Terrorism

[Matt Deckard]

Plenty of citizens are individually armed in Iran, I doesn't stop them from getting terrorist attacks. We are just a little more locked away from Europe and the Middle East, any terrorist attack would most likely need to be of the suicide sort unless you are planning on being caught. Any suicide attack in the US is a bit more costly than one overseas so you better trust your attackers to follow through or risk them surrendering and talking.

 

[BellyTank]

Thanks Scot, I was beginning to lose faith...
And yeh- why go to the US when we have Disney in Paris- what's the dif'?
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[K.D. Lightner]

When you have a group of people who believe in a religious/political ideology that it is better to destroy people who are not of your persuasion, and who believe that, if you yourself die in the attempt to eradicate these infidels or inferiors, you will be mainlined to heaven, then you have a group that will fight to the very last person.

Their stance would be, kill all of them and get them off the planet or die trying. You will be rewarded by god for trying. God wants you to do this.

There have been some Muslim radical groups like this, and, in the past, some Christian groups. On the political side, I believe there were Nazi's who believed that if Nazism could not prevail, then it would be better that the human race perish.

I think that was one of many problems we also had in SE Asia during the Vietnam War: we were fighting people who were willing to fight and die to the very last person, and whose belief system was: it does not matter now many die in this war, because they are all coming back anyway.

Terrorism is the common face of war now and is very hard to eradicate. I wish I knew how without destroying whole groups or cultures of people. And I am not sure that would end it.

"May you live in interesting times..." An old Chinese curse


karol

 

[BellyTank]

That first paragraph could be either side-

Only public pressure could stop the 'War' in Iraq- (and it may not)this current crop of Con' crony political thieves are way too entrenched in and committed to their corporate-imperialist agendas for human death to register with their emotions.
American soldiers are the collateral damage of this corporate war against freedom.
Seems like everyone's getting sucked into this distraction and missing what's really going on.
The World is getting stolen from us while nobody's looking.
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[fedoralover]

I read this quote a number of years ago and have never forgot it. In view of all the things happening in the world today it seems more relevent than ever before.

"As a historian, you have to be conscious of the fact that every
civilization that has ever existed has ultimately collapsed. History is a
tale of efforts that failed, of aspirations that weren’t realized, of
wishes that were fulfilled and then turned out to be different from what
one expected. So, as a historian, one has to live with a sense of the
inevitability of tragedy."


I know it has a certain doomsday ring to it, but you can't argue the point being made. All the history books ARE filled with governments that failed. Some lasted quite a while but in the end they collapsed too. I think it would be a bit arrogant to assume that it will be any different with any existing government that is in power today.

fedoralover

 

[BellyTank]

Yes the civilisation 'as we know it' must collapse, or maybe implode-
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[Jen]

from another New Yorker

9/12/2001, I went to work. On the subway. I had to teach. I had to go to work. I had to continue to live. And I wasn't scared. Yesterday, I went to work. I was sad about London, but I had to go to work. And I wasn't scared. You live, because otherwise, "they" win. It's such a cliche, but there it is. And that's pretty much what most New Yorkers feel.

As for military presence, after 9/11, yes there was some. Most notably, we had jets overhead. Now, the military presence is largely confined to Grand Central and Penn Station. The NYPD presence is very visible. As for life changing drastically in NY, nah, remember: the 70s were worse.

New York story: In December of 1994, Edward Leary set off a crude pipe bomb in the NY subway. 47 (48 including Leary) were injured. I forget which line it was, but it affected the City Hall area. I was downtown at the time, doing some research in the City Archives. The cops immediately cordoned off most streets. I saw a gentleman in a suit proceed to duck under the crime scene tape and attempt to reach an office building. A police officer stopped him and said, "Sir, you can't go in there." He replied, "But I have a meeting!" to which the police officer replied, "Sir, the meeting has been cancelled!"

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Sure, BT - just up the pike from me is "The Little Switzerland of Ohio."

You're from Monroe County?

I'm from Belmont County.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Hmmm, when a mass of innocent people lose their lives due to selfishness of terrorists, I find that to be something hard to be calm about.

As opposed to the 25,000 Iraqui civilians who have been killed for the sake of Halliburton contracts?

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Terrorism is the common face of war now and is very hard to eradicate. I wish I knew how without destroying whole groups or cultures of people. And I am not sure that would end it.

The idea that certain types of warfare are somehow more "moral" than others is quite old. For example, in the Illiad, archers are denounced for their failure to fight man on man with warriors such as Hector and Achilles.

Woodrow Wilson led the nation to WWI because he perceived German submarine warfare as immoral. That the British blockade was causing mass starvation of German civilians somehow failed to move him. After the war, durng naval disarmament talks, the French cynically noted that the the Anglo-Saxons (Americans and British), whocontinued to find submarines immoral, had the biggest battleship fleets - to which the submarine was the foremost threat. "God is on the side of the biggest battleship," they quipped.

In like manner, third world Arabs, who lack high tech smart bombs, decline the offer of pitting themselves directly against Western armies ( We should note that Western soldiers, enclosed in body armor and moving about in Bradley fighting vehicles are hardly fighting mano a mano either. )

Instead, they use other tactics. Tactics which might yield them some prospect of success.

However, in the final analysis, war is about killing people. And whether you kill somebody via a smart bomb delivered via a F-15 or via a suicide bomb delivered on a London bus, the people killed are just as dead.

 

[Brad Bowers]

Nuke 'em all, I say. Turn the entire Middle East into a glowing wasteland, and we won't have anymore trouble with them. Just radioactive fallout, right?

Brad

 

[Vladimir Berkov]

Riiigghht......

 

[MK]

.

As opposed to the 25,000 Iraqui civilians who have been killed for the sake of Halliburton contracts?

That is not a very responsible......or logical thing to say. It also doesn't have much to do with the issue of this thread.

 

[BellyTank]

As opposed to the 25,000 Iraqui civilians who have been killed for the sake of Halliburton contracts?

That is not a very responsible......or logical thing to say. It also doesn't have much to do with the issue of this thread.

Very blunt but very true, well done The Mad Hatter.
Shows that at least someone has some perspective on things.
Very responsible and absolutely logical- there is no other rational or logical reasoning.
This thread needed some perspective-
B
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[The Mad Hatter]

Very blunt but very true, well done The Mad Hatter.

Thank you.

 

[The Mad Hatter]

Actually Tuscarawas.

Splendid, I'm from St. Clairsville.

I was just thinking the other day that I haven't been up to Amish country for quite some time.

 

[Biltmore Bob]

Is anybody out there in Fedora Land...

prepared for a terroist attack or natural disasters. I for one am not that prepared, I have been thinking of getting some stuff together and some backpacks for my family, you know, water, med. supplies, food, change of clothes, etc... I was one of the Nay Sayers for the Millenium Bug and was totally prepared for the end of civilization as we know it back then. As we know, the lights didn't even flicker. I had a new travel trailer packed with non perishable food and propane fuel. What a dissapointment that was.

I live about 40 miles from highest concentration of petro chemical plants in the world (I think). If there were an attack there we would be in a world of hurt. Not only from the explosions but from the burning chems. and the fumes.

 

[fedoralover]

If I were you Bob, I would get some hat boxes that are fire proof. Above all else protect those fedora's.


sorry, couldn't resist a little humor in the midst of something serious.


fedoralover

 

[Biltmore Bob]

I've been laughing at myself ever since Y2K. But I was prepared, dammit.

 

[BellyTank]

That Y2K mallarkey really was one of the biggest fear inducing mega money making scams of all time- shame on you Bob!
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