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Ken nibbled on another cookie and drank some more tea. His quiet, gentle actions were in stark contrast to the violence of the topics that were sandwiched around his ingestion of cookies and tea.

Picking up a napkin, Ken dabbed at his mouth and the general vicinity surrounding his mouth. As he folded up the napkin and placed it on the tray, he stated: "The use of torture, disappearances, and death-squads to generate an atmosphere of terror and fear in the civilian population became a staple of many of the client states which were trained and supported by America. In fact, these techniques are much more characteristic of US-trained, foreign, military and police forces than they are of anyone else.

"Organizations like the Bettinger Foundation point fingers of condemnation toward the terrorist activities of Carlos the Jackal or Abu Nidal or the German Red Army Faction or the Italian Red Brigade or the PLO or the Shining Path of Peru or the IRA or the two Libyans who are suspects in the Lockerbie, Scotland Pan Am bombing. And, indeed, all terrorist activity deserves to be condemned.

"However, the terrorists whom institutions such as the Bettinger Foundation like to keep reminding us about are rank amateurs compared to the United States and the client states around the world that America trains, arms, supports and encourages in their acts of terrorism.

"From 1968 to the present, all of the minor league terrorists have been responsible for approximately nine to ten thousand deaths. Without any doubt, all of these murders of innocent people are repugnant, immoral and, ultimately, counter-productive.

"Nevertheless, during the same period of time, the major league terrorists, such as the United States and its clients, have been responsible for well over a million and a half deaths in their world-wide campaign of terror. Surely, we ought to find the murder of innocent civilians in El Salvador, Nicaragua, Guatemala, Argentina, Mexico, Chile, Lebanon, Indonesia, East Timor, Mozambique, Angola, South Africa, Iran, Vietnam, the Philippines, Cambodia, and Iraq, which have taken place by our hand, or by those we have trained and armed, or by those who serve our purposes, to be far more morally repugnant, immoral and, ultimately, counter-productive than anything the minor league terrorists have perpetrated.

"Of course, the retaliatory terror of the minor leaguers is not justified simply because it comes in response to the campaign of terror inflicted on them by the United States and others. Nonetheless, one ought to keep in mind that the United States, its allies and their clients have been among the primary architects of, and contributors to, the problem of terrorism.

"In similar fashion, one needs to understand that the minor league terrorists were not the first to practice terrorism. Indeed, they learned their lessons at the feet of the major league terrorists like the United States, Britain, France, and Germany.

"To mention just one quick example, consider the case of Iraq's use of chemical weapons against certain factions of its Kurdish inhabitants. Many of us seem to derive considerable gratification from our sense of moral superiority on this issue, yet, quite conveniently, we are oblivious to the fact that Iraq's leaders learned this technique from the illustrious example of none other than that great spokesperson for democracy, Winston Churchill.

"As Secretary of State at the War Office, he gave the RAF permission in 1919 to use chemical weapons, as an 'experiment', against the 'uncivilized' Arab tribes of Mesopotamia, one of modern-day Iraq's historical predecessors. In addition, with the approval of the War Office, the RAF continued to carry out a terrorist campaign of bombings against those tribal villagers who were unwilling to accept the puppet government that Britain had installed in order to serve, among other things, the latter's oil interests in the region.

"We condemn, and quite correctly, the Iraqi use of chemical weapons against its Kurdish citizens. Yet, we often do not condemn our own use of chemical weapons, such as when we employed Agent Orange against the Vietnamese and, ironically, our own soldiers, or when our allies use chemical weapons, such as the previously mentioned case in Mesopotamia.

"If the minor league terrorists are monsters, then America and the other major league terrorists should be prepared to accept the fact that we have created them in our own image. Just as the children of abusers often grow up to be abusive toward their own children, so too, we should not be surprised to learn that the children of terror which we have spawned are growing up to be just like their terrorist mentors."

Ken was silent for a moment. On several occasions, he looked over at me and then away, as if he were debating whether or not to say something.

Finally, he said: "You know, David, in quite a few places, if a death occurs during the commission of a crime, then anyone who participates in carrying out the crime, even if only in a marginal manner, is liable to a charge of murder. This remains true in cases where the death is due to, say, a heart attack that occurs during the course of the criminal act.

"You may not agree with what I'm about to say, David, but in my opinion, the individuals or group that planted the bomb which killed your mother, sister and quite a few others, are not the only ones with blood on their hands and souls. America and its client states have had a considerable hand in helping to create the atmosphere and perpetrators that make such tragedies possible.

"By our own standards of justice, the United States, along with many of its client countries, should be considered to be culpable in many of these acts of minor league terrorism. This is so because we have had a substantial role in aiding and abetting these criminals through our own sins of commission and omission.

"In my opinion, by working for an institution like Bettinger, you will be helping to perpetuate and cover-up America's role in the kind of acts which led to the deaths of many hundreds of thousands of innocent people, including your mother and sister. Consequently, I would recommend against becoming involved with the Foundation in any fashion."

Ken paused for a few seconds and, then, added: "Of course, one of the problems which may be facing you is that the Bettinger Foundation, or, more precisely, the people behind this organization, might not be prepared to accept your 'with regrets' concerning their RSVP. If one or more of the scenarios outlined by me earlier is operative, then the people who are extending the 'invitation' to you may not be the sort of individuals to whom one can just say 'no'... at least, not without suffering the consequences of such a rejection."

By the time we had finished discussing the Bettinger Foundation situation, late afternoon had arrived, and Pam had returned from her sojourn. Ken and I cleaned up the remnants of our refreshments while Pam attended to a few other domestic chores.

A few hours later, Ken pulled up in front of the Departure's access door for my airline. Pam and Ken both got out of the car to give me a hug good-by.

Ken picked up my bag and walked with me toward the entrance. He put his free hand and arm around my shoulder as we walked along.

When we reached the door, he removed his hand and arm from my shoulder and put the bag down. Turning toward me, he said: "I may have a little more information for you about the Bettinger Foundation in a couple of days. Apparently, they have a research facility somewhere near your old stomping grounds in northern Maine.

"Where this facility is exactly or what kind of research is conducted there, I don't know. However, I have a few friends looking into the matter for me.

"There's one other thing," Ken intimated. "Some of the information I've been able to obtain suggests that religion may have an important role to play with respect to the people behind the Bettinger Foundation. The available evidence, interestingly enough, appears to indicate that a number of different religions, rather than one particular tradition, may be involved.

"In addition, there have been a number of rumors echoing about the halls of the Justice Department for several months concerning various kinds of anomalous activity in a number of religious communities. Up until now, I haven't paid too much attention to the whole issue, but I'm going to examine the matter a little more closely and see if there are any links with either Futures Unlimited or the Bettinger Foundation.

"I'll pass on to you whatever I find out. This may or may not prove to be of interest to you, but its about as far as I can take things at the present time."

I picked up my bag and thanked Ken for all his help. I told him that I was intending to take his advice with respect to the Bettinger Foundation's invitation.

We shook hands and said good-by once again. I waved to Pam and went through the door toward my journey back to Boston.

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| Next - Some Enchanted Evening |