John F
Favorite Answer
Think of it this way:
you're raised from birth and constantly reinforced daily that others not like you for whatever obvious reason are "different" are therefore either inferior to you or somehow "deserve" punishment.
You've been given a "god" directed order to kill and destroy these people who represent a "danger" to you and your culture.
So you decide to not only kill yourself cause "god" honors martyrs but also to kill others who other than different heritage or other obvious trait have never directly harmed or even tried to harm you or your culture directly.
But if you all die, then "god" will be happy (appeased) and somehow your role as divine executioner has earned you a "special" place in your conception of Heaven or Eden.
Given all this and the fact this area has continually been at war non stop since Abraham and Christ - what do you think?
Or here's another way to see it:
name me one time since man has walked the Earth that any culture current or past has ever succeeded in legislating morality and "universal" right behavior?
My question is this:
if the Japanese in 1945 had flown over NYC or LA or some other U.S. city and done this then or even (God forbid) knocked out all (13) western dams all at once while hitting only (5) key U.S. cities would we still all be "Super Patriots" today?
If so, would we have spit on Vietnam Vets returning home doing what we asked them to do?
Would "Hanoi Jane" be remembered as a "great human being" not a "disloyal American".
Guess I'm too old aren't I?
Bryan
While we can prepare for terrorist attacks, we cannot prevent them. Intelligence gathering is effective to reduce the number of attacks, but it can only go so far. Terror is a very effective weapon, and it has been used throughout history. There will always be people who are unhappy with something, and this unhappiness will at times manifest itself as attacks against innocents. There is a difference between completely stopping terrorist attacks, which as stated we cannot do, and making terrorists responsible for their actions, which we can. The most effective way to reduce terrorism is 3 fold.
1) Indentify sources of funding and eliminate them.
2) Track down and prosecute or kill known terrorists when they have committed these acts.
3) Promote democracy in oppressed regions. As freedom grows the driving impetus for terrorism in many decreases. This of course cannot address religious fanatism as a cause, but it will engender support from the nations where the terrorists hide.
I just reread your question. The answer to the question currently, is yes we are. This is due to the fact that many resources are being expended by the terrorists fighting us in Iraq.
Randy
No country is safe from a terrorist attack, but in the United States it is more safe than many countries.
If a terrorist wants to commit an act of terror, they will most likely do so. It takes a fully aroused citizenry to be alert and watch for such acts and those who will do them. What it comes down to, do you want your life run by terrorist groups or do you want to live your life to the fullest. Think of those in London during World War II. They could have all fled to the country, but most of the population remained in the city, took to the undergrounds when required, and carried on with their lives.
Its really up to you.
darkemoregan
No. In fact, we're more at risk. The Bush Administration hasn't done anything but violate people's rights. They haven't atken any real measures to insure our safety. They've ignored the 9/11 Commissions recommendations. If you want to really see how bad off we are, just look at the GAO report. There are several government reports out there that say we are actually WORSE off then we were 5 years ago.
killerlegs
Definitely not. They have boost up security, but they themselves admit that it is not enough to keep them from attacking again. Those people just take a lot of time to plan their attacks, so it would seem like everything is ok now. It will get worse.