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

[jman220]

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Wasnt the root of the whole problem the fact that we put the jewish state inbetween a bunch of countries that hate them? What was the middle east like before the end of world war 2?

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Prior to World War 2 and the arrival of the Jews, no Arab had ever killed another human being in anger.

[Mroberts3]

"Terrorism means using violence against civilians (or defenseless innocents) to create fear that in turn might achieve political or other social goals."

You are forgetting the important modifier of violence. INTENTIONAL. Based on your sentence above, all war would be terrorism as it has violence, civilians die, people become afraid, and political ends are achived. War is hell, but it certainly isnt terrorism. INTENT MATTERS. Hezbollah targets civilians to make a point. Israel kills civilians as collateral damage while hunting for those who attacked them. This doesn't make the loss of human life less distressing or harmful, but it certainly matters.

[Mroberts3]

"mutal terrorist campaigns"

I don't see how you can say this. Civilian deaths are bad press for Israel. They are good press for Hezbollah. They celebrate the deaths of innocents and use it as recruitment and propaganda material. In a perfect world Isael would kill the terrorists and be free to live in peace. Contrast that to the Hezbollah perfect world where Irael is destroyed along with every man woman and child. Explain how death on both sides consitutes mutual TERROR campaigns.

[C0pernicus]

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There are too many factors, many overlapping and interrelated, to isolate a "root cause" of Israel's and Hizbollah's mutal terrorist campaigns. However, if we look for factors that rank high on the list of most obvious and most ignored, we must conclude that Israel's U.S.-backed determination to retain colonies in the occupied territories -- in stark contrast to the Arab and world consensus of making peace with Israel if it withdraws -- stands out as the most significant.

Almost any mainstream discussion that focuses on the word "terrorism" is almost by definition absurd. Terrorism means using violence against civilians (or defenseless innocents) to create fear that in turn might achieve political or other social goals. By this definition, both the U.S. and Israel are states with an extensive and unapologetic history of terrorism, the former having targeted and killed millions of civilians to further its aims.

To weasel out of this historical fact, terrorism is usually defined so that it excludes these states and allow them to retain terrorism as a military option. One defintion limits terrorism to irregular or guerilla forces (and hope that no one looks up the history of U.S.-backed irregualr terrorists in the Carribean and Latin America). Another is to contrast "war" with "terrorism," so that civilians targeted and killed by regular military forces can be shrugged off as "collateral" damage.

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Do you laugh when you read the drivel you write?

[SleeperHE]

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the former having targeted and killed millions of civilians to further its aims.


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Where are you getting your numbers from buddy?

[natedogg]

The root cuase is not terrorism. The root cause is a bunch of morons with religious beliefs.

natedogg

[C0pernicus]

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the former having targeted and killed millions of civilians to further its aims.


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Where are you getting your numbers from buddy?

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Same place he gets all of his "facts"...a very dark and rancorous place located below the waist line and in the posterior.

[XChamp]

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Religion=irrational beliefs.

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Just because someone presupposes different worldview axioms than you does not mean they are irrational. In fact, it is irrational to proclaim that since axioms, by defintion, cannot be proven.

[Psycho Boy Jack]

the cause is : wanting others to adopt your beliefs.... it's an old school religion war which begins here. the bombs u see here are only a superficial symptom of what is growing underground.
israel has been taken as an excuse by islamists in order to legitimate them. they took plestininans in hostage as they took lebanes people. The problem is that the uninstructed mass is following them in their madness. Violence is in each of us. They only had to find a way to legitimate people so they can express this violence and be ok whith themselves at the same time.
It's the only thing they found which couls be accepted by number. But u have to take the charia whith that it's a combo.
whithout them peace would be established since a looong looong time.
don't worry, i know many of you don't agree at all. You are good meat for those people. whith your seemingly good feelings, u serve their interests.

[natedogg]

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There are too many factors, many overlapping and interrelated, to isolate a "root cause" of Israel's and Hizbollah's mutal terrorist campaigns. However, if we look for factors that rank high on the list of most obvious and most ignored, we must conclude that Israel's U.S.-backed determination to retain colonies in the occupied territories -- in stark contrast to the Arab and world consensus of making peace with Israel if it withdraws -- stands out as the most significant.

Almost any mainstream discussion that focuses on the word "terrorism" is almost by definition absurd. Terrorism means using violence against civilians (or defenseless innocents) to create fear that in turn might achieve political or other social goals. By this definition, both the U.S. and Israel are states with an extensive and unapologetic history of terrorism, the former having targeted and killed millions of civilians to further its aims.

To weasel out of this historical fact, terrorism is usually defined so that it excludes these states and allow them to retain terrorism as a military option. One defintion limits terrorism to irregular or guerilla forces (and hope that no one looks up the history of U.S.-backed irregualr terrorists in the Carribean and Latin America). Another is to contrast "war" with "terrorism," so that civilians targeted and killed by regular military forces can be shrugged off as "collateral" damage.

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In other words: "I hate america! I'll apologize for anyone who isn't america, no matter what they do, because america has done things I don't like in the past. This means that anyone is excused for any atrocity they commit because after all america has done indecent things. Americans have no right to object to immoral acts because their govt has at some point in the past committed immoral acts."

natedogg