A Domestic Violence Call?

[ilovemytroops]

Actually, I didn't know about the UK terrorism problem. The 9/11 incident was something that opened my eyes, literally as I was standing right there in midtown Manhattan watching the entire incident unfold. My first thought was that was some serious hate. And I then began to look into past problems that have occurred globally, with the continual thought of could this have been resolved a long time ago.

But given what I'm seeing, as in folks going back for 2nd tours and not returning, I don't know what to say about this conflict which is expanding weekly, especially since it was announced way last year by Bush that the worst was over. Seems as if the worst is yet to come. And I hope the outcome will be comforting to those who've lost family members over there. Because if there's a hidden agenda, we've just bought a whole new set of problems to last forever.

[Whistling_scot]

The US has been insulated from terrorism up until 11/9, but it had become a way of life here. I think we missed an opportunity to do great things in the Middle East by not planning how to win the peace after we won the war in Iraq. If we had kept the Iraqi army intact and used them to keep order while we got on with reconstruction, we could have wiped out much of the anti-American feeling caused by the US support for the killing in Palestine, saved the lives of many American and British troops and earned the approval of other major countries. A good result in Iraq might have served as a beacon of democratic stability in the ME to which other neighbouring countries might have aspired once they saw the benefits. Now I cannot see an end to this imbroglio and I hope that the coalition partners hang in there, but I fear that they may desert.

[tamra]

was there an "Al Quaeda" problem before Sept 11, because to be honest, the whole situation was/is new to me? I wasn't living in NYC during the attack in 92 or 93. but a lot of folks I've never heard of like Osama Bin Laden. in other areas of country things like attacks on buildings aren't common. the only other major incident was the oklahoma bombing, which was home grown hate, and explainable as the persons left a trail leading right to them.

but this new situation, it's like where did "al quaeda" come from and how come this info wasn't made public sooner given Osama and others have been "sought after" for 4 straight years, with 2 years being the current war.

but what I remember most for about 20 years now are the suicide bombings in Israel. having friends who lived in Tel Aviv and Bethelhem, they were continual and became a way of life. one finally moved back to US, and isn't it ironic what's happening over here now, we're living in a somewhat war, be ready zone.

[Whistling_scot]

"Al Qaeda" as an international terrorist organisation was largely invented by US neocons after 9/11. Bin Laden had funded Afghan and other terrorist outfits, like many other Saudis, but there was no unified international terrorist organisation, nor is there now. Many terrorist organisations pre-date 9/11 such as the Polisarios in Mauretania, the Bader Meinhof group in Germany, the IRA in Great Britain (largely funded from the US, the mujahideen in Afghanistan (also funded by the US, of course), ETA in spain and many others. Terrorism only appeared as a "bad" thing on the US radar after 9/11. Up until then it was just Europeans, Africans and Asians who were the victims and that didn't hit the News in the US until there was an attack on US soil. For example, in Britain in the eighties and nineties we could expect a terrorist attack on average once a week, funded largely by US citizens who did not, at that time, see terrorists as particularly evil.