Sorry to say but terrorism has become a highly convenient word to use.

It is now bandied around like a gold get me out of jail card..but the mass populace seem to agree with it. An enemy is just now a terrorist. Simple.

Seemed secondary on most news reports I have seen. The news agencies these days seem to go with the base flow.

I don't think anyone here disagrees with the value and service of armed forces, and grateful when it has been necessary. No disrespect intended at all, but I think it can be a strawman argument when any (deemed) criticism of war related matters comes up.

Best wishes,
F

This is one of the better pieces to have appeared in the last day or so, and thankfully nowhere near as nauseating as the majority of the jingoistic and/or sentimental nonsense filling most of the papers. (The teddy bear in army uniform at the press conference immediately springs to mind).

Quote:

Woolwich attack: Why are young British men like my brother drawn to Islamic extremism?

I am horrified again. but then again there are cultures which are far off from West. Take for example Libya is liberated by nato. yeah dictator is göne now whole lot of mob running havoc there.

the first law the libyan parliament enacted was right to marry more than one woman. so actually the dictator was more modern than the people which the West deposed. even as muslim i find it hard to stomache this they didnt build school or hospital or equal rights. instead this stupid piece of crap.

same thing in iraq West removed a dictator and gave the country to iran and now going on sectarian angle.

There are some here WHO feels strongly for their armed forces. but look at the result of what their blood is spilled for. One reason for some one to make Money that not West or east. some heavy weights WHO always control the road. watch the story of seven sisters (seven oil companies)

The end of the story is no liberation by West is needed at times. either education or grass root change is the safest way. interfering around the globe in my opinion is Show of power or create wealth (not for the cisitzen of West even) so sorry to say after the end of cold war every drop of blood spilt by all these men and woman in uniform of every country have done it for nothing.

.
Just like on tv. In Canada or the US a sharpshooter on a swat team could wound a man like that, but SOP for someone attacking with a gun or knife, (or someone trying to run you over with a car) is to shoot them in the middle of the chest until they fall down, lose contact with the weapon and pose no further threat. By that time you have 3 or 4 in the chest. When the pistol fired at the police exploded in the attacker's hand (hearsay, but that's what I read), that saved the life of one policeman. Unless the police in England were ordered specifically to take these men alive even if risking further injury or death to bystanders I give them 6 out of 10. We have no right to expect serving inmates to do anything other than their time - incurring additional years on their sentences for doing something society should is an unreasonable request. That's why some inmates are held in secure areas, so ordinary criminals don't have to live with them.

I have never understood why killing someone is the greatest result. I always thought the elder brother in the Boston bombings is the one who got it easy. He did his imagined due, rewarded with last memories of his misguided, imagined heroism, and doesn't have to face the pressure of the Law/interrogators. He's dead now, I think he got it easy for what he did actually.

Money. Dick Cheney. The public might have been fooled. The news sources that control us have a lot to answer for. Including the dumbing down by major US channels like CNN. Dumbing down = easy manipulation, appealing to humans' basest instincts i.e. fear, hatred, anger.

That said, I don't think it is true that all military action and services are for nought. Like it was said above, there are genuine forces of oppression that need to be countered and Hitler was an easy perhaps, but good example of this.

I don't agree with the dumb, mass application of the word terrorist anymore, but I do think that there are extreme, fundamentalist forces in the world. But the reality is it's all complex, and belies a serious lack of judgement, understanding and tolerance on many sides.

It's also all very cyclical. Unfortunately once you have killed one of mine, it is highly personal,and judgement and tolerance can go to beep. No easy answers here.

It's a very good piece indeed. It suggests that the extremists are more akin to a cult (although i suppose in reality any religion is a quasi-cult).

Not sure why you find the rest of the coverage nauseating and sentimental. Even if you assume it's a casualty of war, on an individual basis each death is a tragedy. The teddy is I believe one of the mascots of that regiment, and you can hardly fault a grieving mother for choosing to bring some kind of physical comforter with her.

If that's the case it somewhat vindicates my opinion.

Acts such as this perpetrated in the name of the "Spread Islam By the Sword' mob....it's TERRORISM...a similar disgusting event committed by an insane person is a crime. Committed by the mob...a crime. This was an act of TERROR by two nutters.

Nigeria, is a place that suffers considerably from Islamic Extremist elements/nutters:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...istmas-prayers

The Worldwide Islamic Community at large needs to stand up to the radical elements but they only speak-up when they have to. The larger community have been silent for far to long (and still largely are) particularly in the UK. Releasing a few press releases after an atrocity on UK streets does not cut it...when its condoned and accepted day in and day out in certain UK mosques.

Why, because ultimately many support Jihad by the sword (jihad bis saif) and armed fighting in the way of God, or holy war (qital fi sabilillah). And if they don't, do not fight against it.

Islamic countries would not permit such happenings if the shoe was on the other foot, with radicalization/treason occurring within the few Christian Churches. Why the hell does the UK?

Hate speech from Islamic Radicals on UK streets was allowed by the inept Blair Gang for far to long. Hopefully Cameron gets a grip if/when such incidents occur in the future.

There is no end to this in our lifetime if ever....but the situation could be improved if the Islamic Community denied safe harbor to the radical elements in their midst.

Any Mosque where treasonous acts are committed should be shut down - Simple!

AS

A teddy bear like that is no more that a sweetheart gift or for a young child: Something to hang onto when mum or dad is along way from home. And like you said, you can hardly fault a grieving mother for choosing to bring some kind of physical comforter with her.....

http://www.postalbears.co.uk/

Even first year students in semiotics would find the conflation of signifiers crude.

airbornesapper, what would you say to an Afghani who saw a photograph of British soldiers pissing on his dead brother after they'd shot him?