I wrote my Masters dissertation on the subject of this very issue. Or the wider issue which is what are the challenges facing democracies in countering terrorism.

Actually, the aim of the Islamist is not to terrorise us. Or laugh at self imposed impositions, it is plain and simple to kill us.

If they could use WMD, they would.

Hezbollah’s leader Hussein Massawi, once said: "We are not fighting so that you will offer us something. We are fighting to eliminate you."

Let's just Nuke the Bastards and get it over and done with!

Jim

Nuke who? Is it possible to Nuke a religion?

No, but, it sure felt good typing it.......a bit like Kenny Everett's General Cheeseburger character.

Jim

When two tribes go to war, a point is all that you can score.

Having written a Masters thesis does not make your argument more valid; there are plenty of people with fancy qualifications on both sides of the argument.

What possible difference does it make to them whether they succeed or fail in actually blowing up the plane - 300 people is not a lot of people. It's the fear and chaos they cause by trying that counts. You don't need a Masters to figure that one out.

There are 1.5 billion Muslims in the world, living on several continents. Many of them don't hate us (yet). I have plenty of friends from Iran, and they are all very pro-US.

Yes, Iranians living here would love to see change in Iran.

When did I say it made it more valid?

Where did I say all Muslims hated Americans?

And you fundamentally misunderstand the nature of the war on terror.

The problem I have with Ginblossom and his like is that they see everything in black and white. No mid-ground, you're with us or against us (where have we heard that before?). A remarkably similar attitude to the very people he despises.

As it happens, you guess correctly, I fully supported Bush's foreign policy.

And when it comes to nihilistic extremism, you are right, because, given the capacity and capability, they would happily wipe you and me off the face of the earth.

Here's an example of Bush's Foreign Policy.


Jim.

No surprises there. I think you are wrong and so do many others on this forum. You are free to express your opinion as am I. Two wrongs don't make a right.

This thread is a bit like watching the dullest game of tennis that was ever played....

We've covered race, religion and politics - maybe we need to spice this up with sex?

No, I fundamentally disagree with your view, that's all.

You have yet to explain how 'force' can be used effectively against an enemy that is dispersed around the world, and how you plan to use that force in a manner that does not inspire more moderates to transition over to extremism. Look at the guy who tried to blow up the plane Friday - educated, wealthy, privileged. He could be living comfortably, eating well, having fun - but instead, he was inspired to become a martyr. How many of those 700,000 civilians killed in Iraq have brothers/sisters/uncles/cousins/children who will now become terrorists as a result of the death of their family member? To you, they are probably just 'collateral damage'; to me, they are likely sources of inspiration for people who might otherwise be pro-western.

Now, that's a wonderful observation!

You don't say! Now, there's a shock!
And who might 'they' be? That seems to be the crux of the matter. I'm all for going after 'they' when we know who they are - like in Afghanistan, where we have the Taliban and their buddies. We should have stayed there and finished the job instead of being diverted into Iraq on a pointless (and more costly, by orders of magnitude) mission.

In your project did you manage to find the "ROOT CAUSE" of this hatred? no homey wakes up one day and says ; oh am going to start hating all the people with big noses and freckles;

enlighten what your root cause analysis findings outlined or you didnt get a chance to cover that strategic tool cause then you might not get the brownie points.

Hezbollah problems are Israeli related. Why in the name of Molly, do they have hatred towards, the UK, Greenland, Northpole, Southpole,

do they also HATE eskimos?