h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

Many people remember certain events to do with the war on terror. Namely September 11 and seeing that statue of Saddam Hussein being torn down in Baghdad. The are many other other events that may spring to mind for certain people. But now, where is this war going to lead us? Is WWIII going to start up, many grandparents still remember the horror they were subjected to in that awful time, is it worth pursuing the freedom of of the Iraqi peoples if so? Will countries we thought to be allies declare themselves to be axis of evil countries, will a fourth reich start up?
The only news I ever seem to hear about the war on terrorism nowadays is that of suicide bombers, will it stop? I think that, no matter what you do, there will always be evil, which can only be suppressed with greater evil.

You can't fight against nonspecific, conceptual enemies. All you do is cause escalation and make the problems worse. The "wars" on drugs and poverty have already taught us that.

however religious extremism is something that can be fought.

suicide bombers can only be recruited when there is a situation with little hope. when the situation is mostly hopefull, people don't recruit very well.

you cannot ignore the aims of al quieda to get a single islamic state covering the whole world, working on sharia law.

the only thing to do is resist, and if they are extreme enough, that means that some people will die because of it.

however the alternative is not an option. it was tried in the late 30's, and it didn't work then.

similarly, the typical american preference for a limited war forcing a political solution won't work either. they don't want to negotiate, and if they do it will only be for time to restructure and rebuild their capacity.

If you have a friend who is jewish you have no choice but to resist, and if you are a modern western woman your choice is largely non-existant as well.

have no doubt about it, the stated aims of al quieda are for a world wide islamic state like the taliban had. no negotiation, no flexibility, and no jews (or at least none that are alive).

give the people hope and a future, and their ability to recruit people with nothing worth living for disappears.

I think there are two ways to fight terrorism, including religious terrorism.

First you have to be willing to strike back. Terrorists tend to be encouraged by a state's refusal to fight fire with fire and this gives the impression that their enemy is weak and therefore that their cause can win. This creates further terrorism.

Second (and most importantly) you have to dry up the terrorist recruiting pool by taking away the reasons for people to become terrorists. There are always minorities of extremists willing to use terrorism - you can't get rid of Osama bin Ladens. What you have to do is deal with the reason terrorists get supporters. The Irish Republican Army has numerous members, the Scottish National Liberation Army has very very few. The current thinking is that Islamist terrorism is fed by political oppression in the arab world and the continuing Israel-Palestine situation. These have to be addressed (without simply giving into terrorist demands) otherwise you're wasting your time.