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Originally Posted by stevo
What escalation could the terrorists achieve, where could they go? They already cut off our heads and bomb our civillians. They try their hardest to do the most damage they possibly can. What are they holding back on that they could escalate to?
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At this point, it is a very small minority of a few radical sects that are resorting to terrorism. Continued escalation against Islam in general, could lead to greater numbers of terrorists and greater support from the Islamic majority.
The parallel with the IRA is apt, in this case. While the situation in Ireland is still tenuous, it has been relatively peaceful (lately). Political processes and negotiation seem to have succeeded where brute force and military tactics have not. They are a long way from a final solution, but at least the violence has subsided.
While negotiating with terrorist is something that we will not do, negotiating with governments, political and religious entities that have influence with terrorists, seems to have had a degree of success in Ireland. It's a model we ought to consider.