Warp wrote:
> They demonstrate that the ultimate goal of the terrorists was achieved:
> To instigate fear.

I disagree that's the ultimate goal, but yes.

> The most basic goal of terrorism is to instigate fear,

The most basic goal of terrorism is to get the big guy (the USA in this 
case) to strike back indiscriminately, harming people near the terrorist who 
would otherwise not be fighting the USA.  I.e., a terrorist from Afganistan 
blows up a building in the USA, so the USA blows up a building full of 
innocent Afganis, so now huge numbers of Afganis who didn't care before are 
now allied with the terrorists.

I don't think folks in Iran or Iraq or whatever care if average Americans 
are afraid if that's all that happens. When it changes policy to put them in 
power locally, that's the benefit.

Rationally speaking, of course. Religious nutcases are something different.

>   Degrading your own citizen's privacy and enacting draconian "anti-terrorist"
> laws that bypass basic human and civil rights, is succumbing to the fear.
> This is a sad state of affairs.

Agreed.

I'm also trying to figure out where the War On Drugs fits in.  Maybe the US 
government tried that first, and found there weren't really all that many 
people who cared about it. :-)

-- 
Darren New, San Diego CA, USA (PST)
   Serving Suggestion:
     "Don't serve this any more. It's awful."

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