There is little doubt that the American responses to 9/11 have contributed to the radicalisation of Jihadists. They were probably excessive and too knee-jerk and have ended up squandering the good will that came their way following what was an horrific barbaric attack.
If the Americans had maintained the high ground the whole world would have been behind them. Unfortunately they had the wrong President for that. They were too intent on revenge. There can be no justification for deploying tactics that are outside the law such as torture, waterboarding, unlawful abduction, or imprisonment without trial. What happened in American run prisons and Guantanamo Bay is wrong. Too many innocent people have been killed through indiscriminate bombing and drone attacks. The legal case for invading Iraq and Afghanistan is dubious.
America should have remained civilised and above any suggestion of wrong-doing. Britain should have kept its distance without allowing ourselves to be sucked into supporting American aggression, no matter how much provocation.
However, these excesses pale into insignificance in comparison to the level of the atrocities carried out by the militant Jihadists. Their level of sectarian violence is beyond belief. They have systematically tortured and killed. Their callous brutality is inhuman. They have killed people with electric drills, beheadings, lashings, stonings and bombings. They seem to feel justified in this by religious text and actually believe that any god would not only approve but would reward such unimaginable cruelty.
No god would approve of such cruelty.
These Jihadists have been turned into psychopaths.
If the West had not muddied the waters it would have been much easier to assume the moral high ground. We have provided the insane fanatics with an opportunity to mask the level of their own atrocities. They have used propaganda and religious fervour to disguise their power seeking psychopathy.
The fear generated by American involvement has led many Muslims to defend the act of flying a plane full of innocent people into a building full of innocent people. Any right minded person would be able to see that this is indefensible.
A civilised person would know that any act of beheading a human being is barbaric. To do that to an aide-worker who only aim is to help those in terrible circumstances is callous beyond understanding.
To kill people for blasphemy id mediaeval.
To be condemned to death for writing a book or drawing an image is grotesque no matter how offensive it may be.
To kill people because they do not believe in the same version of superstition as you is fascist.
The list of reprehensible acts is huge. They range from bombs on planes, busses, trains and subways, aimed at ordinary people, to the attack and beheading of arbitrary individuals.
Sane people know that no god would justify such barbarity.
The rabid, intolerant psychopathic Jihadists are merely exploiting the American relatively minor transgressions of human rights to justify their own heartless cruelty.
Two wrongs can never make a right.
The people who support these monstrous actions are a small minority. The majority of Muslims are moderate and tolerant. They are not to blame for the militants becoming brain-washed.
The last thing anybody other than the militants want is for this to develop into a war and witch-hunt.
The law has to be respected. Everyone has rights and deserves respect.
Offense is not an offence.
Religion should not oppose or be opposed upon.
Everyone should be subjected to the law of the land. That is what Magna Carta bestowed upon us.
While the lights dim and the bells ring the light of truth, justice, freedom and tolerance should blaze.
We who believe in enlightenment condemn those who would enslave us in religious dogma.
We are Charlie.
I hope all moderate Muslims speak out against the madness being done in their name and make their voices heard.
The tragedy is that so many gullible young men and women have been brainwashed into believing in the superstition of mediaeval prophesies such as ‘The End of Days’.
They are in Syria today trying to fulfil an ancient prophesy which has no basis. That is sad. They are buying in to a piece of superstitious nonsense. How many times have people fallen for the same claptrap?
Moderate Muslims speak up – for evil to exist it is only necessary for good people to remain silent.
Build a better zeitgeist!
What could possibly be more radical than bringing down the Twin Towers with two hijacked airliners?
America destroyed Imperial Japan for doing far less at Pearl Harbor.
Yes. The world becomes a far better, safer place when the Americans finally decide to get radical.
Yes, but Pearl Harbour was the act of a nation waging a preemptive war. 9/11 was the act of psychopathic fanatics.
I certainly do not feel the world is a safer place now, neither is it better. America is quite isolated from the impact of its actions. The Muslim world has been far more extreme. There are far more militants and jihadists looking to attack the West. If they get their hands on nuclear or biological weapons nobody will be safe. You think that is safer and far better?
Opher,
Preemptive means to act to keep something from happening.
Pearl Harbor was an attack on American soil just like 9/11.
It was an act of war.
The rational response to an act of war is to annihilate the enemy.
That is simple reasoning, not radical at all.
Pearl Harbour was an act of war. The Japanese government wanted to wipe out the American fleet. They attacked it before declaring war. It was a preemptive strike. 9/11 was not an act of war. It was an act of terrorism carried out by religious fanatics. Religious fanatics made up a tiny proportion of Muslims. They make up a larger proportion now. Are you really proposing a war on Muslim people because some psychopaths did an amazingly barbaric thing?
I think that reaction is just what the terrorists are after. They need to justify their actions.
Ten million Tunisians have condemned the killing of 12 persons in Paris. How many more Muslims do you require before you can accept that moderate Muslims “speak up”? The USA dropped atomic bombs on Imperial Japan to shorten the war and save the lives of American servicemen because the Japanese military did not accept the concept of surrender. The reason was not Pearl Harbour. That was the reason the USA entered the war in 1942 after the tide of the war had turned against Germany. Since the 2nd World War the USA has caused more problems throughout the world than it has solved by its unwarranted interference and its belief that the “American way of life” is the example others should follow.
The dropping of the first nuclear device on Hiroshima was possibly justified for the reasons you give. The dropping of the second when the Japanese were suing for peace was probably more dubious to put it mildly. I did not suggest that the atomic bomb had anything to do with Pearl Harbour.
I am delighted that moderate Muslims are speaking out. That’s great.
I agree with you that American foreign policy is designed to cause ferment and foster American interests. It has caused a great deal of problems. I believe that is usual for all empires, Britain, Persia, China and Mongolia included.
I would like to see an end to all the violence, warfare and hatred that politics and religion have created.
Men and other animals have been fighting for territory since history began, Politics or religion don’t cause one group of chimpanzees to attack and kill another.
That is true. The only difference is that we have intelligence. We can use that intelligence to over-ride our primitive behaviour patterns. It is everyone’s interest to work together with tolerance to create equality, solve the global problems and protect the environment.
To me it appears to be a simple question: we use our intelligence, change our primitive behaviour or we destroy the planet and ourselves in the process.
I am an optimistic idealist. I believe we can surmount our limitations. I believe in science, technology and humanity. We have a side that is friendly, caring and nurturing towards diverse people and animals. We have a side that is cruel, vicious and destructive. We can choose.
I think the caring side is stronger. I believe more people are pleasant than are greedy, selfish, intolerant and vicious.
We can make the world a better place when we’ve got rid of nations, superstitions and tribalism. We can do it. The future will prove me right. Intelligence will win.
All animals have intelligence. How does one define intelligence – sophistication of communication, adaptability to environment, cohesion with environment, ability to learn? We tend to define intelligence by our own parameters. The stupidity of man throughout history suggests these parameters are inaccurate. Freedom of choice does not exist in isolation. Freedom of choice, behaviour towards other creatures is governed by many variables. It is not absolute.