Terrorism Questions

Heh, heh. This from The Daily Demarche:

This will come as no surprise to anyone, I am sure, but the left and the Euro-pacifists still don't get it. The International Summit on Democracy, Terrorism and Security which opened in Madrid today is all set to focus on the causes of terrorism this week, to coincide with the anniversary of the train bombings that scared the Spanish into electing a kinder, gentler government. The meeting is being organized by "the Club de Madrid - an independent body made up of more than 40 former heads of state and government from around the world." Here is what they propose to do:

The Club's secretary general, former Canadian Prime Minister Kim Campbell, says one key aspect will be to "look very seriously at the roots of terrorism and locate the factors over which we might have some control".

"What, for example, might reinforce a sense of alienation, or a person's susceptibility to a belief system that justifies something which seems so horrible, such as the targeting of civilians and innocent people to make a political point?" he told openDemocracy.net.

The roots of terrorism are TERRORISTS, and I can tell them one thing that reinforces the idea that terrorism is a good idea: CAVING IN TO TERRORISTS. The article referenced above is so ripe for the picking of quotes that I almost don't know which way to turn. But let's try this:

"We have to face the fact that all of us are flying blind as far as this new form of terrorism is concerned," he [Middle East and international relations expert Fred Halliday] said. "There are a lot of questions to which we don't know the answers - such as how long this will go on."

Hey Fred, I can field that last one. It is going to go on until we kill all of them or they kill (or convert) all of us. It might end if we kill enough of them to convince the others that they won't win, but really, how do you convince someone that is ready to blow himself to bits for a heavenly reward that he will lose? If he wins he meets Allah and his virgins by taking a bunch of us with him. If he loses, and we kill him before he kills us, he still gets Allah and the ladies. Good luck Fred, let us know how this turns out for you.

(All bold emphasis mine-HH)

Yep. Sometimes things can be that simple.