re: Is it possible to beat the terrorists?

quote:

---

This is why we're approaching the war on terror completely wrong. You can't always stop these terrorist attacks, not unless you become a totalitarian state. Do you want that?

We have to start winning the PR battle. Conducting air strikes which take innocent lives will only sow seeds of hate. Denying sanctuary to those who need help will only breed contempt. We are doing exactly what the terrorists wanted. They want European countries to close their borders. They want American politicians to get on TV and say, "Watch out for those dirty Muslims! Don't let them come to this country!" They want to take down everything Western culture stands for.

Am I saying we need to bend over? No, but we need to realize that terrorism has always existed. The people who committed these acts of terror in Paris were French and Belgian nationals. Think about that. These terrorists are in every country because they espouse an ideal, an ideal which appeals to the most alienated and the most downtrodden. And what do we do? We alienate those people even more, which makes their choice that much easier (assuming they weren't forced to join already as we see sometimes in Africa). We need to stick to the ideals of Western culture and not act like fricking pansies every time there is a horrible terrorist tragedy.

Terrorism is a short term gain, long term loss. They KNOW that what they do won't work forever. That's why they space out everything. They know that, eventually, the people they terrorize won't fear the possibility of death anymore. Someday, the people they torture/terrorize will say, "frick you. I don't care anymore. Do what you want with me. You'll never take my dignity as a human being."

Once that happens, it's over, and they know it. That's why they are so calculated.

So, what do I think we need to do? Keep training people in the Middle East to defend themselves, find a leader the people will trust, have them take out the terrorists, and we legitimize them as a state. It's really the only way

---