What Causes Terrorism

[Moveon]

Good summary. I must admit that I didn't read the entire thing but I did get the gist of the article and know why he published it. I didn't get a headache but I did get tired. But I was tired before I started reading the article. I do think that he is onto something.

Very interesting article. I would have liked to read more about what the author thinks are the multiple causes at play, and how he sees them interacting.

If you get lost reading it, I think this segment provides the gist of what he's saying:

"Others may jump to claiming that Islam per se was the cause, which does not make sense because there are over a billion Muslims in the world who neither carry out nor even support terrorism.

We must get beyond inaccurate causal over-simplification and consider the phenomenon of terrorism as a complex interplay of multiple factors."


I've seen the phrase "Radical Islam" thrown around a lot on the board lately, as if there two religions, Islam and Radical Islam. This author would seem to support what I've said all along, that there is no such thing as "Radical Islam," only radical Muslims. Yes, they use their religion to justify their radical views, but the blame for that does not lie with the religion itself.

[HURRICANEBOB]

Let's back up the bus here a bit.

Best way to describe terrorism is: It's a form of pyschological warfare waged by an adversary who does not have the resources to attempt to fight and win with conventional warfare methods. It's aim is not centered on war of attrition goals, instead, it is aimed to remove the will to resist from an enemy that may have overwelming military and economic might.

And one of the first objectives is to cause an otherwise civilized, and judicious society to abandon it's values. Such as when a country having experienced a terrorist attack, that believes in law and order, that suddenly stoops to torture, or withholding of the very rights they say they have fought previously to preserve. When that happens, a victory for the terrorist occurs, because he has overwhelmed the values, ethics, and morales of the enemy he seeks to prove is falable.

The best course is to stay the course. It is what it is. Demonstrate what American justice is meant to be. Continue undanuted. Persevere, with vigilance, awareness, and adapt and overcome.

While personally I'd love to smack this guy in the mouth for what he did, I'm not going to sacrifice everything my fellow countymen have strived and died for that has brought us to where we are today. I'm not going to let my selfish desire for revenge unravel a tradition of doing it right. These folks were US citizens. They thru that citizenship have earned the benefits, full benefits, of our judicial system, and our penal system. And I suspect the remaining young man will be fully benefited by the time the final gavel is stuck.

And that's about as somber and level headed as you're ever going to hear me. When I think of the 8 year old kid, standing beside a back-pack bomb, I tear up with a rage that rocks me to the bone. But I'm not going to dishonor that young person's memory by doing anything less than what is just.

[MrSplitshot]

Let's back up the bus here a bit.

Best way to describe terrorism is: It's a form of pyschological warfare waged by an adversary who does not have the resources to attempt to fight and win with conventional warfare methods. It's aim is not centered on war of attrition goals, instead, it is aimed to remove the will to resist from an enemy that may have overwelming military and economic might.

And one of the first objectives is to cause an otherwise civilized, and judicious society to abandon it's values. Such as when a country having experienced a terrorist attack, that believes in law and order, that suddenly stoops to torture, or withholding of the very rights they say they have fought previously to preserve. When that happens, a victory for the terrorist occurs, because he has overwhelmed the values, ethics, and morales of the enemy he seeks to prove is falable.

The best course is to stay the course. It is what it is. Demonstrate what American justice is meant to be. Continue undanuted. Persevere, with vigilance, awareness, and adapt and overcome.

While personally I'd love to smack this guy in the mouth for what he did, I'm not going to sacrifice everything my fellow countymen have strived and died for that has brought us to where we are today. I'm not going to let my selfish desire for revenge unravel a tradition of doing it right. These folks were US citizens. They thru that citizenship have earned the benefits, full benefits, of our judicial system, and our penal system. And I suspect the remaining young man will be fully benefited by the time the final gavel is stuck.

And that's about as somber and level headed as you're ever going to hear me. When I think of the 8 year old kid, standing beside a back-pack bomb, I tear up with a rage that rocks me to the bone. But I'm not going to dishonor that young person's memory by doing anything less than what is just.

Well said.