Lapdancers, or F-16s
   I am beginning to think that the west's greatest armaments - gyms, lapdancing and general decadence - may be of limited use in the coming conflict. Let me explain. I have always believed that the west need not fight wars; that history is on our side; that the allure of Hollywood, holidays in Ibiza, gleaming cars, barbeques on a well-watered lawn, that glorious capitalism can soften any radical nationalism, or fanatical religious belief; that sooner or later, they will all come around to the western way. Detente did more than Star Wars to bring down the Soviet bloc; as soon as travel and communication were relaxed sufficiently for east Europeans to see how far they had been left behind, the economic case for communist government crumbled, peacefully. Vietnam turned capitalist, and would have much earlier had the US just let events take their course. Call it zen capitalism: surrender, and win.
   And this is why I am worried now. The Arab terrorists who attacked the twin towers and the Pentagon had tasted the west. Some had spent years in Germany and other western countries, and spoke proficient English. At least one had an engineering degree. And, most disturbing of all: they, or their sympathizers, buffed up at high-end fitness gyms, and relaxed with lapdancers [see below]. Why disturbing? Because the militants tasted the west - wealth, safety, education, vanity, sex - and resisted. And, if seduction does not work, destruction may be the only answer.
Suspected Terrorists Worked Out In Local Gyms
AP: lapdancing
BBC: Bin Laden's middle class killers
Washington Post: Heineken, adult video stores, Chinese takeaways
Agents of terror leave their mark on Sin City / Las Vegas workers recall the men they can't forget