The Other Side

[woodchip]

Think Muslim Terrorists are a bunch of ignorant unsophisticated boobs? Judging by the following they are getting their message out as slickly as any Madison Avenue advertising firm:

https://ia600601.us.archive.org/18/item ... INS-EH.pdf

[vision]

Think Muslim Terrorists are a bunch of ignorant unsophisticated boobs?

Has anyone here ever made that claim? It's been known for years that many jihadists are highly educated and many suicide bombers come from middle and upper-class families. Although the very concept of killing for religion makes you by default a ignorant, unsophisticated barbarian, though you may still have high social standing.

[flip]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mohammad_Reza_Pahlavi

Anybody remember this guy? I hate to say it, but truth is every industrialized nation has a hand in the creating of these jihadists. They have constantly worked that region to create instability there. Same thing happened with Iraq, the US had been allies with Saddam for years, backing him in his war against Iran this time. As soon as that war ended, Saddam amassed his troops on the Kuwait border then stopped. Giving clear intentions but obviously waiting for something. The State department head at the time publicly said on TV, I watched it, that the American's have no interest in Kuwait and then the next day Saddam invaded. Maybe he thought we were still allies, I don't know but as soon as he invaded the whole International Community came down on him and George Bush publicly announced his New World Order built around international Rule of Law. I imagine only a few here will remember the difference now, but that was a huge turn of events. People are not born Jihadists, they become Jihadists because they had rather die first than continually be a pawn.

[Will Robinson]

... . People are not born Jihadists, they become Jihadists because they had rather die first than continually be a pawn.

I think you give far too many of them more credit than they deserve. Most of them are feeling helpless enough to want to latch onto an angry sentiment if you articulate it well enough and tell them they are the victim. That much they would rather do than do nothing...

If they were all sophisticated enough to recognize and resist when they are being 'made a pawn' they would stop at the crossroads where their current suffering meets strapping on a suicidal mission because someone tells them it is the only way to effect a change in their circumstance.

All those Germans that supported Hitler and then didn't anything to stop him were certainly not all Nazi's yet neither were they all ever suffering bad enough to justify Hitlers tactics...but they all went along because they were not 'sophisticated' enough to find the bravery needed to stand up and say Oh hell no!

[Top Gun]

Yes, most of the rank-and-file in groups like al-Qaeda aren't exactly well-read, but there are some very intelligent people among the higher-ups. Note that they're not the ones strapping themselves to bombs.

[flip]

Couldn't agree more. I never said they were justified and I completely agree there are much more effective ways. Definitely a state of hysteria and mental imbalance exists there. Considering the odds against them, they would have much more success garnering sympathy, but like TG said, I guarantee you the higher ups are profiting from the division themselves.