How do you stop terrorists?

Lanshark

<font color=red>Peace be still<br><font color=purp
Joined
Feb 19, 2000
Messages
6,468
In light of the recents news around the world can terrorism be stopped or limited? How?

I would ask for constructive suggestions, comments or ideas. I do NOT want this to sink into yet another Bush or Kerry bash session.
 
Unfortunately I highly doubt terrorism will slow down or stop. Terrorism has happened throughout history in one form or another and so far no one has figured out how to slow or stop it.

From Ancient Greece where people enemies were subjected to psychological warfare in 350 BC to the Spanish Inquisition in the 1700's to even in the US after the Civil War in 1861-65 the KKK was formed as a type of terrorist group to intimidate supporters of Reconstruction.

The 20th Century saw terrorism change dramatically and became a Hallmark of a number of political movements stretching from the extreme right to the extreme left. Now with technological advances such as automatic weapons and compact, electrically detonated explosives gave terrorists a new mobility and lethality. Terrorism was adopted as virtually a state policy, though an unacknowledged one, by such totalitarian regimes as those of Nazi Germany under Adolf Hitler and the Soviet Union under Joseph Stalin. In these states arrest, imprisonment, torture, and execution were applied without legal guidance or restraints to create a climate of fear and to encourage adherence to the national ideology and the declared economic, social, and political goals of the state.

Terrorism has been used by one or both sides in anticolonial conflicts (Ireland and the United Kingdom, Algeria and France, Vietnam and France/United States), in disputes between different national groups over possession of a contested homeland (Palestinians and Israel), in conflicts between different religious denominations (Catholics and Protestants in Northern Ireland), and in internal conflicts between revolutionary forces and established governments (Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Iran, Nicaragua, El Salvador, Argentina).

Terrorism's public impact has been greatly magnified by the use of modern communications media. Any act of violence is certain to attract television coverage, which brings the event directly into millions of homes and exposes viewers to the terrorists' demands, grievances, or political goals. Modern terrorism differs from that of the past because its victims are frequently innocent civilians who are picked at random or who merely happen into terrorist situations. Many groups of terrorists in Europe hark back to the anarchists of the 19th century in their isolation from the political mainstream and the unrealistic nature of their goals. Lacking a base of popular support, extremists substitute violent acts for legitimate political activities. Such acts include kidnappings, assassinations, skyjackings, bombings, and hijackings.

It has happened since 350 BC (or possibly even earlier)and will probably continue to evolve and change as the years go by.

JMO
Heidi
 
I know this will never happen, but sometimes I wonder if it got less coverage in the news media and less attention, if it would at least lessen. They seem to do it at least in part to bring attention to their group or cause. But, obviously, it's hard for the news or anyone to ignore horrific terrorist acts. And I don't think any one person or President is going to be the solution.
 
I wish I had an answer for you Marcie, I wish there could be some sort of plan, but sadly I think no one has the answer, I don't care who is in the White House. I won't fault anyone that's in the White House at the time another terrorist attack occurs either, unless they were given specific information and failed to act.

I think you can bust up one terrorist cell, only to have another pop up somewhere else. :( al Quida is an umbrella name for terrorists around the world. There is no al Quida army as such, just different terrorist organizations or cells that fall into a certain category. There's no head of al Quida to chop off, there's no army to defeat. :( And outside of the cells under the umbrella of al Quida, there are other terrorist groups and cells waiting to cause death and destruction for any number of reasons.

I don't think anything can be done. Should we go after the cells that are responsible for terrorist activities? Oh absolutely, maybe we could have had bin Laden by now. But there are more bin Ladens and Timothy McVeys out there, waiting, plotting, planning. I don't have any clue how to stop it. :( We can take out one cell, and another will pop up, somewhere, somehow. Surely European, African and Asian countries, who have been dealing with this sort of thing for years, would have stopped it and told us how to stop it if anyone could. :(
 

I think it would help if those that share the same religion as the terrorists would express as much outrage as the rest of the world feels. Unfortunately I think that there is too much silence on behalf of the Muslim community given the scope of the threat.
 
Lanshark, it will never stop.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, than you know that it will not stop until He comes again. And then there will be peace. And love and no pain.

For now, I just pray for God to wrap His arms around all those in pain because of this terror. :(
 
Originally posted by CRB#33
Lanshark, it will never stop.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, than you know that it will not stop until He comes again. And then there will be peace. And love and no pain.

For now, I just pray for God to wrap His arms around all those in pain because of this terror. :(

You are correct of course. I don't need to tell you what times we are living in.
 
Dawn and CBR: While I agree that we will never have true peace until Christ's return, we still are called to work towards peace in the mean time. I suspect you both agree with that, I just didn't want it sound like Christians tend to give up on stopping terrorism just because we know that peace will always be just beyond our grasp as long as man is in control.

To the OP: I beleive we must do 2 things.

1) Destroy the Terrorist leaders Sadly, this means killing them. I don't think anythin else will stop them

2) Address the desperation of the followers. This means working to imp[rove their economic lot, battling exterist education and working to make their governments less opressive.
 
Originally posted by WDWHound
Dawn and CBR: While I agree that we will never have true peace until Christ's return, we still are called to work towards peace in the mean time. I suspect you both agree with that, I just didn't want it sound like Christians tend to give up on stopping terrorism just because we know that peace will always be just beyond our grasp as long as man is in control.

Oh most definitely! We must work toward peace! God expects no less of us and as lovers of Christ, we certainly even WANT to work towards peace!

Thank you Hound :)
 
Disclaimer: this is not meant to be a bashing of ANYONE

I feel the way to fight terrorism is to not give any groups reasons to hate you. All over the world there are groups who have been oppressed by others. Today it is Russia and the Chechnians (sp).

I have been told a big reason we have difficulty in the Middle East is our longstanding policy of supporting Israel. I don't have enough information to debate this.

I think even the colonists actions against the British in the early days of our country could be likened to terrorism.

When any group is oppressed, denied the religious freedoms, the right to better themselves through education, work, living environment you create a volitile situation. Caste systems, which we even experience in our country but choose not to put the same labels on it, anytime you have groups of people who don't interract freely you create the environment where the oppressed will be willing to act out.

JMHO
 
Originally posted by DawnCt1
I think it would help if those that share the same religion as the terrorists would express as much outrage as the rest of the world feels. Unfortunately I think that there is too much silence on behalf of the Muslim community given the scope of the threat.

I wholeheartedly agree. We all know that there are Islamic Militants and Muslims who practice Islam as a peaceful religion - BUT - when push comes to shove, those that are peaceful really need to start letting their voices be heard and loudly condemn terrorism. Their silence is absolutely deafening.:(
 
Originally posted by WDWHound
Dawn and CBR: While I agree that we will never have true peace until Christ's return, we still are called to work towards peace in the mean time. I suspect you both agree with that, I just didn't want it sound like Christians tend to give up on stopping terrorism just because we know that peace will always be just beyond our grasp as long as man is in control.

To the OP: I beleive we must do 2 things.

1) Destroy the Terrorist leaders Sadly, this means killing them. I don't think anythin else will stop them

2) Address the desperation of the followers. This means working to imp[rove their economic lot, battling exterist education and working to make their governments less opressive.

Absolutely! Which is while this family will vote for GWB. I also agree with all of your other comments.
 
Originally posted by grinningghost
I wholeheartedly agree. We all know that there are Islamic Militants and Muslims who practice Islam as a peaceful religion - BUT - when push comes to shove, those that are peaceful really need to start letting their voices be heard and loudly condemn terrorism. Their silence is absolutely deafening.:(

The silence is SOOO deafening that one wonders if there is vicarious support among this silent group.
 
Originally posted by WDWHound
...
1) Destroy the Terrorist leaders Sadly, this means killing them. I don't think anythin else will stop them...

Unfortunately, this will make them martyrs in the eyes of their followers and make things even worse.

Better to somehow make them look foolish or against their own to make the followers question what they are doing.
 
Lanshark, it will never stop.

If you are a believer in Jesus Christ, than you know that it will not stop until He comes again. And then there will be peace. And love and no pain.

For now, I just pray for God to wrap His arms around all those in pain because of this terror.

I believe this with my whole heart and although it is all the comfort I should need,it is, at times, hard to find Peace.

I am not sure if religion, economic circumstances, political oppression, total desperation or pure evil drives terrorists.
 
I don't think there is a way to totally eliminate it. It's just not foreign terrorists, but you've got homegrown nuts like Timothy McVey (Oklahoma City).
 
Hold all the world leaders in the below piece to their word. (sorry for the long post I didn’t want to lose the link) Get them to start doing something about it now..all together..as one! All we hear over and over from world leaders are condoles after a tragedy.

It is time to act...for future generations. The UN crap takes too long…get all of the world leaders in a back room some where..map out a plan and just do it.

Just go into any nation that might be harboring terrorists..or nation that might have any connection to terrorists (money trails, etc) and take them over...clean out the leaders or the terrorists and move on...(hey isn’t that GWB’s plan) ...the time has come! NEXT!



from www.cnn.com
Russian school siege jolts world leaders

More than 200 feared dead in attack

Friday, September 3, 2004 Posted: 6:06 PM EDT (2206 GMT)

PARIS, France (AP) -- World leaders expressed horror over the bloody climax of Russia's hostage crisis Friday, saying the barbaric attack on school children showed terrorists have sunk to new lows, and some experts warned that Russia's Chechnya conflict was becoming the next crossroads of international terrorism.

"The series of escalating attacks in Russia this month leaves no doubt that the conflict in Chechnya is a matter of international, not merely internal, security," said Celeste Walander, director of CSIS Russia and Eurasia Program in Washington, D.C.

Messages of solidarity and shock poured in from capitals worldwide as a three-day standoff at a school turned into a gunfight between Russian commandos and Chechen militants holding hundreds of hostages. An official said the death toll could be far more than 200.

"We have been confronted with a deep human tragedy," said Dutch Foreign Minister Ben Bot, speaking on behalf of the European Union. "This shows once again that we have to do everything in our power to confront terrorism."

As images of wailing mothers outside the school in Beslan, Russia, were beamed around the world, and bloodied figures were seen wheeled away on stretchers, many decried the violence as heinous new territory for terrorists.

"This is a new dimension of terrorism," said German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder.

"There are no reasons imaginable that could justify taking children, toddlers, babies and their mothers hostages," said German Foreign Minister Joschka Fischer.

U.S. President George W. Bush called the siege "another grim reminder of the length to which terrorists will go to threaten this civilized world."

"We mourn the innocent lives that have been lost," Bush said. "We stand with the people of Russia, we send them our prayers for this terrible situation."

Portuguese Prime Minister Pedro Santan Lopes lamented "what the world has come to. We feel a sense of revulsion."

The Foreign Ministry in France, caught in a hostage drama of its own with two French journalists held in Iraq, called for "everyone to mobilize in the fight against terrorism."

Among 20 militants killed Friday, there were 10 Arabs, said Valery Andreyev, Russia's Federal Security Service chief in the region where the school is located. President Vladmir Putin's adviser on Chechnya, Aslanbek Aslakhanov, also said some dead militants were Arab mercenaries.

The presence of Arab attackers would lend greater credence to Putin's contention that al-Qaida terrorists were involved in the Chechen conflict, where Muslim fighters have battled Russian forces in a brutal a war of independence for most of the past decade.

In Israel, the Foreign Ministry said Israelis "identify with the Russian people and government in these difficult hours."


There is no difference between terror in Beersheba and terror in Beslan. The entire international community must denounced these acts and unite in the war against terror," the ministry said.

The European Union directed veiled criticism at Russia's handling of the crisis, saying it regretted the violence and bloodshed.

"It's very difficult to judge from a distance whether the right decision was taken or not," said Bot, whose country holds the EU's rotating presidency. He apparently referred to Russian forces' decision to storm the school where the militants took their hostages.

However, the 25-nation bloc understood that Russian authorities had few options, Bot said. He said the tragedy highlighted the need for Russia to end the Chechen conflict and that the EU would continue to push for a peaceful resolution.

Swedish Prime Minister Goeran Persson said the "evil deed" of targeting children would bring the international community together. It makes the world "understand what times we're living in, how vulnerable our communities are and what types of crimes and terror we have to deal with," he told Swedish news agency TT.

"It is hard to express my revulsion at the inhumanity of terrorists prepared to put children and their families through such suffering," British Prime Minister Tony Blair wrote in a letter to Putin.

Blair's foreign secretary, Jack Straw, added that the fight against terrorism is "one we have to win."

"The international community has to unite against terrorism that denies common human values to all the world's civilizations," said Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi. "There is no reason that could justify such inhuman violence."

Italy's president, Carlo Azeglio Ciampi, added: "The perverse cycle of violence must be stopped by firmness in countering terrorism and by clear sight in confronting its causes."

From the Middle East, several leaders cabled Putin to convey condolences and denounce the hostage-takers.

Lebanese President Emile Lahoud said Beirut "denounces all forms of terror, especially that which threatens the lives of children and innocents." A similar message was sent by Kuwaiti Prime Minister Sheik Sabah Al Ahmed Al Sabah.

In Jordan, government spokeswoman Asma Khader condemned the hostage-taking as "heinous," saying "no cause can be achieved by such criminal means."

International organizations were outraged.

"I am appalled that a school and its pupils are being used for political ends," UNESCO Director-General Koichiro Matsuura said in a statement. "Schools are where children learn to live together. The safety of schools must never be threatened. I condemn these actions in the strongest possible terms."
 
Originally posted by RNMOM
Disclaimer: this is not meant to be a bashing of ANYONE

I feel the way to fight terrorism is to not give any groups reasons to hate you. All over the world there are groups who have been oppressed by others. Today it is Russia and the Chechnians (sp).

I have been told a big reason we have difficulty in the Middle East is our longstanding policy of supporting Israel. I don't have enough information to debate this.

I think even the colonists actions against the British in the early days of our country could be likened to terrorism.

When any group is oppressed, denied the religious freedoms, the right to better themselves through education, work, living environment you create a volitile situation. Caste systems, which we even experience in our country but choose not to put the same labels on it, anytime you have groups of people who don't interract freely you create the environment where the oppressed will be willing to act out. JMHO

While oppression undoubtedly can lead to rebellion, I don't believe that terrorists act the way they do because they have been oppressed.

As an earlier poster pointed out, Hitler and Stalin used terror tactics and their groups were the oppressors. In Afghanistan, the Taliban oppressed women as part of their interpretation of what their religion prescribed. I refuse to accept that terrorists are simply oppressed people pushed to do "whatever it takes". Ghandi was successful and he didn't use suicide bombers or kill innocent children. These people don't truly want freedom for anyone, they simply want to be the group in charge so they can oppress others. I think their disregard and disrespect for human life is abundantly clear from their actions.
 
Originally posted by mom2alix
While oppression undoubtedly can lead to rebellion, I don't believe that terrorists act the way they do because they have been oppressed.

As an earlier poster pointed out, Hitler and Stalin used terror tactics and their groups were the oppressors. In Afghanistan, the Taliban oppressed women as part of their interpretation of what their religion prescribed. I refuse to accept that terrorists are simply oppressed people pushed to do "whatever it takes". Ghandi was successful and he didn't use suicide bombers or kill innocent children. These people don't truly want freedom for anyone, they simply want to be the group in charge so they can oppress others. I think their disregard and disrespect for human life is abundantly clear from their actions.

Great and accurate post momtoalix!

It is easy to acknowledge our own faults and weaknesses, and many sadly do that to JUSTIFY the terrorists actions. There is simply no justification, and most of these 'brave' terrorist leaders either hide in their caves, or send their wives, children and millions of dollars to Paris (Arafat), while they send others to die for their cause!

And you really hit they nail on the head when you point out, that they are motivated by power, the power to oppress their own.

If only some of our own people could see that, could understand that it is not wrong to have and treasure freedom, equality and faith, and then stop their worried, constant apologizing (sp?) for their freedoms and accomplishments, and back our leaders and troops, we could not only make real progress in the war on terror, but truly help those in third-world countries to educate and elevate their lives, but no, its easier to vilify SUV owners, and US troops, and demonize our leaders.

Terror is like cancer, you don't plead with cancer, you don't bargin with cancer, you don't ignore cancer...


You cut it out (Surgery), you poison it (Chemo), and you burn it (Radiation), so that with cancer's destruction, you can survive.

Tony
 











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