Is it our own fault that we can't seem to fight terrorism?Why are we not united?

Question

Yes V and Hitler ,Stalin and Osama never existed.

Columbo why did the Balinese people suffer or the Turks or the Egyptians?I'm beginning to think I know what the problem is.Talk about stupidity!

Answer 1

I'm not sure it's a fault, exactly. The only effective way to fight terrorism entirely would be to surrender our liberties. Terrorists capitalize on the fact that free people have a measure of privacy. They use that privacy to do horrible things because they are willing to die in the effort. People who have no moral constraints whatsoever, or who somehow manage to justify killing innocents, cannot be stopped without sacrificing liberty.

Why we are not united is that we are individuals, with individual needs and desires. For a great many valid reasons, we cherish our privacy. The so-called "homeland security" measures that violate that privacy and liberty are ineffective in combating terrorism. The most they do is give the terrorists a little more of a challenge in meeting their horrible goals.

The most we can do, realistically, is individually remain vigilant and courageous, like the passengers and crew of Flight 93. In the memory of 9/11/01, never forget that one airplane full of brave Americans were the only ones to really thwart the terrorists, and they gave their lives to do it.

Answer 2

I am delighted with some of the very good, very thoughtful answers here. To add just a few things:

We must first take responsible for creating terrorism through our own long-standing policies of using our wealth to wage war instead of peace. I have long contended that if we had been spending just a few billion a year to help people in the Middle East, the hatred that has grown against the West would have instead become love. So, instead of a few billion a year in good works, we now spend $7 trillion to wage an unjustifiable war against a nation that has never posed a threat to us. (Yes, Saddam was evil. But you don't see us invading China, North Korea or Iran, do you?)

The personal agenda of Bush and Cheney has been, since they took office, to invade Iraq and seize its oil. They are both oil men, both made oil fortunes, and Cheney still is paid $150 million a year by Halliburton. Their energy policies have been written by ExxonMobil, and guess which company just posted not only the biggest profit in its history, but the biggest profit by any company in the world in any industry in history? That's right, ExxonMobil. Who would be most hurt by the U.S. signing the Kyoto accords or admitting that something needs to be done about Global Warming? ExxonMobil and all the best personal friends of Bush and Cheney.

From a pure military viewpoint, we cannot defeat terrorists because we're not fighting them. We stopped really looking for Osama when we decided to throw our entire military might at George Bush's personal war in Iraq. We are not united, because enough Americans know that this president, his policies, and this war are wrong.

Answer 3

The reason we are not united is because we are not doing anything meaningful. When we were attacked on 9/11 the whole country, even the whole world, was united and horrified by the act. But this president has squandered this unity when he decided to follow his own agenda instead of doing what is needed to fight terrorism. This split the country (and the world) because we are way off the mark.

Answer 4

I think this is more of a political question but here's my two cents anyways. I think we could never successfully fight terrorism because our own government employs it. We torture prisoners to get them to say what we want. We enable the biggest human rights disaster of our time by giving weapons and funds to Israel to oppress the Palestinians. We back up governments that are dictatorships and nothing close to a democracy. I believe we don't even have a prayer of stopping others if we can't even stop ourselves. This is why they fight against us because they view our government as an oppressor and they're right. It's sad.

Answer 5

Though we remain united its for the governments to unite.If Bangladesh Pakistan and India are united can there be any ground for the terrorists to breed and attack India so often.
If Pakistan Bangladesh and Afghanistan are united will there be any terrorism in the world.

Answer 6

Beacuse the threat is barely real, Are you American by any chance? Because it galls me that Americans are up in arms about terrorism, when many americans funded the IRA in the 70s & 80s to committ many acts of terrorism in the UK and NI

Answer 7

We're not united, because it isn't clear to us what exactly we are fighting, and what exactly we are fighting for. To some in this country, it is a religious issue of a Christian country going after Muslims who attacked us. For some, it is a greedy country seeking to secure an oil supply by getting rid of those who would keep it from us. For some it was about relieving a people of a dictator, and Bush claiming that Saddam had WMD, and they were all pointed right at us. Somehow 9/11 and attackers from Afghanistan, and the war on terror, got mashed in with the war in Iraq, and used as justification for that. We're not united, because we are being asked to stand behind a president with a 28% approval rating, who as near as alot of us can tell, seems to be working a personal agenda for his own reasons, and dragging our nation's young men and women into it. We as a people aren't sure we were ever justified in going to Iraq as we did, and we are no closer to tracking down Osama ben Ladin, or Al Quaida, and bringing them to justice for what they did. There are those who believe that the 9/11 attack was staged by our own country, as an excuse to invade another country. If that is the case, how can we even begin to be united behind that? And even if it really was an attack from Afghanistan, what does any of that have to do with why we went to Iraq? As a country, we are all confused about what exactly is going on. 9/11 has also been used as an excuse to infringe on American's personal freedoms as well, in the name of homeland security, and it is with some trepidation that I write comments like this, I worry about who may be looking over my shoulder, or who might be knocking at the door tomorrow, when we live in a country where you have to worry about what book you check out of the library, or what web site you look at, thanks to the patriot act. Our next president will inherit the worst mess in US history to sift through, and straighten out. Bush should have been gone a long time ago, and I can't believe he was actually elected for a second term. I am in shock that man is still in office. As for supporting our troops, we should, in no uncertain terms. Alot of these people were already enlisted in the service or the national guard when we went to war, and thier choice is to follow orders, or do jail time. Many idealistic young people signed on following 9/11, thinking they would help to fight the war on terror, and wound up going to a war we as a country are not sure we should be fighting. Whatever thier reasons for signing up, they don't have a choice about whether they think they are fighting a just war or not, they are following orders, or they will go to jail for it. They deserve our full support for thier sacrifices, they signed up because we were attacked, and they saw it as thier duty to protect us in whatever way our country asks them to, whether we belong in Iraq or not, they are there to serve us, and deserve our full support, and prayers that they will come home soon and safely.

Answer 8

people who discover faults with others are frequently insecure themselves. they have the desire to make their presence felt and be an portion of the communication. yet this shouldn't hardship you via fact finally you already know your self extra appropriate than they do.

Answer 9

you can never defeat terrorism.its an impossibility.they dont wear uniforms you know.you could walk past a terrorist in the street and not know who they were.the government are merely creating false hope.tony blair caused terrorism in this country when he declared war on iraq.FACT.if they want him let them have him and leave the rest of us alone.

Answer 10

If politicans get out of the way & let The United States Military fight this war the way they see it, We americans will have left Iraq long ago.