Stopping "terrorism" should be easy.

[SoCalDem]

Think about it.. Who is causing all the "trouble"?

Imagine for a minute, that you are a 20 something man living in a faraway place.. You want to marry, but in your culture, you must adhere to strict "rules"... and you have no job or money.. Would you be a "happy-happy" person??

Go a step further, and imagine that you have television, and what you see of western life shows you that the "westerners" live in a land of plenty... fast cars...fancy houses...swimming pools....beautiful, provocatively dressed women..people with no visible means of support (think Friends), yet lavish lifestyles..

The only "westerners" that YOU actually see are the travellers who occasionally show up in your country.. They travel with flashy jewelry,expensive luggage, wads of cash, and loads of "attitude".. They have no apparent respect for the cultural/religious practices..

The "real" cause of most of the world's terrorism could be the wildly lopsided distribution of wealth in the world...

People with real futures are not so willing to blow themselves up, or to spend the rest of their lives locked away in prison..

Poverty can only be overcome,by actually overcoming it. It cannot be wished away, or talked away, or nickeled & dimed away..

The poor people around the world (and in the US, too) need REAL jobs, with REAL work, that benefits their communities as well as themselves.. They need "busy hands and busy minds". They need real education, so that they can "own" their futures.

If the "ones who have all the money" were not so selfish, we would all be safer..

I just know in my gut, that if our "invasion" had been accompanied with tools and building supplies, books, food, doctors, nurses and medicine, things would be very different in Iraq now.. Ther people around the world who are dispossesed and angry, just need to have the way to make their own place better..

If they have no future, WE all will suffer in the present.. Their anger WILL be directed our way..

[gandalf]

1. Which kind of "terrorism" do you address?

I think your assumptions hold, e.g., for Palestinian terrorists.

But the (alleged) 9/11 terrorists were well-off, not poor. Atta would have had many possibilities in Egypt or perhaps even in Germany where he had successfully graduated from university.

So either your explanation model of the motivation of terrorists is not complete, or the account of the 9/11 events lacks something. (I would bet on the latter).

[SoCalDem]

3. "Well-off" Saudi men are really unhappy ..

The population boom that Saudi Arabia has experienced, has left a lot of young-ish men who are bored, educated, but have no "work".. They are not ever going to live the way their parents did (kind of like her too), because the royal family can no longer dole out money and services like they once did when there were fewer people living there..

These are just the type of young men who are "ripe" for cultish religion or philosophy.. They are educated, but they see no purpose in their lives..They lack adventure...They blame their own government for their lack of future...and they see western countries behind their "royal family".. It's easy to see how they could be taken in by the terrorists who are really just after warm bodies to carry out their own plans..

Bin Laden ultimately wants Saudi Arabia for himself..We are an impediment to that goal, and he's probably still peeved about how we dropped him like a hot potato once the Russians left Afghanistan..

[physioex]

4. I am not sure what you mean..

When you say Bin Laden wants Saudi Arabia for himself. There is virtually no chance he is going to be the ruler. What more important to consider is, Saudis want reform just like the Iranians. The Saudi Royal family is extremely corrupt and very opressive. If this country would insist on some reforms, we might be able to remove some of the hatered...

[physioex]

2. I am not convinced that poor people are going to be terrorists...

There is a lot of poverty in Africa and the South America. The problem comes when you start meddling in other peoples business. Iraqis never had much animosity towards Americans before this war. Even with BFEE I screw up in telling Iraqi's to rise up against Saddam. I can guarantee you that an American could have walked down the streets of Iraq when Saddam was in power with virtually no concerns.

Here is where the problems start occurring. When you prop up oppressive regimes in Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, and Pakistan. Some of the blame is sent down this way. The situation in Israel and Palestine doesn't help much since most of this countries foreign aid goes to Israel.

To end the roots of terrorism, this country would have to insist on reforms in the mentioned countries. Stop sending foregin aid to Israel. Treat the citizens of Iraq with digity and begin providing for their needs. Remeber the Pottery Barn Rule, we broke it we bought it. I am not holding my breath thinking this will happen...

[Beearewhyain]

5. You both are correct

I think you are both correct but may be missing a larger point, that being the power of hope. While the desperately poor of Africa and South America have not unified in arms against the west, largely they are just trying to survive. Much of their energy is used for subsistence and any excess energy is that could be politically motivated is focused against their gov’ts.

Iraq, and much of the Middle East has moved beyond a subsistence economy which allows for people to think about their respective place in life economically, socially and arguably most important, religiously. This gives rise to those feeling of inequalities that are “obvious” from the entertainment we export and make for some of the mess we are in. Add to this witches brew an unwarranted war, and we have the mess we are in.

The solution is that you must provide those people with hope. Hope that they can do better than their father and their children will do better than them. This is what we have to provide for the whole region now because without doing so, what other reason do they have not to hate us.

[physioex]

7. I can agree with that...

But like me, I am sure youre not holding your breath waiting for this to happen....

[SoCalDem]

6. Not all poor people will ...but where is the harm in actually

lifting poor people out of the dismal lives they lead?? Poor people who are no longer poor, are less likely to happily send their sons (and daughters) off to be a cog in the wheel..

[physioex]

8. Well that's true...

But I think there is more hatered when you anger of a group of people and give them something to rally around....Which this country has done a fine job off....Simple example is Abu Gharib...

[Fear]

9. yeah almost, you're just missing out on a few details......

Try these following links. The first one is the BroadBand version, second one the SmallBand version in case your connection isn't that great.

It's in regard to the Carlyle group, but also touches base with the Iraq war I, and then in particular how Carlyle and the American presents in the Middle-East pissed off a LOT of people. For the simple reason that many Saudi's *think and find it strange / and they are right* that there has to be such a large military presents in their country / their holy ground.

Top American officials talking with top officials on the Saudi side and striking deals for *protection* etc. I guess we could ask ourselves, how would WE feel when we would be *liberated?!* and then all of a sudden it seems (and is partly true) that that country is slowly infiltrating in our government etc.

The holy ground as they see it is getting violated by us westerns with our morals and values. Well, we wanna do business and make money, and yes they are right / a "friendly" take over or at least control of the governments was surely a plan.

The blowing themselves up and getting locked up. Well, their religion is strong for some people and there is truth behind the fact that some of them don't have much. BUT, they receive something far greater (for whoever believes in it), also their families will be taken care off etc.etc.

Well, more in that movie, it's great, and explains so much.

http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/tv/vpro/tegenlicht/bb.20030516.rm

http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/tv/vpro/tegenlicht/sb.20030516.rm

[birdbrain]

10. Terrorism is an idea.

As Eisenhower said of communism, "you have got to attack it with a better idea."

[mopaul]

11. if we spent our efforts on waging peace it will work

and you're right, it's so simple it's painful to realize. just use christ's golden rule, (i'm an atheist) and do unto the world in a fair and equal manner, instead of policing and nation building.

we just got to get our heads right. mine is.