the only way to stop the war on terror is to stop helping israel and start helping palestine and lebanon.once this is done start a diplomatic symbiosis of land between the rivals.i know easier said than done but with time,patience,intelligence,and tolerance we will see results.if that doesn’t work then give palestine and lebanon their land back and find new land on this gigantic planet for israel to inhabit.
First man, America got planed isn’t only because of the Jews…
Second man, the planet isn’t “gigantic”, not anymore, certainly won’t be in the future. Actually, it’ll be tiny-tini if one child policy isn’t used in India…
We don’t even need to start helping palestine and lebanon. All we need to do is stop blindly supporting Israel; especially when they commit terrorist acts.
Once we start being OBJECTIVE in the Israel-Palestine conflict, and apologize for our past mistakes, that is when terrorism will begin to stop.
Hi,
Please can you define terrorism, then can you please say what ‘acts of terrorism’ Israel is comitting. Then can you explain how targetting members of an internationally recognised terrorist organisation is equivalent to blowing up a bus of civilians.
Thanks
- ben
Palestinian Children getting regularly shot. Fathers being beaten up by israeli soldiers in front of their children. Women being forced to give birth at blockades.
Just to name a few stories that regularly come up in newspapers.
Which may all be propaganda, or just the result of the events that happened in the last few years.
Yet you should agree that the mere presence of these voices does not help the israli people in any way.
I think I’m missing something here.
Were there any Palestinians implicated in the 9/11 attack? Did Osama give any speeches saying that the attacks were retribution for US support of Israel?
I don’t believe so, so how is the way we handle the Palestinian problem going to help?
Well, if you managed to globally release a very potent bio-engineered plague that wiped all life off the face of the planet, then that would ABSOLUTELY end terrorism.
Umh…yes he did…
Ahh, you’re right.
I say “Kill 'em all, Let God sort 'em out” heck nukes would work, that would stop them, stoped the japs.
lol
Terrorism is irrational acts based on irrational beliefs. It should be made clear that Islamics are not the only group capable of irrrationality. One only has to look at our recent presidential election.
The answer is as simple as it is difficult. Confront irrationality wherever it is found. Not with bombs, but with reason. Put the potential terrorist in the position of having to answer his own irrationality. Not all will listen, but enough will hesitate, and perhaps begin thinking.
JT
You speak of rationality as if it is the most obvious concept in the world…
Iroel,
Of course its’ not. It just seem’s to be the most benign way of structuring ways of co-existing on this particular planet. Given the current misery being inflicted by the various supporters of irrational ‘faith’, it look’s like a useful concept.
JT
I don’t believe that they have an irrational faith while we have a clean and clear reason.
Just to put it very simply, I only believe that they have different priorities, they think in paradigms which are different from ours, characterized by different values and different facts.
I don’t really think that creating more differences or factions than there already are is what we need right now.
I don’t believe that they have an irrational faith while we have a clean and clear reason.
Just to put it very simply, I only believe that they have different priorities, they think in paradigms which are different from ours, characterized by different values and different facts.
I don’t really think that creating more differences or factions than there already are is what we need right now.
First of all, I’d like to say hello, since this is my first post in the forums here.
I think that in order to make progress towards a solution in this matter two things should be agreed upon as a sort of groundwork for this discussion.
First of all it is important to understand what terrorism is, it seems that to most people the term conjures up images of bloodthirsty madmen killing innocents without reason or purpose. Of course, being philosophers, we are not most people, and must confront the reality that terrorism is nothing more than a military tactic, more akin to guerilla warfare than senseless killing. It, like guerilla warfare, is a technique used by those who lack the financial means and infrastructure to produce modern weapons. I think that we can all agree that if Bin Laden had the means to produce divisions of armor, and modern fighter jets, he would be more than happy to wage a war that would be more familiar, and I dare say, more acceptable to the people of the world. While most think of the violence committed on 9-11 as being brutal acts of terror, it is apparent to the more observant that the WTC and the pentagon were both valid strategic targets. As apparent from the transcripts of Bin Laden, it is economic attrition that he is threatening us with, not death and destruction. Terrorism is simply a means to an end. The idea of a war on terror is somewhat of an absurdity seeing that terror is just a form of warfare.
Secondly, the idea that the scenario that we are dealing with is directly linked to religion is somewhat misleading, it is an oversimplification which is directed at the emotional base of supporters on both sides. In history we are able to agree that their are implications behind certain actions of states that go deeper than the religious reasons that are propounded to the populace. It is ignorant to think that things have changed. More likely it has to do with power. States, or nations that have power are generally going to infringe on the freedoms and ideologies of those that do not.
With that said, I would like to add that it is also important to note that it does not matter who is on what side, or what religion, if any that a certain state or nation practices. Just think if the roles were reversed? If the U.S. was the oppressed, would they not use the same tactics to achieve a power base? I believe that we would see imperial type behavior from any state or nation that wielded as much power as the U.S. does. (On a side note, I believe that this is one of the major themes in the first couple of Dune books by Frank Herbert.) These are some ideas that I believe should be considered when discussing the way to end "terrorism".
In conclusion I would like to offer the potentially unpopular idea of opening up negotiations with "terrorist" groups. If it can be agreed that their actions are nothing more than military tactics, then they should be treated like an enemy, which would include the possibility of negotiations and a potential cease fire.
Iroel,
Please re-read my posts. In no way am I suggesting that the “coalition” involvement in Iraq, or anywhere else for that matter, is any more ‘rational’ than that of the so-called terrorists. That all are operating out of different beliefs is granted, and you know what? God is on both sides! It is the violence of irrational blind faith that has to be addressed - theirs, ours, and everybodies’.
This is not an attack on their personal faith. It is, however, an attack on their public actions. Whether Jihad or ‘spreading democracy’ is the explanation, there is no excuse for the behavior on either side.
Rational discourse allows real world compromise and accomodation. Acting out of irrational ‘faith’ doesn’t have to compromise because it is other-worldly. Irrational faith allow’s us to declare Russian school children ‘enemies of God’ or to close our eyes to ‘collateral damage’ from bombing ‘insurgents’.
There is much of man that is irrational and will always be so, but human co-existence need’s the services of rationality if we are ever to stop killing each other in the name of God.
JT