Newbie
Posts: 9 
Location: Calgary
Location: Calgary
August 12th, 2004, 10:37 PM
We can not predict the acts of terrorists, as we live in a world of uncertainty and chaos with death and destruction surrounding us everyday.
From the moment we get up until we go to bed,we are constantly bombarded with it's images,in the newspapers,on the radio and on television, as daily horrific scenes are played out on the world stage.
If anything, 9-11 showed the world that freedom and democracy are to be valued and charised,because without it ,we would become a terroist state,where power is taken and controlled with the barrel of a gun and where human rights do not exist.
Two world wars where fought to stop the spread of evil and terrany from engulfing the world in it's grip,so terrorists and their tactics are nothing new to contend with.
The fight against those who want to destroy has been an ongoing battle,with both sides claiming small victories over the last 50 plus years,but in order to totally end terrorism we must try to understand the enemy while at the same time never under estimating them.
This is where the West has always had a problem,because we have a tendency to see ourselves and our way of live as better than other countries or cultures.
The West is the great melting pot and we find it extremely difficult to understand, why the entire world does not want to embrace our of concept of freedom and our way of living,after all, we have the highest standard of living anywhere.
The one important fundimental thing that the West often forgets is that,in many countries there have been centuries of blood feuds over land,politics and most importantly religion.
In these countries, we are often seen as infidels and morally corrupt people who are trying to force our evil ways on them,so they resist by any means possible and thus the act of terrorism becomes their weapon of choice,as it inflicts not only physical damage but more importantly physcological damage on it's victims.
The result of terrorism has the West living in a constant state of fear and distrust,as we must look at everyone as a possible terrorist threat and there fore we increase our security to guard against any future attacks.
What is happening now,especially in the United States,is that they are taking a more proactive role to weed out suspected terrorists and to destory their bases of operations where ever they are percieved to be functioning in the world.
Right or wrong the problem of terrorism will never be solved at the end of a gun barrel because it's not so much a physical problem as it is an idolological one which has been ingrained in the hearts and souls of many of these terrorists since birth...
The invasion of Iraq has done little if anything to stop the ill feelings of the Arab world against the West and to be so righteous in our thinking as to truely believe that a democratic style of government will be able to survive or even flourish in Iraq seems to me ,to be a totally absurd concept and doomed to failure.
Only time will tell if this experiment in democary will work especially in a country and region of the world, which in it's entire history has never had it.
What of terrorism?as long as peope feel trapped or enslaved, they will always choose the most powerful means to convey their anger against their oppressors and with it cause the most damage, so in today's world, it is the act of terrorism!!
We can not predict the acts of terrorists, as we live in a world of uncertainty and chaos with death and destruction surrounding us everyday.
From the moment we get up until we go to bed,we are constantly bombarded with it's images,in the newspapers,on the radio and on television, as daily horrific scenes are played out on the world stage.
If anything, 9-11 showed the world that freedom and democracy are to be valued and charised,because without it ,we would become a terroist state,where power is taken and controlled with the barrel of a gun and where human rights do not exist.
Two world wars where fought to stop the spread of evil and terrany from engulfing the world in it's grip,so terrorists and their tactics are nothing new to contend with.
The fight against those who want to destroy has been an ongoing battle,with both sides claiming small victories over the last 50 plus years,but in order to totally end terrorism we must try to understand the enemy while at the same time never under estimating them.
This is where the West has always had a problem,because we have a tendency to see ourselves and our way of live as better than other countries or cultures.
The West is the great melting pot and we find it extremely difficult to understand, why the entire world does not want to embrace our of concept of freedom and our way of living,after all, we have the highest standard of living anywhere.
The one important fundimental thing that the West often forgets is that,in many countries there have been centuries of blood feuds over land,politics and most importantly religion.
In these countries, we are often seen as infidels and morally corrupt people who are trying to force our evil ways on them,so they resist by any means possible and thus the act of terrorism becomes their weapon of choice,as it inflicts not only physical damage but more importantly physcological damage on it's victims.
The result of terrorism has the West living in a constant state of fear and distrust,as we must look at everyone as a possible terrorist threat and there fore we increase our security to guard against any future attacks.
What is happening now,especially in the United States,is that they are taking a more proactive role to weed out suspected terrorists and to destory their bases of operations where ever they are percieved to be functioning in the world.
Right or wrong the problem of terrorism will never be solved at the end of a gun barrel because it's not so much a physical problem as it is an idolological one which has been ingrained in the hearts and souls of many of these terrorists since birth...
The invasion of Iraq has done little if anything to stop the ill feelings of the Arab world against the West and to be so righteous in our thinking as to truely believe that a democratic style of government will be able to survive or even flourish in Iraq seems to me ,to be a totally absurd concept and doomed to failure.
Only time will tell if this experiment in democary will work especially in a country and region of the world, which in it's entire history has never had it.
What of terrorism?as long as peope feel trapped or enslaved, they will always choose the most powerful means to convey their anger against their oppressors and with it cause the most damage, so in today's world, it is the act of terrorism!!
August 16th, 2004, 01:54 PM
I had to skim through and really read some parts of your post.
What I got:
The West is the great melting pot and we find it extremely difficult to understand, why the entire world does not want to embrace our of concept of freedom and our way of living,after all, we have the highest standard of living anywhere.
No offense, but you sound like an American or someone from the administration of the US Government. That said, the United States is not really a place of freedom. They lack many freedoms and the basic running of the country is a) controlled by lobbyists, b) controlled by corporations who often support the lobbyists. Right, so the American policy is carved out mainly by certain ethnic and corporate elitist groups (hint: it's not the majority, but a very small elite minority).
The idea of implementing democracy in any part of the middle east is purely on the fact. The inner workings of the governments that the US wants to implement are controlled by the US administration in the best interests of corporations dealing in [arms and oil].
It's a misconception to assume that whatever happens in Iraq or Afghanistan is in the best interest of their respective peoples.
I had to skim through and really read some parts of your post.
What I got:
The West is the great melting pot and we find it extremely difficult to understand, why the entire world does not want to embrace our of concept of freedom and our way of living,after all, we have the highest standard of living anywhere.
No offense, but you sound like an American or someone from the administration of the US Government. That said, the United States is not really a place of freedom. They lack many freedoms and the basic running of the country is a) controlled by lobbyists, b) controlled by corporations who often support the lobbyists. Right, so the American policy is carved out mainly by certain ethnic and corporate elitist groups (hint: it's not the majority, but a very small elite minority).
The idea of implementing democracy in any part of the middle east is purely on the fact. The inner workings of the governments that the US wants to implement are controlled by the US administration in the best interests of corporations dealing in [arms and oil].
It's a misconception to assume that whatever happens in Iraq or Afghanistan is in the best interest of their respective peoples.
Don't bother arguing, I KNOW!
Posts: 10,754
Location: pumpkin pie bungalow
Location: pumpkin pie bungalow
August 16th, 2004, 02:45 PM
When I hear people speak on the question, "What should be done about terrorism?" I most often hear the options of war, or increased homeland security. I hardly ever hear people suggest that The United States--or any other country for that matter--negotiate with terrorists and terrorist groups.
My question is this: Should we or should we not negotiate with terrorists? What are the possible societal harms or advantages of doing so? Is it possible to negotiate with groups who hold extremely radical (even unbending) moral and ethical ideals (in this case extremist Muslims)?
When I hear people speak on the question, "What should be done about terrorism?" I most often hear the options of war, or increased homeland security. I hardly ever hear people suggest that The United States--or any other country for that matter--negotiate with terrorists and terrorist groups.
My question is this: Should we or should we not negotiate with terrorists? What are the possible societal harms or advantages of doing so? Is it possible to negotiate with groups who hold extremely radical (even unbending) moral and ethical ideals (in this case extremist Muslims)?
Don't bother arguing, I KNOW!
Posts: 10,754
Location: pumpkin pie bungalow
Location: pumpkin pie bungalow
August 16th, 2004, 03:16 PM
Ah.........thats a good one to Bevvy
Are you speaking now of BC Ferries 
There are some real examples of negotiating with terrorists
1. Northern Ireland. The Ira is a terrorist group. Have their terrorist attacks increased or decreased since negotiations began?
2. Sri Lanka. The Tamil Tigers are a terrorist group. They now have 22 seats in the legislature. Was this accomplished without negotiation?
3. Nicaragua. The Contras put down their weapons and became a political party. Was this accomplished without negotiation?
Is it important in negotiation to recognize that others have a right to their viewpoint. Is to deny them that is total disrespect? This seems to be reason enough for many people to go to war.
Ah.........thats a good one to Bevvy
Are you speaking now of BC Ferries There are some real examples of negotiating with terrorists
1. Northern Ireland. The Ira is a terrorist group. Have their terrorist attacks increased or decreased since negotiations began?
2. Sri Lanka. The Tamil Tigers are a terrorist group. They now have 22 seats in the legislature. Was this accomplished without negotiation?
3. Nicaragua. The Contras put down their weapons and became a political party. Was this accomplished without negotiation?
Is it important in negotiation to recognize that others have a right to their viewpoint. Is to deny them that is total disrespect? This seems to be reason enough for many people to go to war.
Bright Spark
Posts: 314
August 17th, 2004, 06:10 PM
This is my new signature for the time and being...
"Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear-kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor-with the cry of grave national emergency.
Always there has been some terrible evil at home or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it ..." General Douglas MacArthur, 1957
This is my new signature for the time and being...
"Our government has kept us in a perpetual state of fear-kept us in a continuous stampede of patriotic fervor-with the cry of grave national emergency.
Always there has been some terrible evil at home or some monstrous foreign power that was going to gobble us up if we did not blindly rally behind it ..." General Douglas MacArthur, 1957
