If terrorists attack us because they hate our freedom, then are we actually not free?

Question

Since Bush and Company say that "the terrorists hate our freedom", and we haven't been attacked since 9/11/01, then does this mean we are no longer free? Is Al Qaeda pulling it's punches with us after seeing us pass the PATRIOT Act, seeing Bush authorize NSA wiretaps, even seeing Bush effectively suspend habeus corpus with the black prisons that he recently admitted operating in secret?

Fathead, you fell right into it. Read Suskind's "The One Percent Doctrine."

Most of you get my point, but for the few who don't (rockandroll, birdsnakecatharine,A-Train), I *am* being tongue-in-cheek.

Some of you are bringing in different points I hadn't imagined - that's cool, keep 'em coming.

Answer 1

I can best answer your question by saying, just wait till the special prosecutor gets done and we will stop losing freedoms we are losing each and every day under King George.

High crimes, misdemeanors and war crimes is going to be one tough bunch of charges to beat.

This has been a dark time in American history, buy thankfully, fall elections are just moments away, with impeachment proceedings soon to follow. Spring of 2007.

Answer 2

Wow, there are some very ignorant people out there. The idea that my dad put his life in harms way for 27 years just to put food on the table? You having to sit in a traffic jam means you're not free?! Ha! Be glad you get to own a car, buddy. I can find you more than 5 billion people that would love to own a car in the first place. These guys actually DO think about their country when they join up. I DID. I'm just pissed off that my allergies and slight flat-foot condition stopped me from being able to defend my country. Putting food on the table are you kidding me? Look at a paychart of enlisted people. They aren't just putting food on the table, they're 18-19 years old, what table?

Anyway, it seems like according to the writer of the question Iraq or maybe the Sudan is more free than America because they experience terrorist attacks everyday. So if innocent civilians aren't dying all the time, we're not free? That's horrible logic, and means that you don't want us to use our intelligence community and services.

I'm glad I grew up with a mom in the intelligence field of the military so that I'm not ignorant of the attacks that are attempted on this country ALL THE TIME. Every other day, someone is trying to kill us. Why? Because we don't want to follow their twisted and perverted form of Islam. My mother couldn't give me very many specifics, but her job was constant, unending pressure to make sure this wacko or this lunatic wasn't able to blow up some other building.

They messed up on 9-11. Thats it. They didn't forsee men hiding knives in hair brushes. However, I don't know where this idea of terrorists getting the same rights as American citizens came from. They technically aren't even qualified for the Geneva convention rules (i don't care what Kofi Annan says, they aren't, I've read the accords). It's interesting that these programs become public under Bush, and for some reason we think he's the only one who's done it.

Wrong. Every president that has had the power to spy on its more suspicious citizens has done so. And by the way, they only want YOUR number or YOUR email address if you've been in contact with terrorists, buddy. I'm not worried. If you would pay attention, Al Qaeda isn't pulling any punches, and they keep announcing they are launching more attacks against America and its allies. But guess what, none have ocurred. Not because Bin Laden is a fan of wiretapping (he wants us dead or in his wacked up version of Islam cult, remember?). Get your facts straight and think for three seconds. You might actually see clearly. Go visit any-ANY- other country (even the democratic ones) and you'll never get to do as much as you do here. I haven't seen or heard of anyone disappearing, no matter what they say. Protesters still gather by the hundreds of thousands. I'm willing to bet YOU won't get picked up by the NSA anytime soon, just for voicing your opinion over the internet. We're still America, except they're taking a harder line on terrorists. (something Bill Clinton or even Jimmy Carter could've done a LONG time ago.)

Answer 3

Well, considering that several terrorist attacks have, indeed, been thwarted since 9/11, I would say that, yes, we are still free. Most recent event being the 10 or more Europeans recently caught at the London airport loaded to the teeth with liquid explosives... Also, I don't feel any less free than I did before 9/11.
And, to be specific, if you've kept up since 9/11, the part of our freedom that they hate is that we are free to dress how we want, to criticize the government if we want, and to worship how we want, among other things... and the fact that we don't require our women and girls to wear burkas (cover ourselves head to toe) and that we don't all worship Allah, nor do we all think highly of Muhammed... those facts make us infidels worthy of death. Ok? Those are some specific freedoms they don't like. We are not like them, therefore we must die.

I have NOTHING to hide. My life, to the outside world, (and to myself, sometimes) is downright boring. I would welcome a little excitement such as wiretapping. I just don't have a big enough ego to think that anyone would wiretap my phone. Nope. Just boring little me, eking out a life. Free as can be... at 45... on a low income...

Answer 4

Ok First of all, we're not free. If you call sitting in a traffic jam every morning (5 days a week) to get to some crap *** job "FREE," then you are a typical believer of the "big Lie."

We aren't ******' free. What's free about America? What because we don't speak ******* German - everyone thinks we're free??!! LOL. I know I don't need no god damn soldier to "die for my freedom..." That's the biggest crock of **** I've ever heard is that "the soldiers died for our freedom..." OK Maybe they signed up because they have sexual feelings for their country (i.e. brainwashed) but not mentioned is the fact that, just like people today, they had to put food on the *********** table!!!!!!!! So did these people sign up for the military because they were infatuated with "Protecting America," or did they do it to send food and flowers to their lovely, cheating wife back in America???

To the A Train. Your dad put 27 years on the line for whom? I can walk you into any factory in your town and show you people that are putting their lives on the line.. Your 18. The majority of people that DO sign up for the military are about 18, get drunk and go sign up!

You think a car is freedom too huh? LMFAO! The government has you by the balls... Miss a car payment. Miss an INSURANCE payment. See how free you are. A car is a NECESSITY to get to these lame ******* places America calls "jobs". I know people in other countries that would rather have a COW or a HORSE than a car. A car is the worst investment humanly possible. You're 18 and still learning.

You'll see when you blow all your money at the poker table...

So go buy a pair of cheap sunglasses. Just think. "We wouldn't even have the pleasure of blocking out the sun if your daddy didn't die for us!!!!"

You probably believe all of Bush's lies too eh?

You call working 65 years at some shithole job FREEDOM??? I got news for you kid - you are a S L A V E. What you got a cellphone? I guess someone had to kill a German for you to own that cellphone too eh?? LOL. ******* invalids.

Keep believing the lies.

Answer 5

There are good points you make that are seriously problematic to our way of life, but don't assume that because there have been no terrorist attacks there have been no attempts. I live near a military base, and from time to time, alerts go up for unknown reasons and operations step up in response to information that isn't released to the public.

Answer 6

great question, have a action picture star. I had to chuckle at lady laissez faire's answer, that's form of indicative of the intelligence of maximum US answerers. it would be not person-friendly for Muslims to have fought the Spartans in 480BC while that ought to have been around 1200 years formerly Islam became based.

Answer 7

That's some twisted logic you've got there. Only the weak-minded who care what the terrorists think would let it dictate whether or not they feel "free" or not.

Ask yourself exactly how have your rights been violated since this "war on terror". Can you name even ONE event with backing evidence?

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Oh come on. I can't stand Ron Suskind as a "journalist". I find his book to be even less thought-out than his articles.

Answer 8

Fathead, you'll never know because they don't tell you when they do violate your rights, and it is against the law for those who give up your records to even tell you!

I can give you a few: Bush asked for and received all of your e-mails, He asked for and got records from most of the internet syuch as Yahoo,AOL and others. Now he wants for them to keep a record of every website you visit!

"You mean Iraq ?" I asked. "That isn't gonna be for nothing. Saddam is dangerous, he has to be stopped."

The man could barely conceal his contempt. "Give me a break. A danger to who? Us here in the U.S. of A.? Is his navy off our coast? Is his air force flying over our cities? The only danger he poses is to his neighbors, maybe, and they're so worried about it that they're willing to let us die for them, but won't fight him themselves. And they want us to pay them for the privilege. With friends like that...." His voice trailed off. "Maybe you're right," he finally said, "this isn't for nothing. It's for oil."

My raised eyebrows made him shake his head, and he went on: "I don't know what's worse. Killing people over political philosophy, like in my time, or for oil. Hey, at least this time we might get something for our blood. Like ol' Tecumseh Sherman said, 'Nations go to war when there is something to be got by it'. Now oil can be got by it. After a great start, we're gonna be no different than any other empire that came down the historical pike.

"And I know what you're gonna say next. 'He sponsors terrorism'. Where's the proof? I thought we were going after bin Laden for that. But wait, Afghanistan ain't got any oil. So we need another monster, who's got something worth taking. And Saddam is so damn convenient. Yeah, he's an evil sonovabitch who deserves to be taken out, but are we the ones who should do it? Are our kids the ones who should die for it? Is he worth another Wall like this?

"And what the hell is terrorism, anyway? It's not a thing; it's not a place; it's not a person. It is a political and military strategy, that's all. Having a 'War On Terrorism' is as ridiculous as having a 'War on Flanking Maneuvers'. You'll end terrorism when there's no longer anything for anybody to get pissed off about."

"As for now, maybe if we looked at why people are pissed at us, we'd begin to understand. Hell, it doesn't matter whether they're right or wrong; it's what they perceive that motivates them. What you have to address is why they perceive things as they do. Only then will you start to get a clue. And spare me the bullshit about them hating us because of our freedom. We haven't been truly free in a long time. And now we're letting all this demagoguery convince us to give up what little liberty we have left. Big Brother Lives!"

Col Hackworth. The most decorated soldier in Vietnam

Answer 9

WE are free because we have killed a lot of Islamo-Fascist PIGS and that's why we haven't been attacked since 9/11/01.

Answer 10

I didn't vote for Bush either time and I've disagreed almost 100% on his policies but you know what's really bothered me the most about him? The way he's divided this country by using fear and for me it goes beyond party lines. I'm not naive enough to believe there aren't terrorists in the world but we've become a nation afraid of our own shadows. I see a lot of people posting on here that actually believe that more bombing & more killing will eventually solve this problem. I don't believe that will work. We kill them, they want revenge, we kill more, they want more revenge...........Can anybody honestly tell me that eventually we'll kill or capture ALL of the terrorists in the world and be done with it?