My Post is plain and simple. Do you think if we go to war wwith the Iraqi Regime, do you think terrorism will form in america and its allies who declared war on iraq

My view on this is pretty simple--either it is or it isn't.

Let's assume :

1. There is a group of people out there who hate the US, or the US's meddling in certain regions, or the US's predominant religion, and they hate us enough to attack us, whatever the risks and costs.

Now, we attack a country in said region, further aggrevating this group of people. Perhaps enough that they get more support from other groups that may have been on the fence with regards to the US.

What is the likely outcome?

1. The group already hates us enough to attack and murder 3,000 civilians. I don't think anything we would (or could) do will make them "madder".
2. So the danger is in aggrevating more people into joining the first group (the terrorists).

Consider that it takes a certain mindset to join this group of people. You don't just go out and decide to become a terrorist. It is a commitment fraught with danger (attacking the most powerful country in the world).

I submit that any action taken by the US against a Muslim country will NOT cause a swell of terrorists. I base this on the fact that if you had the terrorist mindset, you would already be a terrorist.

Further, most terrorists are motivated by religion. Somehow they view our actions as unholy. I submit that if this is your thinking, what we are going to do in Iraq will not further your ire for the US. Iraq is a secular government, where the vast majority of Arab/Muslim countries are dominated more by their religion. Therefore, we are not attacking a Muslim government, but a secular government in a Muslim/Arab country.

Even Arabs in the region do not like Saddam. Its not as if he has very many allies in the Arab world.

Now, to refute my own argument, I could say that terrorists do not use logic when coming to their decisions. They might be outraged simply because it is an Arab country, or simply because it does have a Muslim majority population . They may look beyond the fact that they don't like Saddam--they may take the view that he is still "One of us".

Juber3,

The short answer is that it is very likely, although not absolutely necessarily an outcome, of war with Iraq.

The President just addressed the press in the Rose Garden and said that the US will be out there helping countries to become free. He addressed the press, turned, and walked away. There you go, a bone to chew on.

This hints at the grand plan, cooked up in some beltway thinktanks that we have not been presented with as yet, and may never see in its entirety. I'm even suspecting that the grand plan is being cooked as we communicate on this board. However, I hope not. I hope more thought has gone into what we are doing in the ME than has been brought forth.

In any case, there will be disgruntled ME residents who want any number of things to happen: the US out of the ME, the US to fall, the US to curl up and die--and the same for Israel. It seems to me that we have taken on an enormous task that will cost a lot of our resources to carry out. This project has been sold to us as part of the war on terrorism.

First Afgahnistan. That was an easy sell because we all wanted revenge. Not only did we get revenge, but we liberated the Afgahn people--a side benefit of beating the dickens out of al Qaeda. Now Iraq--a tougher sell. Doggone it all! If only Bush had gotten that invasion back in October, 2002. Oh well, we move on.

We can expect greater efforts of terrorists to organize, but then that would have been going on anyway. I suspect what we are going to ultimately get is a black hole to shovel money into, much like the war on drugs.

Our leadership operates in secrecy and offers the press and citizens a bone to chew on now and then. I'm wondering how long this act can go on before the people of the US rise up and say, "Enough already. What the heck are we doing? Give us the grand plan. Forget about terrorism. We can live with terrorism. Why are we politically reengineering the ME, and for what end, and for what payback?"

My apologies for drifting off the rise in terrorist activity question, but the ME plan and terrorism are tightly coupled like siamese twins sharing a single heart.

I don't agree that Americans will EVER come to this conclusion. The day that the US becomes like Israel is the day Americans will really rise up in arms.

I agree with you amlord. How in the world can you say, "we can live with terrorism"? I for one, am not ready to just "turn the other cheek."

Maybe 'you' can live with terrorism, but I or my family will not.

I will never be able to relate to the pacifist's mind.

At one time in my life I was a pacifist myself, it was in 6th grade. There was a bully in my class who tormented me for half the school year until one day I snapped. I grabbed a dead tree branch from a wooded area near the school area and 'convinced' him he was not going to bully me any longer. After months of turning the other cheek and not getting any help from the teachers I took matters into my own hands. From that day forward I was never bothered again from that bully or any other.

I never realized the complexities of international terrorism could be boiled down into a simple childhood anecdote.

Oversimplification when it comes to international military policy results in death and destruction. You're not beating up a bully; you're bombing an entire country back to the 19th century to kill a bully. There is a little bit of a difference.

I didn't imply my situation to Iraq. I was stating how I overcame being a pacifist. Also i did not 'kill' the bully, I merely knocked him up side the head. He fell to the ground crying and I was left alone.

I certainly think it is possible.



While this might hold in many cases, I think we should take into account the refugee children and young adults who may, after a war with Iraq, resent and hate the U.S. for its efforts. They will certainly be given the mindset, if not necessarily the means. Our actions may not bring an immediate swell of terrorism, but it will likely put a large investment in future acts of terror.

On a related note... I understand actually, there are already supposed to be terrorists gathering in Iraq to assist them in fighting American forces. Of course, this comes from our administration that tells us about all the conclusive evidence of bio- and chemical agents Iraq has, but can't bring themselves to share this intelligence. Anyway, the administration has said that they suspect terrorists of planning attacks on American forces as they move into the country, and especially if and whenever they enter into the Baghdad.

Juber3



I don't think this war will make any difference to whether or not people decide to become terrorists and attack the allies.
But I think it will close off a large possible supply source for dangerous resources.

Man, that one little sentence sure got a rise out of folks!

Listen: We have been living with terrorism for decades. We have our own citizen-terrorists. We will always be living with terrorism.

The al Qaeda organization is being dismantled. Good--that will keep terrorists in check. But if you think war on Iraq is going to eliminate terrorists, then good luck. It won't stop there. Who knows where it will stop?

That is my point. How far will the Bush administration take us in its search for the utopia where terrorism does not exist?

I think there might be a few loose cannons pop out of the woodwork & try to cause trouble but i think with
Al-Queda downgraded & not able to "assist" it's "friends", trouble involving International Terrorists will be minimal


AuthorMusician Posted on Mar 14 2003, 10:35 AM

We can't live with terrorism. Turning the other cheek might have worked with Clinton, because it came back to bite the U.S in the butt later, but it sure didn't work with Bush & i'm sure that in the future, no Prez will put up with it...domestic or International.


Abs like Jesus Posted: Mar 14 2003, 01:46 PM


Some may but if we can get aid into Iraq (without saddam's boys taking it for themselves) to refugees, then maybe that'll calm the hatred. Also, contrary to popular belief, a HUGE majority of Iraqis want Saddam to bite the dust.


Just to add something to the board, here is a FOX News/Opinion Dynamics Poll on terrorist risks if we go to war with Iraq:

If the U.S. goes to war with Iraq, do you think the threat of more terrorist strikes against the U.S. will [see below]?"

Increase a lot...........33%
Increase a little........34%
Decrease a little.........9%
Decrease a lot............7%
Stay the same (vol.) 10%
Not sure.....................7%
Iraq: Terrorist attacks & Misc

aren't there supposed to be a bunch of Iraqi sleeper cells in america that will activate when america invades Iraq? if this is true an attack on Iraq would awaken these cells, causing a rise in terrorism.

I'm not worried about people that are already terroists, I am more worried about people that dislike america, but don't dispise us. any attack on Iraq could push these people into being terrorists.

it is highly likely in my opinion that a war would increase terrorism, though maybe not as bad as some say it will.

We can live with the threat of terrorism and be aware of it or we can live with the threat of terrorism and not be aware of it.

Terrorism is a reality and it will not go away. The question is will we live with terrorism in relative freedom or will we submit to more and more limitations of our freedom and live with terrorism looming over us to be a device to restrict our freedoms.

Free societies will always be prone to criminal behavior.

I thought that they were al-queda cells but i wouldn't put it past ole saddam to do something in this nature

goamerica,



Yeah, zero tolerance, eh?

This whole thing will become a bottomless black hole as the boogey man du jour needs to be popped off his throne.

BTW, GWB did absolutely nothing to bolster anti-terrorist programs already in place before 9/11. Republicans did very little, maybe nothing, to bolster anti-terrorist efforts of the Clinton administration. I still maintain that guilt is a powerful motivational factor of our present administration and Congressional leadership.

We are spending a lot of capital to change the regime in Iraq. Next comes NK or Iran. Then I suppose any number of countries that have, or might in the future, support terrorism. As the US goes about this effort, other nations will likely get nervous and take steps to protect their present regimes.

I see no end to the cycle. We'd better get accustomed to living in constant fear.

Or they might find every terrorist they know about and kill them and their family.