Terrorism: The Antidote

Like Bush and his crazy neo-conservative idealogues, many people who cried for vengeance after 9/11 are now "living the dream"... Kids these days are soft. This is our generation's Cold War. The only way to defeat terrorists is to kill 'em. All of 'em. Are you with us or against us?

Sadly, as this so-called war's increasingly depraved images prove, that out-dated line of thinking is getting us nowhere in a hurry. Nor will it provide a long-term solution, unless (like the international arms lobby) you want endless war, endless fear and a global police state.

Terrorism is a tactic, a concept, not an "enemy" that can be targeted with guns and missiles. The only way to defeat it is to (a) discredit the concept, and (b) nullify the justifications that create public support for those who use it as a tactic.

The illegal, oil-grabbing invasion of Iraq, the illegal treatment of prisoners at Abu Ghraib, Guantanamo Bay, the blind support for Israeli hard-liners - crimes and foolish errors such as these, coupled with decades of misguided foreign policies, have only lessened our moral stature and made it that much harder to discredit the terrorists.

People who support Bush in Iraq need to get out of their Cold War mindset and begin to envision a better world, based on dignity, equality and truth, where all the citizens of this planet - not just the elite Westerners - can enjoy peace and hope for prosperity. This is the only way we will defeat terrorism.

Yes, I know that is idealistic, but what is the anti-thesis of terrorism, if not idealism?