"It's become standard to call the terrorists animals. After all, they can't be human like us and do what they did, right? But they're not animals. I live with animals, dogs and cats, and the worst they'll do is pee on the rug. No, this kind of calculated barbarity can only be the work of humans.
And that's the real horror. These people put their pants on like us, ate, slept and burped just like us, and then one day got on a plane and guided it into the side of a building. Sure, it's hard for us to fathom the cold-hearted callousness required for such an action. But that's because we live in a privileged society, with a long life-expectancy lived in relative comfort.
The terrorists we're fighting come from a part of the world where life is cheap. While we treasure each person's existence as a unique and precious gift, they don't have that luxury. Death from poverty and war surrounds them, on a daily basis, devaluing life and desensitizing them to ongoing horror.
The nations of the world are right in saying this isn't just America's battle. It's the battle of everyone who believes in civility and respect for human life. But how can we legislate respect for human life to people in countries where life is cheap, where existence is nasty, brutish and short? Bomb them? That just devalues life to them even more.
That's why the war rhetoric splashed across every front page has me concerned. Many shocked onlookers to the attacks said it was as if they were watching a movie, and they kept waiting for Bruce Willis to ride to the rescue and the end credits to roll. And with that frame of reality ingrained in us, we now expect to go out there and bomb the crap out of the people responsible. The good guys win. Roll credits.
But that's the movies. This is real life. Now there's billions of dollars available to wage war against the people behind the attacks. But wage war against who? Where are you going to find them? The very nature of terrorists makes it very nearly impossible to find them, and certainly doesn't lend itself well to waves of fighter planes. No, this type of operation needs a surgeon's knife, not an explosive bludgeon.
This is a different type of war, and we need a different type of weaponry. The threat or use of big guns and big planes won't work. How can you use violence to scare people who are willing to see their own lives end in pursuit of their goals? Bomb the countries which give them safe harbour? All you do is feed their bloodlust and strengthen their support among the enemies of the west.
No, the way to not just fight this war, but ultimately win it, is to attack the endemic poverty and ignorance that gives rise to such desperation and fanatacism as we saw demonstrated on Tuesday. Hatred takes root in empty minds and empty bellies. We need to, in our own self-interest if nothing else, make the world safer for us by making it safer for all. It's just smart tactics - erode their hate-fortified support systems and the murderers who planned and executed Tuesday's perfidy will not find safe harbour anywhere."
-Ed The Sock
([url]www.edthesock.com)[/url]