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Originally Posted by ratbastid
Calling things what they really are CAN be the first step in figuring out what a problem is and what to do about it, but in THIS case, the word "terrorist" only serves to further obfuscate the situation, and to distance America and her allies from any responsibility in the world climate that produces terrorists.
That's what the word "terrorist" has devolved into--somebody with some sort of inborn pathological anti-American desire to hurt people. That's what we're being told. What we're not being reminded of is all the American training that Osama Bin Laden received when he was fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan, how much support and partnership Saddam Hussein received before the Iranian revolution. No, those are The Bad Guys in our little black and white cowboy movie version of international affairs. And as far as conventional wisdom goes, they were born bad guys.
I say it again: in life (and CERTAINLY in politics) there IS no black and white. EVERYTHING is grey.
I'd be REALLY interested in a discussion about why so-called terrorists do what they do. What Osama Bin Laden's reasons are for his actions (and it's NOT "because he hates freedom").
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They do what they do for 2 reasons that I can see:
1) Because they (leading religious/political leaders) are religiously and culturally intolerant. That because of their religious convictions, they DO, in fact, hate (read: are intolerant of) freedom of speech, woman's rights, alternative religious viewpoints/lifestyles, and other values inherent in democracies. While it has become almost banal to say "They Hate Our Freedoms" because Bush says it in such a retarded way, I think the underlying meaning holds true: the religious/political leaders of certain islamic societies ARE hateful and intolerant of "our freedoms". And not just ours. Can there be any denying this?
2) Believe their dignity has been taken from them. While I do believe that people feel honestly abused, I also believe that much, MUCH, lies with how these peoples' religious/political leaders choose to deal with the external world (and how the world responds). Look at how people in America express how they feel about themselves (vis-a-vis Bush's foreign policies) - what with phenomena such as "weresorryworld.com" websites, self-loathing apologists, and otherwise neutral folk suddenly feeling anxious and guilty over the decisions made by their government.
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I'm one of those who believe the excuse of Israeli occupation and US support of Israel are nothing more than...excuses. Nothing more. The Middle East has been occupied by everyone except Groucho Marx for the last 2 millenia at least. Arabs lived with jews lived with christians with no such terrorism as we see today. Minority populations of differing ethnicities lived in peace with majority ethnicities in that part of the world for long periods of time. There was tolerance and there was acceptance.
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While I am also growing weary of the word 'terrorist", I still think it valid to hold those committing these acts responsible. There are other, more productive ways to communicate your grievances and this is where I have no problem placing blame. While I acknowledge that the word "terrorist" has been used ad nauseum by some as a short-term political tool, I don't think the real and existing issues of terrorism should be overlooked entirely just because it's been turned into a cheap political marketing tool. Throwing the baby out with the bathwater, etc. I look forward to the day when these issues are addressed with a lesser degree of hysteria and a larger degree of success - I see it as an ongoing process.