Root Cause of the Mid-East Crisis is...

[elwoodblues]

I heard this on the radio yesterday and couldn't even think of an appropriate reaction. According to President Bush: "a very strong consensus that the world must confront the root causes of the current instability. And the root cause of that current instability is terrorism and terrorist attacks on a democratic country."


The ROOT cause is terrorism??? Terrorism is a tactic. Can someone, anyone, explain how terrorism is a ROOT CAUSE here???

[xpokerx]

the root cause of this is that some people have taken a religion to the extreme. they have adopted it to meet their evil desires, much like hitler did in WWII. I know that all threads eventually reach the hitler/nazi level, i figured i would get this one there immediately. anyway, they are ideologically blinded to anything but the destruction of what they perceive to be their mortal enemy.

at least thats my opinion.

[C0pernicus]

[ QUOTE ]
I heard this on the radio yesterday and couldn't even think of an appropriate reaction. According to President Bush: "a very strong consensus that the world must confront the root causes of the current instability. And the root cause of that current instability is terrorism and terrorist attacks on a democratic country."


The ROOT cause is terrorism??? Terrorism is a tactic. Can someone, anyone, explain how terrorism is a ROOT CAUSE here???

[/ QUOTE ]

You really aren't aware that "terrorism" is a PC euphemism for islamofacism? "Terrorism" is no longer just a word for a "tactic", it represents a belief system when used in the context of the ME.

We would be far better off without the senstivity and correctness and call a spade a spade.

[irvman21]

It's no different than the vicious cycle of crime destroying the economic base which frustrates people enough to turn towards crime which further destroys the economic base which frustrates more people enough to turn towards crime. It's both cause and effect.

[adios]

[ QUOTE ]
The ROOT cause is terrorism??? Terrorism is a tactic. Can someone, anyone, explain how terrorism is a ROOT CAUSE here???

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll give it a go.

Let's start with the "ism" and it's meaning:

n. informal

A distinctive doctrine, system or theory. Formalism, by being an 'ism,' kills form by hugging it to death. Peter Viereck.

Definition of ism

So we're talking about the doctrine, system and/or theory of using the tactics of terror to acheive political ends. Can this doctrine, system, and/or theory in applying terror tactics to acheive polical ends be the root cause of conflicts such as we're seeing in the Middle East? I would think so.

[C0pernicus]

[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
The ROOT cause is terrorism??? Terrorism is a tactic. Can someone, anyone, explain how terrorism is a ROOT CAUSE here???

[/ QUOTE ]

I'll give it a go.

Let's start with the "ism" and it's meaning:

n. informal

A distinctive doctrine, system or theory. Formalism, by being an 'ism,' kills form by hugging it to death. Peter Viereck.

Definition of ism

So we're talking about the doctrine, system and/or theory of using the tactics of terror to acheive political ends. Can this doctrine, system, and/or theory in applying terror tactics to acheive polical ends be the root cause of conflicts such as we're seeing in the Middle East? I would think so.

[/ QUOTE ]

Good clarification...terror is a tactic, terrorism is a belief system.

[elwoodblues]

[ QUOTE ]
So we're talking about the doctrine, system and/or theory of using the tactics of terror to acheive political ends.

[/ QUOTE ]

So if a different systematic tactic were used then there wouldn't be problems in the Middle East --- insane.

I have no problem labelling terrorism a cause or a problem, but to claim that it is the ROOT CAUSE is insane.

[adios]

You originally questioned the following statement:

a very strong consensus that the world must confront the root causes of the current instability. And the root cause of that current instability is terrorism and terrorist attacks on a democratic country."

And made the following point:

The ROOT cause is terrorism??? Terrorism is a tactic. Can someone, anyone, explain how terrorism is a ROOT CAUSE here???

I responded with an explanation of how Terrorism is a belief system more or less.



You reponded to my post with:

So if a different systematic tactic were used then there wouldn't be problems in the Middle East --- insane.

I didn't say that. I think the statement you cited didn't say that. Sorry Elwood I'm not following here.

[Knockwurst]

[ QUOTE ]
I heard this on the radio yesterday and couldn't even think of an appropriate reaction. According to President Bush: "a very strong consensus that the world must confront the root causes of the current instability. And the root cause of that current instability is terrorism and terrorist attacks on a democratic country."


The ROOT cause is terrorism??? Terrorism is a tactic. Can someone, anyone, explain how terrorism is a ROOT CAUSE here???

[/ QUOTE ]

I think this was the quote (from WP's Dan Froomkin):

At a brief press availability, Bush was asked if he was comfortable this going on for weeks. He wouldn't answer. "I want the world to address the root causes of the problem, and the root cause of the problem is Hezbollah."

Bush once again misrepresented a recent statement by the G-8 leaders. As many times as he says his fellow leaders agreed that the root cause of the current crisis is terrorists, the official statement says that "The root cause of the problems in the region is the absence of a comprehensive Middle East peace."

Froomkin (registration required)

[DVaut1]

[ QUOTE ]
Bush once again misrepresented a recent statement by the G-8 leaders. As many times as he says his fellow leaders agreed that the root cause of the current crisis is terrorists, the official statement says that "The root cause of the problems in the region is the absence of a comprehensive Middle East peace."

[/ QUOTE ]

Well, to Bush's credit, at least that's an answer. The official statement from the G8 sounds kind of circular -- something like saying the root cause of crime is the absence of a respect for the rule of law. That may be true, but only because it's a meaningless tautology.