Placing a security guard on every bus, train and plane is ultimately self defeating. A terrorist will always have the benefit of being able to choose his target. Why would they choose a target that is well defended when an infinite number of undefended soft targets exist? For a terrorist operation to be successful they only need overwhelming force in a small area for a micro second. This could be a timer detonated backpack bomb or six terrorists with MAC-10's at your local movie house shooting 180 rounds in 10 seconds before fleeing. The only way to stop terrorist acts is to kill those people who recruit, train, supply, lead or provide financial assistance to the terrorists. This is better done with a K-Bar or a "hush puppy" than a B-52 filled with dumb bombs. We need to start by helping the money men meet Allah. These money men are all over Saudi Arabia. Delta Force should make their next trip to the West for non-Islamic activities their last.

I agree.  There is no way to protect against every attack, only to lessen the severity.  One could even compare terrorism to the resistance movements in Nazi-occupied Europe in WWII.  The resistance fighters still found ways to carry out attacks, even through the tight security of the enemy.  The money men are definitely a problem.  Take Osama bin Laden.  He came from a wealthy family, and got his start not by openly participating in terrorism, but rather by supplying and funding terrorist groups. 

"Stay Alert, Stay Alive"

The will to fight even among religious zealots has a limit.If the people they love and fight
for and hope to improve their lives, by their actions, die in large numbers in nasty ways,every time they attack our people, their motives and incentives disappear.Plagues,famines,locusts, and frogs from hell can all be made in the lab.We can do it allot better then they can,allways will be able to.Just do it...say nothing, admit nothing...The horror of war is it's core truth,the reason to end it.Making it clean and moral only extends the thing,more people end up suffering by being "civilized" about it.Right and wrong are topics of discourse in very safer place then we now live....let it be said,"are we better people? who knows....history will decide...but we won"


Yojimbo
Private Sector Security Ops

As far as terrorist weapons go they're relatively cheap low budget weapons. Even training of terrorists comes cheap as there are no wages to pay, or expensive equipment like aircraft to maintain.

Trying to stamp out funding to the terrorists may seem like a good idea, but since it takes so little (even hundreds of dollars can make a bomb) it would take a massive effort for very little gain.

It’s not likely that terrorists receive funding from just a few dozen supporters, its a network that’s spread world wide. It’s even possible you could find all of the supporters and stop the funding... but not all at once, or even stopping support for long.

There are reasons why these people are angered to the point using or supporting terrorism. Is it: Repressive governments, lack of freedoms rights & democracy, or the incredible discrepancy between the oil-rich and the dirt-poor?

Even if all of the terrorists were killed today, even more would appear tomorrow. We know this to be true as we’ve seen it in history before and like the saying goes: “Every time history repeats itself the price goes up.” The terrorists’ motives can’t be shot or blown up; they must be dismantled by sound minds and reason.

Treating the symptoms won’t cure the disease.  

Hatter, you are absolutely correct.  However, the reasons you mention behind why the terrorist do what they doesn't really apply to the majority of the Islamic terrorists groups.  These reasons are used as justifications for groups actions and are reasons why individuals join groups.  The real goal of the groups is obtaining the power.  Bottom-line, that's it.  While groups are made up of individuals, the group goals may not necessarily be the exact same as the individual goals.

Bin Laden for example.  He has listed these same type of grievances you mentioned in his many statements against the West and the U.S. in particular.  However, his motivations are religious based to achieve his goals.  The sad thing is this for the people: They follow the message of guys like Bin Laden who are playing upon the economic disparities in their countries,,,but he was (and in all actuality still is) a member of that upper crust circle of the "oil rich" group.  I know he got his fortune from the family business that was involved in the construction industry, but they fall into the same category,,,rich vs. poor.  One would think that his efforts and finances would have been better used to alleviate the misery of the poor and to work politically towards changing social injustices.  But that wasn't his goal.

Another interesting thing to note.  During my time in Saudi Arabia, I never noticed a single Saudi who would be considered "poor".  They were all working no lower than the merchant class level.  Most of the common laborers and poor people I did see on the streets begging were from other countries such as Pakistan and other African countries.  Just my observations, not based on any valid statistics.  But it does make me wonder as to the validity of the Saudi "oil rich" vs. Saudi "dirt poor" arguments.

Force 1

"Freedom is the sure possession only for those with the courage to defend it."

Thank you sir,

One part I wanted to clarify though. When speaking of the discrepancy between oil-rich and dirt-poor, I didn't say (or mean) this to be Saudi specific, just meant the Arab/Islamic world. I don’t know if they are fighting for their version of freedom (freedom, maybe from western influences and culture and for self determination), but I do know many believe fighting for freedom to be a worthy cause, regardless of interpretation of what that may be.

Just as your preferred flavour of freedom may differ from mine (American? & Canadian), they’re close enough we can get along peacefully. The problem seems to be religious fundamentalist societies (Islamic extremists especially) in modernizing and merging with developed societies.

We may not agree on all points or methods, but we're both interested in the same solution. End of terrorism. In fact having multiple angles of thought & attack on this problem can only be a good thing. 

We must remember that in stamping out terror, we don't stamp out our own personal freedoms as well.

When he gets to heaven, to St Peter he will tell, Just one more soldier reporting sir, I've served my time in Hell

Group,

    Terrorist don't even need to use explosives or guns to carry out an attack. Take what happened in Iraq about six months ago.  There was a procession crossing a bridge of over a thousand people. One hushed whisper to one person " there is a suicide bomber on the bridge" traveled like wild fire throughout the procession. Soon the whole procession was a mass of bodies trying to get as fast and far away from the bridge as possible...on that fateful day in Iraq over one thousand men, women and children were killed...and the weapon of choice...WORDS !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!