the.world.is.flat-第88章

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But　today；　when　individuals　can　easily　access　all　the　tools　of　collaboration　and　
superempower　themselves；　or　their　small　cells；　individuals　do　not　need　to　control　
a　country　to　threaten　large　numbers　of　other　people。　The　small　can　act　very　big　today　
and　pose　a　serious　danger　to　world　order…without　the　instruments　of　a　state。　
Therefore；　thinking　about　how　we　stimulate　positive　imaginations　is　of　the　utmost　
importance。　As　Irving　Wladawsky…Berger；　the　IBM　computer　scientist；　put　it　to　me：　
We　need　to　think　more　seriously　than　ever　about　how　we　encourage　people　to　focus　on　
productive　outcomes　that　advance　and　unite　civilization…peaceful　imaginations　that　
seek　to　〃minimize　alienation　and　celebrate　interdependence　rather　than　
self…sufficiency；　inclusion　rather　than　exclusion；〃　openness；　opportunity；　and　hope　
rather　than　limits；　suspicion；　and　grievance。　
Let　me　try　to　illustrate　this　by　example。　In　early　1999；　two　men　started　airlines　
from　scratch；　just　a　few　weeks　apart。　Both　men　had　a　dream　involving　airplanes　and　
the　savvy　to　do　something　about　it。　One　was　named　David　Neeleman。　In　February　1999；　
he　started　JetBlue。　He　assembled　130　million　in　venture　capital；　bought　a　fleet　of　
Airbus　A…320　passenger　jets；　recruited　pilots　and　signed　them　to　seven…year　contracts；　
and　outsourced　his　reservation　system　to　stay…at…home　moms　and　retirees　living　around　
Salt　Lake　City；　Utah；　who　booked　passengers　on　their　home　computers。　
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The　other　person　who　started　an　airline　was；　as　we　now　know　from　the　9/11　Commission　
Report；　Osama　bin　Laden。　At　a　meeting　in　Kandahar；　Afghanistan；　in　March　or　April　
1999；　he　accepted　a　proposal　initially　drawn　up　by　Khalid　Sheikh　Mohammed；　the　
Pakistan…born　mechanical　engineer　who　was　the　architect　of　the　9/11　plot。　JetBlue's　
motto　was　〃Same　Altitude。　Different　Attitude。〃　Al…Qaeda's　motto　was　〃Allahu　Akbar；〃　
God　is　great。　Both　airlines　were　designed　to　fly　into　New　York　City…Neeleman's　into　


JFK　and　bin　Laden's　into　lower　Manhattan。　
Maybe　it　was　because　I　read　the　9/11　report　while　on　a　trip　to　Silicon　Valley　that　
I　could　not　help　but　notice　how　much　Khalid　Sheikh　Mohammed　spoke　and　presented　himself　
as　just　another　eager　engineer…entrepreneur；　with　his　degree　from　North　Carolina　
Agricultural　and　Technical　State　University；　pitching　his　ideas　to　Osama　bin　Laden；　
who　comes　off　as　just　another　wealthy　venture　capitalist。　But　Mohammed；　alas；　was　
looking　for　adventure　capital。　As　the　9/11　Commission　Report　put　it；　〃No　one　
exemplifies　the　model　of　the　terrorist　entrepreneur　more　clearly　than　Khalid　Sheikh　
Mohammed　（KSM）；　the　principal　architect　of　the　9/11　attacks。　。　。　Highly　educated　and　
equally　comfortable　in　a　government　office　or　a　terrorist　safe　house；　KSM　applied　
his　imagination；　technical　aptitude　and　managerial　skills　to　hatching　and　planning　
an　extraordinary　array　of　terrorist　schemes。　These　ideas　included　conventional　car　
bombing；　political　assassination；　aircraft　bombing；　hijacking；　reservoir　poisoning；　
and；　ultimately；　the　use　of　aircraft　as　missiles　guided　by　suicide　operatives　。　。　。　
KSM　presents　himself　as　an　entrepreneur　seeking　venture　capital　and　people　。　。　。　Bin　
Laden　summoned　KSM　to　Kandahar　in　March　or　April　1999　to　tell　him　that　al…Qaeda　would　
support　his　proposal。　The　plot　was　now　referred　to　within　al…Qaeda　as　the　'planes　
operation。'〃　
From　his　corporate　headquarters　in　Afghanistan；　bin　Laden　proved　to　be　a　very　deft　
supply　chain　manager。　He　assembled　a　virtual　company　just　for　this　project…exactly　
like　any　global　conglomerate　would　do　in　the　flat　world…finding　just　the　right　
specialist　for　each　task。　He　outsourced　the　overall　design　and　blueprint　for　9/11　
to　KSM　and　overall　financial　management　to　KSM's　nephew；　Ali　Abdul　Aziz　Ali；　who　
coordinated　the　dispersal　of　funds　to　the　hijackers　through　wire　transfers；　

cash；　traveler's　checks；　and　credit　and　debit　cards　from　overseas　bank　accounts。　Bin　
Laden　recruited　from　the　al…Qaeda　roster　just　the　right　muscle　guys　from　Asir　Province；　
in　Saudi　Arabia；　just　the　right　pilots　from　Europe；　just　the　right　team　leader　from　
Hamburg；　and　just　the　right　support　staff　from　Pakistan。　He　outsourced　the　pilot　
training　to　flight　schools　in　America。　Bin　Laden；　who　knew　he　needed　only　to　〃lease〃　
the　Boeing　757s；　767s；　A32Os；　and　possibly　747s　for　his　operation；　raised　the　
necessary　capital　for　training　pilots　on　all　these　differentaircraft　from　a　syndicate　
of　pro…al…Qaeda　Islamic　charities　and　other　Muslim　adventure　capitalists　ready　to　
fund　anti…American　operations。　In　the　case　of　9/11；　the　total　budget　was　around　
400；000。　Once　the　team　was　assembled；　bin　Laden　focused　on　his　own　core　
competency…overall　leadership　and　ideological　inspiration　of　his　suicide　supply　
chain；　with　assistance　from　his　deputies　Mohammed　Atef　and　Ayman　Zawahiri。　
You　can　get　the　full　flavor　of　the　bin　Laden　supply　chain；　and　what　an　aggressive　
adopter　of　new　technology　al…Qaeda　was；　by　reading　just　one　entry　from　the　December　
2001　U。S。　District　Court　for　the　Eastern　District　of　Virginia's　official　indictment　
of　Zacarias　Moussaoui；　the　so…called　nineteenth　hijacker　from　9/11。　It　reported　the　
following：　〃In　or　about　June　1999；　in　an　interview　with　an　Arabic…language　television　
station；　Osama　bin　Laden　issued　a　。。。　threat　indicating　that　all　American　males　should　
be　killed。〃　It　then　points　out　that　throughout　the　year　2000；　all　of　the　hijackers；　


including　Moussaoui；　began　either　attending　or　inquiring　about　flight　school　courses　
in　America：　〃On　or　about　September　29；　2000；　Zacarias　Moussaoui　contacted　Airman　
Flight　School　in　Norman；　Oklahoma；　using　an　e…mail　account　he　set　up　on　September　
6　with　an　Internet　service　provider　in　Malaysia。　In　or　about　October　2000；　Zacarias　
Moussaoui　received　letters　from　Infocus　Tech；　a　Malaysian　company；　stating　that　
Moussaoui　was　appointed　Infocus　Tech's　marketing　consultant　in　the　United　States；　
the　United　Kingdom　and　Europe；　and　that　he　would　receive；　among　other　things；　an　
allowance　of　2；500　per　month　。　。　。　On　or　about　December　11；　2000；　Mohammed　Atta　
purchased　flight　deck　videos　for　the　Boeing　767　Model　300ER　and　the　Airbus　A320　Model　
200　from　the　Ohio　Pilot　Store　。。。　In　or　about　June　2001；　in　Norman；　Oklahoma；　Zacarias　
Moussaoui　made　inquiries　
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about　starting　a　cropdusting　company　。　。　。　On　or　about　August　16；　2001；　Zacarias　
Moussaoui；　possessed；　among　other　things：　two　knives；　a　pair　of　binoculars；　flight　
manuals　for　the　Boeing　747　Model　400；　a　flight　simulator　computer　program；　fighting　
gloves　and　shin　guards；　a　piece　of　paper　referring　to　a　handheld　Global　Positioning　
System　receiver　and　a　camcorder；　software　that　could　be　used　to　review　pilot　
procedures　for　the　Boeing　747　Model　400；　letters　indicating　that　Moussaoui　is　a　
marketing　consultant　inthe　United　States　for　Infocus　Tech；　a　computer　disk　containing　
information　related　to　the　aerial　application　of　pesticides；　and　a　hand…held　aviation　
radio。〃　
A　devout　Mormon；　who　grew　up　in　Latin　America　where　his　father　was　a　UPI　correspondent；　
David　Neeleman；　by　contrast；　is　one　of　those　classic　American　entrepreneurs　and　a　
man　of　enormous　integrity。　He　never　went　to　college；　but　he　has　started　two　successful　
airlines；　Morris　Air　and　JetBlue；　and　played　an　important　role　in　shaping　a　third；　
Southwest。　He　is　the　godfather　of　ticketless　air　travel；　now　known　as　e…ticketing。　
〃I　am　a　total　optimist。　I　think　my　father　is　an　optimist；〃　he　said　to　me；　trying　to　
explain　where　his　innovative　genes　came　from。　〃I　grew　up　in　a　very　happy　home　。　。　。　
JetBlue　was　created　in　my　own　mind　before　it　was　created　on　paper。〃　Using　his　
optimistic　imagination　and　his　ability　also　to　quickly　adopt　all　the　latest　technology　
because　he　had　no　legacy　system　to　worry　about；　Neeleman　started　a　highly　profitable　
airline；　creating　jobs；　low…cost　travel；　a　unique　onboard；　satellite…supported　
entertainment　system；　and　one　of　the　most　people…friendly　places　to　work　you　can　
imagine。　He　also　started　a　catastrophe　relief　fund　in　his　company　to　help　employee　
families　who　are　faced　with　a　sudden　death　or　catastrophic　illness　of　a　loved　one。　
Neeleman　donates　1　of　his　salary　for　every　1　any　employee　puts　in　the　fund。　〃I　think　
it　is　important　that　people　give　a　little；〃　said　Neeleman。　〃I　believe　that　there　are　
irrevocable　laws　of　heaven　that　when　you　serve　others　you　get　this　little　buzz。〃　In　
2003；　Neeleman；　already　a　wealthy　man　from　his　JetBlue　stock；　donated　about　120；000　
of　his　200；000　salary　to　the　JetBlue　employee　catastrophe　fund。　
In　the　waiting　room　outside　his　New　York　City　office；　there　is　a　color　photo　of　a　
JetBlue　Airbus　flying　over　the　World　Trade　Center。　Neeleman　
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was　in　his　office　on　9/11　and　watched　the　Twin　Towers　burn；　while　his　own　JetBlue　


airliners　were　circling　JFK　in　a　holding　pattern。　When　I　explained　to　him　the　
comparison/contrast　I　was　going　to　make　between　him　and　bin　Laden；　he　was　both　
uncomfortable　and　curious。　As　I　closed　up　my　computer　and　prepared　to　leave　following　
our　interview；　he　said　he　had　one　question　for　me：　〃Do　you　think　Osama　actually　
believes　there　is　a　God　up　there　who　is　happy　with　what　he　is　doing？〃　
I　told　him　I　just　didn't　know。　What　I　do　know　is　this：　There　are　two　ways　to　flatten　
the　world。　One　is　to　use　your　imagination　to　bring　everyone　up　to　the　same　level；　
and　the　other　is　to　use　your　imagination　to　bring　everyone　down　to　the　same　level。　
David　Neeleman　used　his　optimistic　imagination　and　the　easily　available　technologies　
of　the　flat　world　to　lift　people　up。　He　launched　a　surprising　and　successful　new　
airline；　some　profits　of　which　he　turns　over　to　a　catastrophe　relief　fund　for　his　
employees。　Osama　bin　Laden　and　his　disciples　used　their　twisted　imagination；　and　many　
of　the　same　tools；　to　launch　a　surprise　attack；　which　brought　two　enormous　symbols　
of　American　power　down　to　their　level。　Worse；　they　raised　their　money　and　created　
this　massive　human　catastrophe　under　the　guise　of　religion。　
〃From　the　primordial　swamps　of　globalization　have　emerged　two　genetic　variants；〃　
observed　Infosys　CEO　Nandan　Nilekani…one　is　al…Qaeda　and　the　other　are　companies　like　
Infosys　or　JetBlue。　〃Our　focus　therefore　has　to　be　how　we　can　encourage　more　of　the　
good　mutations　and　keep　out　the　bad。〃　
I　could　not　agree　more。　Indeed；　that　effort　may　be　the　most　important　thing　we　learn　
to　do　in　order　to　keep　this　planet　in　one　piece。　
I　have　no　doubt　that　advances　in　technology…from　iris　scans　to　X…ray　machines…will　
help　us　to　identify；　expose；　and　capture　those　who　are　trying　to　use　the　easily　
available　tools　of　the　flat　world　to　destroy　it。　But　in　the　end；　technology　alone　
cannot　keep　us　safe。　We　really　do　have　to　find　ways　to　affect　the　imagination　of　those　
who　would　use　the　tools　of　collaboration　to　destroy　the　world　that　has　invented　those　
tools。　But　how　does　one　go　about　nurturing　a　more　hopeful；　life…affirming；　and　
tolerant　

imagination　in　others？　Everyone　has　to　ask　himself　or　herself　this　question。　I　ask　
it　as　an　American。　I　stress　this　last　point　because　I　think　itstarts　first　and　foremost　
by　America　setting　an　example。　Those　of　us　who　are　fortu