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Saturday, October 01, 2005Bali BombingsLeafing through Ken Blanchard's Customer Mania! : It's Never Too Late to Build a Customer-Focused Company  , I ran across an assertion by one of YUM's top execs that while things weren't perfect, the numbers that were supposed to be going up were going up while the numbers that were supposed to be going down were going down.I think this way of thinking can be applied to the War on Terror. Some things are a mess, some are a total washout. But the number of people enjoying increased freedom and autonomy is up, as Iraq joins Afghanistan in staggering toward democracy. That's a number going up that we want going up. In Bali, in the same vein, we've got a number going down that we want going down. On 9/11, 3000 were killed. In Bali, the first time, it was 202 (it says here). In Madrid, it was around 250. Drmatic declines all. Then in London it was 50-100. And now, in Bali again, it's 25. The bombing in Bali shows that nutcases are still loose, still capable of destruction and, sadly, still able to ruin lives and break the hearts of families. But to look at the current numbers, they've got nothing on people who run red lights, never mind tsunamis and hurricaines. If Al Qaeda's move in Bali was intended to unleash terror, its effectiveness is uncertain. If it was intended to place in perspective the organization's capacity for testing or transforming society, though, a clear message has been sent about how little appeal this movement has. Indonesia is the largest Muslim country in the world. If they're planning on the Muslim street rising to lead the world to Islam (especially of the Islamist variety), the Bali progression has to be disappointing. Reminding, once again, that while there's no telling what the future has in store or what tomorrow may bring, it's not unreasonable to think that the War on Terror is being slowly, painstakingly won. 
posted by gbarto at 3:57 PM |
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