NEWS: A New Terrorist Blue Print

this is the most accurate and perspicacious statement i've seen in this thread.

One does not have to dehumanize bad people performing bad actions in order to recognise them as such. It is entirely possible to understand motivations and nuance while recognizing that the intentional targeting of innocent civilians in terrorist attacks is evil.

Agreed.
Completely.

Also, I'm tired of the lack of references to research or studies that are relevant to the discussion. It is as if finding the information is difficult or something.

http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/terrorism.html
http://www.academicinfo.net/terrorism.html
http://www.terrorism-research.com/
http://www.rand.org/research_areas/terrorism/
http://www.societyforterrorismresearch.org/
http://library.csun.edu/llampert/terrorism/
http://www.terrorresponse.org/

Well, if it's not worth your time to learn something, then it's certainly not worth my time to bother with you further.

I dislike using terms like evil and bad when looking at something from an anthropological or psychological perspective. In the minds of many terrorists, they are fighting evil. Even though they are using deplorable means to "fight evil". I just think this whole, us vs. them, good guys and bad guys mindset isn't fruitful, as it leads to a reactionary view that focuses too much on the direct affects of terrorism and not on the causes. I think we need a greater focus on the social issues that lead to growth and spread of terrorism rather than on our current "fight those evil terrorists" outlook.

Granted I don't think that what they're doing is right and they're causing a lot of suffering. Also, I'm not suggesting you think the aforementioned manner, just elaborating on my previous point.

Edit:

I would like to add a quote I found on the site that motorfirebox posted earlier:

I think we're focusing too much on the methodology and not enough on the people committing the acts.

I don't want to learn it hurts my brain.lol.If I learn this new stuff who knows what I'll forget from what I already know.

it's possible, yes, but that sort of thinking is rare at best. for instance, i've seen very little of it in this thread.

No shit.

I'd sure hope that professional foreign policy discussions were taken more seriously than a thread on a porn site. Like any other online community, this place in general and this thread in particular is a poor gauge of greater America.

What he said.

well, as far as greater america and foreign policy go, i haven't seen much of the aforementioned sort of thinking there, either. or do you have knowledge of initiatives i'm unware of to undermine support for Hamas, Hezbollah, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and the like through providing aid to the populations who survive due to those organizations' support? or which take into account their existence at all?

Not in the last 8 years. Hopefully that will change.

i think we've got the right guy on his way into office for it.

Agreed.

Is this just Hindu self inflicted blowback, The Indian government seems to be rattling swords just like we did. I suspect, by listening to their rhetoric so far, they'll make all of the same knee jerk mistakes we did as well. Could also be just more amo for the West to help others light-up Pakistan 'cause we don't have the nerve to do it ourselves.

okay, thank god, i'm not the only one that thinks 10 is lowballing. i mean, these guys had a really good plan for infiltration, a really good plan for execution, and a really good plan for exfiltration. i don't buy that somehow the Indian response force, after running around like a headless chicken for three days, managed to track down and kill/capture every single one of the bad guys. maybe that's what happened... but i really doubt it.

i was reminded of this thread while i was reading the following article on cnn.com:

Australia: Alleged terrorist plot foiled

the most interesting thing, looking back on this thread, is that we have begun to adopt a military strategy geared towards protecting the civilian population rather than towards ferreting out the enemy. despite the possible conflict brewing between the military and the diplomatic corps, it really is a step towards defeating decentralized enemies by cutting away at their base of support instead of just hammering away.

also, yeah.

Good point. "Ferreting" as you put it, only serves to hurt innocents (either through casualties or through mistaken identities) thus strengthening their base of support.

And referring to them having managed to catch all 10 of the terrorists. India is all about political posturing. I wouldn't be surprised if some of the men they captured had nothing to do with the attack.

Um, dude ... they only caught one guy, who a) was captured on camera shooting up the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, and b) has confessed and pled guilty.

The other nine were shot dead in the act by Indian security forces, so it's also pretty damned unlikely that they "had nothing to do with the attack".

i was talking more about the probability that there were more than ten shooters.

US citizen charged in relation to Mumbai.

Interesting. I wonder how this will unfold - thanks for the update.

Bump. Mohammed Kasab, the last surviving Mumbai gunman, was hanged this morning.