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Politics : Foreign Affairs Discussion Group -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: one_less who wrote (216920)	2/8/2007 11:11:04 AM
From: SARMAN	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

Agreed, however, martyrdom applies for Palestinians because they are fighting for a cause. Think of it that way, if the Palestinian have warplanes and smart bombs, they would not be strapping the TNT on. Suicide bombing started or got famous in Lebanon to be specific when it was use by Hizbo against the marines than during the Israeli occupation of Lebanon, which proved an effective tool to drive the Israelis out. I agree with you it is a horrible way to fight but when some one has nothing to lose and they believe strongly in their cause, that is the ultimate sacrifices. Also, look at from an American prospective, if you did not serve in Vietnam and were able to, you are called a traitor and a coward. And it is called serving you country in Vietnam and Iraq, Afghanistan and so on. Reverse that the statement above to apply to the Palestinians which they are actually fighting to gain their country and their land back.

To: one_less who wrote (216920)	2/8/2007 1:25:08 PM
From: Katelew	Read Replies (3) \| Respond to of 281500

At the start of this war, our soldiers dropped thousands of bombs that killed tens of thousands of civilian men, women, and children. Our soldiers were fighting for God and Country. One of their goals was to spread freedom and democracy. Just like the Palestinian, an individual opened those bomb doors. He/she may even have prayed beforehand for success and safety. If he's from the south, he most likely has friends and family that assure him he is doing 'God's work'. If he's from a southern Evangelical church, he may even have been told he's a 'warrior in the battle of Armeggedon, and he's helping usher in the 'Second Coming'. So if we define terrorism as the targeting of innocent civilians, then our soldier's actions must be defined as those of a 'terrorist'. To think otherwise, is to not be logically consistent. This is why the mideast views us and and calls us a 'terrorist nation'. There are, however, important differences between a U.S. soldier and a Palestinian suicide bomber. First is that the Palestinian drops his bomb from his own body, his own body is the plane, so to speak. He knows up front he will definitely not return from his mission. The second difference is that the Palestinian is fighting against a country that has invaded his land, killed his people, etc. In other words, he is retaliating. The people he is targeting (other than children) are not total innocents. He may even have targeted a family that is living on land that was once HIS family's farm. The U. S. soldier, otoh, IS the invader. His bombs targeted people who did absolutely nothing to us. So, one logically must ask who is the real terrorist here? At the very least, shouldn't they both be defined as terrorists? The press shapes the debate on the subject of just who should be considered a terrorist. When an Israeli is targeted, the news gives us lots of pictures, names, background. The event is personalized and we feel great sympathy. OTOH, the Iraqi and Palestinian deaths are depersonalized. Until recently, the press wasn't even giving estimates of the Iraqi death toll from the initial invasion. Now, before you attack me personally and/or make assumptions about, please read thoroughly and at least first answer the two questions I posed.