Should the US go after ALL terrorists now?

Great Debates
1

We already know that there are several groups of terrorists floating around in the Middle East who are responsible for the killing of thousands of civilians, both American and non-American. Should the US now do something about these subhuman fanatics? Should the US, in it’s quest for justifiable revenge, start wiping these snake nests out as they seek the actual killers of the WTC? After all, most, if not all, of these groups have killed Americans at one time or another in their cowardly acts.

I think yes, because it is time we made it real unhealthy for terrorist groups of any type to exist in the world today. It should be known that if a terrorist bombs a building and kills even one person that his entire cell will be hunted down and killed, making his cause useless. I don’t mean just Middle Eastern Terrorists either, but all who do this, including Irish bombers, American Antiabortion killers and people like MacVeigh.

We need to hunt such dogs into the ground, turn them from heroes into villains, and chase them to the ends of the Earth as necessary and exterminate their groups or jail them for life with no possibility of parole.

2

Although Osama bin Laden and the Taleban present themselves as convenient targets for the starting point of our war on terrorism, I believe it needs to be a global prosecution as well. This is the only thing that will eliminate the perception that the United States is merely protecting its self-interests.

Democratic channels need to be set up in nations so that these “causes” do not have the excuse to resort to terrorism. There is a massive paradigm shift in world politics needed for this to happen. I do not hold high hopes of that happening soon. Depose all Taleban governements immediately to reduce their threat, and begin to forcibly dismantle the world’s terror network. Start with the worst offenders like Lybia and work your way down. Decapitating the entrenched structure will make mopping up the fringe elements easier.

I do not see a lot of alternatives. We have now been shown the logical extension of terrorism. This pestilence upon humanity cannot be allowed to continue. There must be a determined effort to eliminate this form of crime from our world. As the last remaining superpower we need to play a principal role in eradicating terrorism. We owe it to ourselves and it represents the best sort of world-view.

3

Hear hear!

The problem with this type of action, though, is where do you draw the line? One man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter.

For instance - how will this “war on terrorism” and Bush’s promise “those who fund and harbour terrorists” sqaure against groups like the IRA? The IRA, of course, receive funding from certain groups in America.

James.

4

Do you go after all terrorists, those who export their violence or ignore those that only have a domestic agenda? For example, the Aum Shinyum, Basques, Chechenians. (Please correct me if I am mistaken, but generally these groups only target their own country).

5

Similarly, may I assume that you will be going after the IRA? If so, I respectfully request that you refrain from dropping metal death on Ireland and England.

Thankyou for your concern.

pan

6

Isn’t reasonable to draw a distinction between international terrorism and domestic terrorism? Perhaps the U.S. and it’s allies should work on the internationals,and let the individual sovereign nations work on their domestic terrorism (unless they ASK for Allied help).

7

That could get a little complicated couldn’t it?
What about the situation where the dispute is about national borders?
Would republican terrorists attacking England be considered domestic or international terrorists? I doubt they’d call themselves British citizens.

8

Hey if you are going to talk about N. ireland, then do something about the Ulsters like the ones who were sick enough to throw a firebomb at a bunch of girls going to school.

9

It seems as though we are obliged to go after all terrorists.

This is why my previous post mentions providing democratic channels that allow for grieveances to be addressed. Unless there are peaceful avenues for redress then groups will continue to resort to terrorism. I do not hold high hopes for the world-wide installation of democracy in all countries. Due to this fact, there will have to be a somewhat limited scope to which terrorists we fight and quell. I think that it is safe to say that dismantling Middle Eastern terrorism takes first priority. The amount of thuggery that has gone on combined with the existence of so many training camps makes this a vital starting point.

I tend to think that the participating countries might have some say in which of their own internal terrorists get addressed next. Quashing the IRA sure seems like a good thing for all involved. Far too many tragedies have happened during the troubles. The USA will need to take a hard look at its own militants and especially the KKK. It might be time for their organization, along with Neo-Nazis to be awarded an extended stay at the gray-bar hotel.

While there are many foes to fight, I maintain that the Middle East is far too fertile a territory not to be the first recipient of a full scale offensive on terrorism. The world will benefit as a whole and future generations of Arabs and non-Arabs alike will thank us. I find it hard to imagine that Arab children of the future will not be grateful for a world rid of suicide bombs and free of such images as the ones that rolled across our television screens last week.

10

Oh, it’s schoolyard time is it? Well why don’t you do something about the 40 or so attacks on innocent sikhs, muslims etc in your country.

See how stupid that sounds?

11

But isn’t part of the problem here the fact that previous interventions in the Middle East in a variety of forms have caused spectacularly opposite results to that and have created suicide bombers? What makes you so sure that military intervention is also going to win, and I hope you’ll agree that this is as important, the hearts and minds of these people?

12

If caught the attackers will be arrested. After trial upon conviction–probably for assault, battery, attempted murder, and hate crimes (or some combination)–they will face long prison terms. No guarantees though, as the trial in our country actually means something.

What sounds stupid? Are you familiar with the U.S.?

As for the issue at hand, G.W.B.s promise to go after “all evil doers” sounds like something the Fantastic Four or Batman and Robin would say. Great rhetoric, will never happen. Mix it up in Ireland? Not likely.

13

The implication that I, as an average guy, can do anything to interfere with or affect the legal process of an act which was geographically distant from me is just ridiculous. What exactly should I do? Head over to Northern Ireland and ask around to see if anyone can name the perpetrators? That’s what’s stupid.

Should the police and the legal system do something? Without question. Are they trying to catch those responsible? I damn well hope so.

Are you familiar with any country other than the US? Legal systems and democracy do operate independantly of the US, unbelievable as it might seem.

Not for all crimes of course. I hope the irony of this statement isn’t lost on you…(although admittedly, the situation with regard to OBL (?) is unlikely to be resolved in a normal courtroom fashion)

14

This whole argument is becoming a little childish – let’s not get involved in accusing each other of being stupid.

The argument against the OP, however, is that in cases like this you don’t know who the enemies are. You can’t just get armed companies to show up in Nablus or Bethlehem and say “OK, all the terrorists stand over there so we can take you out”.

It’s a fundamental characteristic of terrorists that they don’t wear special badges or hats that mark them out as the bad guys. And if you wipe out whole communities because you believe some of them may be bad, you’re no better than terrorists anyway.

15

There was a saying, born out of Vietnam, which almost seems appropriate here; 'Kill 'em all and let God sort ‘em out.’ While not practical, it covers my feelings for anyone group that harbors terrorists of any type, including the IRA. I’ve never been crazy about the nasty little bombings in Ireland from any side, feeling that terrorism is one of the dirtiest forms of fighting ever conceived of. It ranks up there with the Vietcong wiring up little girls with explosives and sending them, all smiles and innocence, to say hi to a busload of American GIs and the AIDS infected people who deliberately spread the disease to as many others as possible in an act of demented revenge.

ALL terrorists should be targeted. We’ve still got some glossed over fund that ships millions each year to Ireland and the IRA (Located in the complex pages of the Citizens Against Government Waste pig book on their website) sponsored and kept going by fat cat congressmen.

ALL terrorists need to be scrubbed out and any nation harboring them needs to learn that doing so is real damn unhealthy. They can scream all the patriotic and religious slogans they want, thinking they’ll go to Allah in a golden chariot, but they’ll need to know that when we get done, they’ll have a whole lot more joining them than expected until it dawns on them that throwing their population into the fire is not good for any cause. After a time, zealots run low as people who are not as crazy to get killed are left behind to carry on.

Like Germany killed off it’s best and brightest by throwing them first at everyone and towards the end of WW2, almost had to whip kids into uniform to go and get killed. Plus, the largest terrorists groups in history – the Crusades and the Inquisition – did not foster much fond feelings for the Christian Religion, especially the Catholic Church and in the end, did not accomplish all that much aside from getting a lot of folks nastily dead.

We’ve let this go on too far as the politicians hemmed and hawed and had fat cat drinking lunches, paid each other off and strutted around saying a lot of nothing while hundreds died. Now it’s time to take a strong stance against it and follow up our threats with bombs, guns and as much of their spilled blood as possible.

16

What are you talking about?

You made an absurd claim that the U.S. would do nothing to punish those who attack innocent Muslims or others. That is simply categorically untrue.

Now you say I want to go intervene in Northern Ireland. I likened that to superhero talk. I was dismissive of even the possibility and you are trying to sandbag me into the postion, sorry. Wrong guy.

I know nothing about legal systems outside the U.S.? You made a foolish argument, attacking me won’t help. Even if true, that assertion does noting to advance your postition since I was, and you were, talking about the U.S. legal system.

Andy, trials don’t matter if we are at war with you, correct. Then we follow the rules of war as set down through treaty and applicable international conventions. What is your last point, that we should try people we cannot catch? If Bin Laden had been arrested, could be arrested, or was not the puppet master of the government of Afghanistan we would try him. He could be executed. Now tell me the death penalty is bad. But first, note, I did not argue for the death penalty.

Everton, I was quoting the word “stupid.” Should I edit out what people actually say?

17

The war against terrorism must cross all national borders, and include all terrorists, including those in the United States, and the fact is that those who support terrorism include American citizens providing money to the IRA. Yes, we should go after all of them. No, we don’t need to carpet bomb Boston, or Afghanistan.

The enemy is not a single group, religion, nationality, or cultural division. The enemy is each and every person who thinks that killing a bunch of uninvolved innocents makes a “statement” about ones own political opinions. We have to attack the effectiveness of that thinking. Stop publishing the political opinions of murderers. Stop pretending that there is some difference between Sein Fein and Hamas. If you know about murder, and do nothing to stop it or apprehend its perpetrators, you are a terrorist. Your politics are of no importance.

Bloody Sunday was terrorism. So was the bombing of churches in the south in the sixties, seventies, eighties, and nineties. The KKK is a terrorist organization. Does that mean that I want the current war against terrorism to include strong measures against the KKK, and the county and state governments that permit them to terrorize its citizens? You bet it does. But I don’t want to bomb the cities, in that case, or in Egypt, Syria, Iraq, or Afghanistan.

I don’t want to kill innocent people; I want to stop murderers from killing innocent people. It would be so nice and easy if we really could solve this problem by taking out the big villain. But the big villain is the willingness of the common man to make a group the target of hatred because of the actions of individuals.

It will take decades, cost billions, and require sacrifices of life, and comfort, and personal wealth by a lot of people, in the US, and around the world. We need to find where the money comes from, and make supporting terrorism the most expensive decision anyone ever made. I support extreme financial penalties for any involvement, even collecting change at the local bar. If you know that the organization you are supporting is obstructing justice in a terrorist investigation, then you are a terrorist. I think a hundred thousand dollar fine is appropriate for throwing a nickel in the drum. I think seizure of all assets is appropriate for a company that deals with identified terrorists.

Shepherds and farmers are not attacking us. Bedouin tribes in the mountains of the UIR are not attacking us. The attack comes from rich men trying to influence the politics of their own countries by fomenting agitation among the most volatile of their neighbors. The mind washed drones sent out to die for this Jihad are not even the enemy. They are just pawns of power players. Follow the money. We can do that, you know? If there is going to be a bombing, I hope the target is a boardroom, or a council chamber, instead of a tenement or a slum.

The real terrorists are the ones sitting back paying for all this.

Find them.

Until you do, you will find the world grows up martyrs faster than you can blow them up.

Tris

“Victorious warriors win first and then go to war, while defeated warriors go to war first and then seek to win.” ~ Sun-tzu ~

18

I have already stated how I feel about this on another thread. And got flamed for it as usual(what’s new huh?)

Yes, find them and eliminate them quickly before they can go too deep into hiding.

19

I, for one, have grown very weary of the Islamic nations and their fanatical religion. A bunch of terrorists go out and kill a few hundred people in the name of their religion and retreat back into any of several Islamic nations where they are hidden while the Islamic governments protect them and their Holy Cause. That makes those governments guilty also, so go in and bomb the crap out of them. We’re in the 21st century and they’re still running around half living in the 12th, and getting pissed at everyone who doesn’t want to live and believe like them. Next thing you know they’ll be pissed at people using electric lights instead of smoky oil lamps to read by. They’re going to have to learn that when you do not agree with someone in this world, you do not throw a bomb in their home, and so are the Northern Irish and any other terrorist group, including the KKK. (I never thought about them before reading the previous post. Good point!!)

20

Hey Beagle, we are arresting the perpertrators of the crimes against the Muslims and the Sikhs. What about the Ulsters who were never arrested in the first place? Terrorism comes in all forms and colors. All extremists, including the rhetors of hate that hide behind religion, better take notice.