Forgive me. I've been watching anniversay coverage all day and I've become so passionate about this issue that I'm finding it hard to get all of my ideas down clearly....so bear with Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!. I'm sure you all know what it's like.... Images of the tumbling WTC still litter the media. A year later I constantly see people arguing about the best way to bring the terrorists to justice. That seems to be the biggest challenge that America thinks they are facing. Everyone's mindset seems to be: 1) Oh no! Terrorists attacked! 2) LET'S GET THEM Why isn't anyone asking (or more importantly, answering) WHY the terrorists attacked? People seem to be satisfied with the answer "Osama bin Laden attacked the US because he hates the US"....no one EVER asks WHY he hates the US. Even though they might have been pissed on by the US, I don't agree with his actions at ALL and I personally would like nothing more than to see this matter justly resolved. What bothers me is that the US fails to see the importance of getting to the root of the problem; they can step up airline security all they want, but there will ALWAYS be alternate ways to attack. You are not going to stop terrorist attacks against the US until you stop anti-Americanism or Islamic fundies. And you aren't going to stop them simply by going and killing the minds that hold those ideas. Ideas are immune to physical battery. Ideas can survive 1,000,000,000 human deaths. If the US really wants to combat terrorism they need to realize they are not fighting a group of people, but an idea; the idea of anti-Americanism. THAT is what they should be truly worried about, and that's what they should be trying to combat and kill in order to prevent further atrocity. The problem is that is order to do this the US might have to walk with its tail between its legs for a bit and try to understand the terrorists motives and what influenced them, IE the US sticking its nose into every foreign orfice possible. You need to understand what causes anti-Americanism in order to fight it. Know your enemy, right?
You're absolutely right, Nebula, trouble is most americans think that the world loves them. Anti-Americanism to us (but not me) is merely a misunderstanding that needs correcting rather than the true root of the problem, which is us putting oil ahead of all other concerns.
I just thought of something; maybe the US doesn't want to acknowledge the root of the problem. Think about it; as long as there is tension/war/unrest in the middle east, the infastructure needed to efficiently harvest their vast oil resources can never be realized. The Middle East is by far the leading producer of oil; imagine how much higher their export numbers would be if they were able to ahcieve optimal production. They would without question become economic superpowers. The US realizes this. It also realizes that they have the ability to inhibit middle eastern development. It makes more cents Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!D ) for the US to just go and kill a bunch of people and once again reiterate that the rest of the world is their bitch. Then again, maybe I'm just cynical. The US just seems so damned arrogant. Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!
