AMERICANS HAVE FORGOTTEN, IF THEY KNEW, WHY THEY HATE US. It seems completely unreasonable to us.

And then tell the US government and American people exactly what it is that is driving the hatreds. Not BS like envy. I envy Bill Gates about a billion. I envy the island, the airplanes, the office. And I'M NOT ABOUT TO DRIVE MY CAR INTO HIM.

The American people are smarter than given credit for, generous, kind and understanding if they have the information. The problem is getting information that may not be especially flattering. Given all sides of a problem they will make a wise decision. The problem is people censoring information. No one wants the public to know why the Iranians hate us.

Our "free" press ain't. It's owned by large corporations, it tells people what they want to hear, it's susceptible to things like boycotts from the Anti-Defamation League. The government is busy withholding information in order to look better, no matter what administration it is. Clinton did NOT want some things to come out after some other things came out, if you know what I mean, wink, wink.

That would be a start. Understanding what really are their issues, and publicizing that without spin. Not agreeing, not altering policy or practice, necessarily, but at least getting accurate information.

Now, that's not jingoistic. Some people won't like it. They would rather operate from prejudices and preconceptions. And, that ain't working. But it doesn't stop us.

I worked for a large organization once as sort of a troubleshooter. I was a special aide for The Man, and had been brought in from the outside. Had never been a member.

After a while I put a sign on the wall behind my desk. "If it doesn't work we just try it harder. Why?" Got a lot of interesting comments, some of them good.

Anyway, that's a suggestion. Help people understand all the ramifications of their actions. Find the reality, trust the people with ALL the information, and figure their informed judgement into the decisions.

Arf