# War on Terror - winnable? **URL:** \ **Category:** Great Debates\ **Created:** [August 26, 2003, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-on-terror-winnable/197731 "2003-08-26T13:15:45Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 4
**Author:** ![Scylla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Scylla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Scylla)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-on-terror-winnable/197731/61 "2003-08-29T01:49:26Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by rjung \* > \*\*What organizational infrastructure did Tim McVeigh use? Or Theodore Kazinsky? Or the anthrax letter guy? \*\* Interesting question. In the first cas we’ll never know. Tim is dead. Tim didn’t know an awful lot about bomb making, so it sure seems like he had some help. Ted Kazinsky is a loonie, We don’t know who te anthrax letterl "guy " is. He may not be a "guy, but a group. Since we know nothing about him/them it really doesn’t apply one way or the other. ---
**Author:** ![T.Mehr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@T.Mehr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T.Mehr)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 10:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-on-terror-winnable/197731/62 "2003-08-29T10:39:57Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Daisy Cutter \* > I don’t really see any similarity between a few, lone nutjobs (timothy mcveigh and the unabomber), which people repeatedly bring up, as to point to some similarity between them and various global, islamic terrorist groups, which are comprised of many thousands of suicidal nutjobs, which have declared war on western civilization. What exactly is the point in mentioning these two ? Are they part of some terrorist organisation that poses some great threat to the world community ? Let’s not detract from the real problems here. The point is not that one could compare McVeigh with an islamic terrorist, but that both of them could live in the US without being noticed until they blew their bomb. Both you would not have stopped by attacking another country! > [@](#): > > I also don’t buy into the argument that terrorists have any valid reasons for their murdering ways. I find this to be mere excuses for terrorists and their ilk. What do you mean? They don’t have a reason? They just love to kill and be killed themselves? They have a reason also it is not valid for us. If you don’t look into these reasons you’ll never get to the core of the problem. ---
**Author:** ![T.Mehr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/ccd318/32.png) [@T.Mehr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/T.Mehr)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 10:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-on-terror-winnable/197731/63 "2003-08-29T10:43:19Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scylla \* > Both terrorists and pirates needed support. That’s the domain of the analogy, not martyrdom. Yeah, but some of the terrorists take the support right from the country they attack: ETA, IRA, RAF, etc. Others just hide exactly in the country they attack like Atta. ---
**Author:** ![Eva\_Luna](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/e495f1/32.png) [@Eva\_Luna](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eva_Luna)\ **Post date:** [August 29, 2003, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-on-terror-winnable/197731/64 "2003-08-29T11:43:40Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Scylla \* > Ted Kazinsky is a loonie, Possibly, but by all accounts a very, very smart loonie with a graduate math degree (IIRC). In any case, definitely a force to be reckoned with. He was only discovered after a tip from his brother. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/war-on-terror-winnable/197731.md?page=3)