One thing I’ve thought about over the years, is how could someone do/plan any act of violence or death? I can’t even imagine it…I couldn’t imagine being BTK, Dahmer, Polpot, Hitler, Stalin (I know this is a broad list…), etc. Then I read about the conditions that many Palestinians have endured post-WW2. That’s when I realized that conditions are possible to create such people. It’s not so much that I excused them of their actions, but that I understood their situation. The actions of Israel, which Chengora pointed out (btw, I took it to mean Israel and not Palestinians when you said Israel), have been far from honorable. Lately, Israel has given me hope that violence won’t always be the means, and therefore, the ends, to any racial/cultural/religious dispute.
Here’s something else - if killing your countrymen is wrong, then why haven’t some of you questioned Bush, in the light of an unwarranted Iraq “war?” Needless deaths have accumulated on both sides. He went over the opinion of the global community, ended up being wrong (or knew he was wrong all along and didn’t care), and now looks like more of an ass than he was. Anyone can pull a trigger and kill one or more people (which is awful), but someone who can set the conditions for a massive conflict and does so irresponsibly is deplorable. I still believe the best way to support our troops is through restraint and never having to use them. That would be the mark of a true great politican.
Now we are setting an anti-Muslim tone in the United States, which is a lovely addition to our resume of intolerance to other groups, such as native Spanish-speakers (defined by some in the all-inclusive term Mexicans) and humans of darker hues. We create conflict in the Middle East - I guess we assumed there wasn’t enough already - and, in return, they resort to bombings and guerrilla tactics to drive us from “their” land, which seems fair as we went in with bombs and guns ablazing. Honestly, I think the US acts like an attention-whore.