Blowback And Daniel Pearl

Apparently, sometime over the weekend, while I was playing GuantànamoS&M games with Kim and the Bonobo Gang and photographing our fun for theworld, some Pakistani dudes calling themselves "The National Movement forthe Restoration of Pakistani Sovereignty" were doing the same thing, onlytheir games were real and involved kidnapping Wall Street Journal South AsianBureau Chief Daniel Pearl.

Their e-mail to various US media outlets states that they believe that Mr.Pearl is a "CIA officer...posing as a journalist of the Wall StreetJournal." Spokespeople from both the CIA and the Wall Street Journal havedenied that Mr. Pearl works for the agency. The English-language text of the e-mail states that Mr. Pearl is being held "in very inhuman circumstancesquite similar infact to the way that Pakistanis and nationals of other sovereigncountries are being kept in Cuba by the American Army." The e-mail alsothreatened the kidnapping of other Americans, saying, "If the Americanskeep our countrymen in better conditions we will better the conditions of Mr.Pearl and all other Americans that we capture."

Actually, if you compare the photos, Mr. Pearl looks a lot more comfortablethan his Guantànamo counterparts; though, of course, it can't be all thatcomfortable having a gun pressed against your skull, even if it's just for aphoto-op.

Without a doubt, the people behind this kidnapping are dirty, low-down thugsand ought to be arrested by somebody, and Mr. Pearl should be freed to go hometo his pregnant French wife and job at the Wall Street Journal (which may aswell be the CIA in a few respects). The situation is, of course, quitedangerous. These S&M games can get out of hand. That gun could go off andkill Mr. Pearl, accidentally or on purpose. They--or thugs like them--could goout and pick up a few more unsuspecting Americans. Of course, this is somethingthat could happen at any time, and we should never shape American policies tofit the demands of kidnappers, extremists, hijackers and thugs. Still, whyshould we bait them with insensitive, erotically-charged power plays like thePentagon's tasteless, internationally illegal Guantànamo S&M porn? Justcompare: Is our photo so much more ethical and reasonable than the ones of poorMr. Pearl?

The actions of Rummy, Ayatollah Asscraft and the Great Pretzel Swallower downthere in breezy Guantànamo Bay have just put innocent individual Americanlives--especially Americans abroad--in more danger than ever.

Can't we see that Thanatos leads to Thanatos? We are, without a doubt, stillthe world's biggest, strongest, richest nation. We are also the World's FattestTarget. If only to protect ourselves and our people, we should beware ofthrowing our weight around and giving the appearance of being Obnoxious Bullies(even though we know we're the Good Guys)..

Come, my fellow Americans, let us show ourselves not only to be the strongestand richest, but also the wisest of nations. Let us respond to Thanatos withEros! This is not the "sissy way" (no offensive to our transgenderedfriends); this is the smart way. And no, it is not an easy way. In the immortalwords of the great seventeenth century French courtesan Ninon de l'Enclos:"Much more genius is needed to make love than to command armies."Considering the terrifying situation that America finds itself in these days, alittle genius is what we sorely need.

(Dr. Susan Block is a sex educator, host of the Dr. Susan Block radioshow, and author of The 10 Commandments of Pleasure. For more of her political,please visit the TerrorJournals)