Violence... The story so far

Views of others

Abu Ghraib -- Phillip Carter correctly observes that Abu Ghraib followed in part from the decisions to under-man the attack on Iraq and do so in such a rush that training was neglected. Carter neglected the grossness that can be released when the nature / nurture equation in a culture goes awry.
Bush Discusses War on Terrorism -- Excerpts: "Defeating a militant network is difficult because it thrives like a parasite on the suffering and frustration of others." [Wherefrom the suffering and frustration?] "The radicals exploit local conflicts to build a culture of victimization in which someone else is always to blame and violence is always the solution." [Is not being booted off your homeland (Palestinians) victimization? And what about dictators supported by the West? Ed.] "They exploit resentful and disillusioned young men and women, recruiting them through radical mosques as the pawns of terror." [Wherefrom comes resentment and disillusionment?]
Educate Yourself -- Michael Rivero follows the history of "hoaxes from on high," from Rome to the present day.
Ethical Investing -- G. Jeffrey MacDonald illuminates connections of terrorism with and on equities and management of same.
Information on US policy -- Richard Boucher.
Lewis H. Lapham [Harpers] -- "We're good with slogans, but we don't have much talent for fostering the construction of exemplary democracies; we tend to betray our allies, dishonor our treaties, and avoid the waging of difficult or extensive wars."
Martha Brill Olcott -- reviews political progress or lack of it in Central Asia in these times of terror.
Rami G. Khouri --provides an European point of view. Excerpts: "The cause comprises a much more complex series of forces that include defensive resistance to foreign troops in Islamic lands, rebellion against indigenous autocrats in the Arab-Asian region, fighting back against cultural and social alienation, resisting predatory foreign policies by Israel and Western powers, yearning to create an 'authentic' Islamic society, and a few others. All these issues are certainly debatable - but they are very, very far from wanting to destroy the Western way of life."
School Terrorism -- Kari and Associates provide links to school terrorism.
Terrorist Training Ground -- Paul Craig Roberts comments: "Condi obviously doesn't want Bush to put her in the 'against us' camp. She told Princeton that she agreed with Bush 'that the root cause of September 11 was the violent expression of a global extremist ideology, an ideology rooted in the oppression and despair of the modern Middle East.' Every American should be scared to death that a secretary of state can make such an ignorant and propagandistic statement."
The Ornery American -- Orson Scott Card [Card may have it right when he says we do not have to understand the other side, but his reasoning is wrong. He uses the subjugation of Blacks and their stoic defiance during and after slavery as his basis. He contrasts their behavior with that of the Palestinians--the latter are fighting back, having had their homes bulldozed and been evicted from their homeland. The Blacks came as slaves, rarely permitted to own a home, never to have a homeland. The situations could not be more different. Where Card is right, is that we Americans do not understand ourselves. If we did, we would find empathy for those humiliated and oppressed. We might even understand the correlation between monotheism and terror. Ed.]