Motivations for Terrorism

[steveh_131]

I'm sorry, steve, but if you are seriously considering any of this as justification for their actions, I believe I've given you too much credit. There's a difference between acknowledging that this is what they say is the reason for their actions. But you seem to be intent on agreeing with them without coming out and agreeing with them.

Good grief. There is no justification for their actions. I never said that, and it's silly to claim that I did.

I posted Bin Laden's writings to show his motivations, not to defend them. I posted them because of the ridiculous claims that he would have declared war on the United States if we hadn't meddled in the middle east. I can't imagine a dumber target to choose at random. And as evil as he was, I wouldn't use the word 'dumb' to describe him.

 

[jbombelli]

In the words of Bin Laden:

“Every Muslim the minute he can start differentiating, carries hate towards Americans, Jews and Christians, this is part of our ideology. Ever since I can recall, I felt at war with the Americans and had feelings of animosity and hate towards them.”

“Our work targets world infidels. Our enemy is the crusader alliance led by America, Britain and Israel. It is a crusader-Jewish alliance.” -- Time Magazine, 1998

“We declared jihad against the US government, because the US government is unjust, criminal and tyrannical… For this and other acts of aggression and injustice, we have declared jihad against the US, because in our religion it is our duty to make jihad so that God’s word is the one exalted to the heights and so that we drive the Americans away from all Muslim countries.”

“We—with God’s help—call on every Muslim who believes in God and wishes to be rewarded to comply with God’s order to kill the Americans and plunder their money wherever and whenever they find it. We also call on Muslim ulema, leaders, youths, and soldiers to launch the raid on Satan’s U.S. troops and the devil’s supporters allying with them, and to displace those who are behind them so that they may learn a lesson.”

“The ruling to kill the Americans and their allies — civilians and military — is an individual duty for every Muslim who can do it in any country in which it is possible to do it, in order to liberate the al-Aqsa Mosque and the holy mosque [Mecca] from their grip, and in order for their armies to move out of all the lands of Islam, defeated and unable to threaten any Muslim.”


*****

The first quote is interesting, because this is what happens when you teach your kids to hate America and Jews from birth.

Now that last one is extremely interesting. Can anyone point to where we've occupied Mecca?

A lot of his quotes say nothing about us occupying anything. He talks about hating us from birth. He talks about the word of Allah being "the one exalted to the heights." He talks about it being Allah's order to kill Americans. He invokes the Crusades.

Not a lot of rationality there.

 

[rambone]

Our presence in the ME prior to 2003 was by invitation of the host nation. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to understand that if Westerners weren't welcomed, they were forcefully ejected. See Iran 1979.

We have also supplied and supported them. Sounds like they just want to exercise a selective memory and hope nobody calls them on their hypocrisy.

Consider that people in a given country are not all robotically thinking the exact same thoughts. Not every single resident of the host country is going to welcome a foreign occupation, even if the ruling elite are OK with it. Just like being an American doesn't automatically mean you support globalist U.S. foreign policy and Barack Obama.

Is the average guy on the streets supposed to appreciate the the CIA giving suitcases full of cash to corrupt government leaders? Would you appreciate foreign governments buying influence in your country?

Reverse everything and see how it would make you feel. Some foreign superpower is funding & propping up your government (or toppling it, depending on the country), while marching troops through your streets and blowing up your neighbors who oppose them. I know how I would feel about that, and it has nothing to do with the invaders' culture.

 

[steveh_131]

Reverse everything and see how it would make you feel. Some foreign superpower is funding & propping up your government (or toppling it, depending on the country), while marching troops through your streets and blowing up your neighbors who oppose them. I know how I would feel about that, and it has nothing to do with the invaders' culture.

They don't care about all that. They're only angry because they've been indoctrinated and because they aren't capable of rational thought.

 

[GIJEW]

Having lived in that "neighborhood" and met them on the job or over rifle sights, IMO the reason is religious fanaticism.
To those who would blame the US for offending them with our foriegn policy, note that they fight like cats and dogs among themselves, even using "suicide murderers" and car bombs to attack MOSQUES (and those in them) albeit the "wrong" flavor. And that's moslems against moslems of course; their "tolerance" of infidels has always been predicated on submission to islam and being 3rd class subjects--and that was no guarantee of safety.
There have been some periods of relative tolerance in some places...Spains "golden age" between the moslem conquest, and christian fanaticism that eventually followed the christian reconquest for instance, but the jihadi current has always been part of the fabric of islam. Fanaticism has been become the norm in most of the moslem world lately because the saudi's have exported the wahabi view of islam via their petro-dollar funded madrassa's to places where people might not have had ANY education for their kids (afghanistan/hinterlands of pakistan etc). The other reason for moslem militancy in the last couple of generations is the moslem brotherhood which has brought a moslem fundamentalist revival as an answer to the moslem world having fallen from being the cultural, technological, military cutting edge in mideaval times to being a relatively primitive backwater now.
That's not to say that "crusader-infidels" being on their turf doesn't stir up that same response of jihad, but to say they wouldn't be that way if we weren't there is "putting the cart in front of the horse".

 

[giovani]

They don't care about all that. They're only angry because they've been indoctrinated and because they aren't capable of rational thought.

Next time put a check mark beside the poll result you want us to pick, because this one didn't turn out the way you wanted it to obviously.

 

[steveh_131]

Next time put a check mark beside the poll result you want us to pick, because this one didn't turn out the way you wanted it to obviously.

I expected a lot more people to pick 'reality television'. But even that would be too rational

 

[mrjarrell]

 

[Trigger Time]

I guess him and his fellow villagers should have given over the information needed to catch the terrorist they were protecting huh?
Karma is a *****.

 

[lucky4034]

I guess him and his fellow villagers should have given over the information needed to catch the terrorist they were protecting huh?
Karma is a *****.

One man's terrorist is another mans freedom fighter....

War in itself is irrational

 

[lucky4034]

If I were an irrational cave dweller who believed in a false god

Why would you call your god false?

 

[giovani]

And seven billion in unison, my god is real , your god is false.

 

[jbombelli]

One man's terrorist is another mans freedom fighter....

War in itself is irrational

If you're ever wondering whether someone is a tyrant or a freedom fighter, ask yourself what kind of system he would install if/when he's successful. Would it be a free, open system wherein everyone has equal rights, can speak their minds, worship as they please... Or would it be a religious theocracy where people are enslaved or killed for following the wrong faith, or killed for speaking against the government, or gassed by the thousands for being the wrong ethnicity, or killed for drawing a picture?

 

[mrjarrell]

I guess him and his fellow villagers should have given over the information needed to catch the terrorist they were protecting huh?
Karma is a *****.

As usual, you conveniently ignore the facts that Obama's drones have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent men, women and children. Guess it's OK when it's people you don't like. He's created more potential terrorists than many of our presidents. Whole generations will flock to our enemies because of people like you.

 

[lucky4034]

If you're ever wondering whether someone is a tyrant or a freedom fighter, ask yourself what kind of system he would install if/when he's successful. Would it be a free, open system wherein everyone has equal rights, can speak their minds, worship as they please... Or would it be a religious theocracy where people are enslaved or killed for following the wrong faith, or killed for speaking against the government, or gassed by the thousands for being the wrong ethnicity, or killed for drawing a picture?

Why was it again that the Pilgrims left England?

 

[jbombelli]

As usual, you conveniently ignore the facts that Obama's drones have been responsible for the deaths of hundreds of innocent men, women and children. Guess it's OK when it's people you don't like. He's created more potential terrorists than many of our presidents. Whole generations will flock to our enemies because of people like you.

As usual you conveniently ignore the facts that they wouldn't be getting hit with drones at all if they weren't harboring terrorists and murderers in those very villages.

**** happens. Innocents die in every war.

Whole generations have been flocking to our enemies for generations. This won't change no matter what we do. This isn't a war that will end if we just unilaterally stop shooting at them. The next generation is already being indoctrinated into it. And the one after.

 

[rambone]

I guess him and his fellow villagers should have given over the information needed to catch the terrorist they were protecting huh?
Karma is a *****.

Interesting how you immediately jumped to the conclusion that everyone in the village shared collective guilt. They should have talked. They had it coming. Obviously they were terrorist sympathizers.

As if they were supposed to know who the foreign drones were targeting and why. You are making crazy leaps in order to justify mass-murder. I don't imagine your god Karma looks kindly on this.

 

[jbombelli]

Why was it again that the Pilgrims left England?

To escape tyranny and establish a free and open society where people are free to worship as they see fit, and aren't imprisoned or executed for speaking against the government.

The fact that the colonists eventually brought slavery with them is beside the point, in light of the fact that we went through a hell of a civil war ending it, if that's where you think you're cleverly going with that. And as someone who's Irish ancestors were taken from their homes and shipped to the New World in chains I can say that times change. But on that side of the world they're still whining about the crusades. They're still caught up on events that took place hundreds of years ago. Why? Because every generation teaches its children to hate the west like the crusades happened yesterday. Slavery still exists there, too. So are they freedom fighters, or tyrants?

 

[mrjarrell]

As usual you conveniently ignore the facts that they wouldn't be getting hit with drones at all if they weren't harboring terrorists and murderers in those very villages.

**** happens. Innocents die in every war.

Whole generations have been flocking to our enemies for generations. This won't change no matter what we do. This isn't a war that will end if we just unilaterally stop shooting at them. The next generation is already being indoctrinated into it. And the one after.

Rubbish. Obama's drones have killed many more innocents than they've killed "terrorists". Wedding parties and funerals have been favourite targets of the Air Forces murderers. You are right that this war won't just end. Drone strikes that murder innocents will see to that. The government of this country is busily and happily creating the next several generations of enemies. All supported by far too many people in this country.

 

[lucky4034]

As if they were supposed to know who the foreign drones were targeting and why. You are making crazy leaps in order to justify mass-murder. I don't imagine your god Karma looks kindly on this.

Indeed