On 12/04/2006, at 7:45 AM, Dan Minette wrote:
I was saying that social, political and economic conditions in the
Middle
East have created an environment favorable to recruiting
terrorists by
demagogues. My point was to argue against focusing on religion as
the
reason there are terrorists arising in Islamic countries, as Harris
chooses
to do.
I certainly agree with that basic point, and differ with the Fool.
Socioeconomics or straight politics create the conditions in which
extremism can flourish, but the tools of that extremism, the suicide
bombers themselves, *are* religiously motivated. They are convinced
that they are doing god's work, and they are told by those who have
another agenda that killing Israelis or Americans or Brits or Sunnis
or each other is doing god's work.
I think the unique mix of a region that both brings cash in hand
over fist
and is ruled by a small group of people who control that cash
fosters a lot
of the danger of terrorism in the Middle East. The leader of
Zimbabwe does
not have the resources to build atomic weapons that can set of a
massive
nuclear war. The leader of Iran does...and the West is sending him
>$50
billion/year to spend as he sees fit. Bin Laden came from a
multi-billionaire family, and had access to millions. That helped
fund
their operations.
There is plenty of terrorism in Zimbabwe, and for much the same
reasons. It's just that it's all internal (as it mostly is in the
Basque region or was in Britain and Ireland).
Charlie
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