<p>No wonder why Middle East countries are very pure in morals. They dont want sl*ts like in America, you know. I hope you understand :)</p>
<p>And guess what? They listed Bangladesh, which is WRONG. Women ruled the country for over half of its existance. Get your facts straight.</p>
<p>Look, it is totally wrong to attribute US-targeted middle eastern terrorism to oppressive social conditions. It is a corrupt religious brainwashing, and nothing more. Primitivefuture, you like this article because it brings dignity to the Middle East. I can understand that. The practice of traditional Moslems with women has a rationality that seems wrong to post-feminism America but has a foreign dignity to it that has existed through all of history, and is not irrational. It comes nowhere close to terrorism. I acknowledge that many Americans use such practices in rhetoric while remaining close-minded. I do think that America could learn alot socially from these countries. Of course, there are exceptions, where women are mistreated and things of that nature, and I'm not suggesting that America become the middle east, but somewhat closer would not be a horrible thing in some regards. However, terrorism has no dignity. Yes, it can be derived from religious texts. But only from PARTS of religious texts. Anyone who takes the whole works into account absolutely cannot support it. It is irrational and brutal.</p>
<p>If any of you truly want to know more about this conflict, there are many fabulous books from many different points of view. I'm almost finished with "From Beirut to Jerusalem" by Thomas L. Friedman (yes, he's Jewish, but you would be suprised at how unbiased he is). It's a fascinating study of Lebanon, the tribal roots behind this all, pre- and post-1967 Israel, early Arab indifference to the plight of the Palestinians, the rise of terrorist tactics (and Israel's immediate branding of "Palestinian=terrorist"), the U.S. and Israeli relationship, Arafat (let's just say that he could have done more for his people). It's really interesting. Though it was published in 1989, I believe, it's not out-of-date and the history behind this all is fascinating.</p>
<p>I can PROMISE you, this conflict runs deep and can never be solved, even if the Israelis were to give up the land, from the river to the sea. You have way too many internal tribal conflicts within Lebanon, Syria, and Egypt, not to mention the Arab countries, to ever heal this vastly complex issue.</p>
<p>Oh, videogamerx. We prefer Jews over Arabs? I suppose Hearst and other giants like him in the 1930s wouldn't count.</p>
<p>Jews have been in exile for 2,000 years. Now, with the Palestianians kicked out, reduced to living under Israeli occupation in West Bank and Gaza, they are in exile. Many are living in Lebanon, children are growing up fantasizing about their parent's homeland. It's a huge problem. I think it's time we get back to the root of it before we go off on unfounded opinions.</p>
<p>The U.S. got involved in this conflict with Carter, and then Reagan sent Marines to Beirut to help ease the conflict. The U.S. got smack-dab in the middle of something that we can't understand. How can we? How can we even suppose our roots with the Jews and Moslems run this deep? Most of us Americans, I would hazard to guess, are descended from European ancestors, who knew Jews only as the people in the ghettos and the Moslems not at all.</p>
<p>I have read some of The Lexus and the Olive Tree and The World is Flat, and agree that he is worth reading, whether you agree with him or not.</p>
<p>Well it looks like one of the unsolvable mysteries of our time has been solved by a simple little article posted on College Confidential. I think we should print this thread out and send it to Congress so they too know the mindset of terrorists. Then we can all be a happy family and sit around the TV and watch football games (or is it soccer? Maybe that is why terrorists are upset!).</p>
<p>
[quote]
I'll stop reading right there, thank you very much.</p>
<p>BUT WHATEVER THE CASE: DON'T BLAME THE TERRORISTS FOR THE TERRORISTS' ACTIONS, BLAME AMERICA!
[/quote]
Here's the problem. As long as the mindset of "us against them" exists, we will always lose the war on terrorism. If we cannot understand the motives of terrorists, we will never be able to stop them, no matter how advanced our missiles and bombs become. </p>
<p>I personally think that America has taken a poor attitude in its attempt to wipe out terrorism - Bush himself talks about hunting down and killing terrorists like they're cornish hens. This type of ignorance to the motives of a significant amount of people fuels their misunderstanding of America, and will continue to oil the machine of terrorism.</p>
<p>We as the general American public continue to lump terrorists together as irrational Muslims who care for nothing but killing Americans. Through our media and our dialogue, we dehumanize them - we treat them as somehow 'less than human'. Once we do this, we can rationalize any atrocity committed against them. Do you think we would've had the moral ability to bomb Nagasaki and Hiroshima if we had intimately known the Japanese citizens who became our victims? No, someone ordered thousands of deaths from an air-conditioned room in which the planes were little green dots and the casualties would be nothing but numbers conveying military advantage.</p>
<p>This, in turn, creates a vicious cycle in which we have no qualms killing "terrorists," thus they have no qualms killing us. Without addressing this root misunderstanding, America can never win the war on terrorism.</p>
<p>"I think we should print this thread out and send it to Congress so they too know the mindset of terrorists. "</p>
<p>Idk, but it looks like YOU are willing enough to do it. LMAO</p>
<p>"(or is it soccer? Maybe that is why terrorists are upset!)."</p>
<p>Dude, that was uncalled for. You are taking one o the most serious problems of our society today too lightly. Maybe you should keep watching Spongebob Squarepants (LMAO) rather than care too much about terrorism.</p>
<p>It's the truth...Terrorists hate American foreign policy and in my opinion, they're justified in said hatred (though not in how they express it). If anyone here knows about Iranian history - it was the US'/Britain's reinstallment of the monarch after a coup in 1953 (which had actually set up a democracy) that was essentially the cause of the theocracy they have now. On top of that it was what fueled anti-US sentiment in the Middle East at the time. The US created its own enemies.</p>
<p>Well it is perfectly rational to profile terrorists. For the most part terrorists ARE Muslims who only wish to kill. They are not just against America but the entire Western philosophy of government. I certainly don't make the mistake of identifying all Muslims as terrorists, but the majority of terrorists are Muslims. There is a distinct difference in the statement that many people seem to misunderstand. </p>
<p>9/11 was caused by Muslims. The Madrid train bombing was caused by Muslims. The London transportation bombings were caused by Muslims. The issue is not whether innocent Muslims (which the majority fall under this category) will get killed because they certainly will, but rather, trying to keep that loss of life at a minimum. It is sad that some people have to be killed, but we have to compromise when going after these terrorists. It is ridiculous just to go into a village and pillage it looking for terrorists, but it is equally ludicrous and unrealistic to think we can kill these terrorists without harming innocent bystanders in the process. Especially in Asia where it is over-crowded it is guaranteed that innocent people are going to get killed. But would you rather have 100 people die in the process of capturing a terrorist and preventing an attack the would claim 3,000 lives? You can't have your cake and eat it too.</p>
<p>Confused people will always stay confused. You bashed Islam, but trust me, if I bash Christianity, you will end up crying ;)</p>