Gentle Reminder: There is NO Terrorist Threat

[Taverner]

Honestly - there is none. At least, no more than the ravings of a madman in the hills of Pakistan and some like minded idiots scattered all over. Most Muslims in the world don't really give a rats ass about America, Bush or Bin Laden. Unless they live in Iraq, where we've given them lots of reasons to hate us. Most Muslims are concerned with feeding their family, farming their fields, running their businesses, etc. Most Muslims don't even give a rats ass about Israel. Outside of the West Bank and the Gaza Strip, the rallying cry put forth by the madmen never took off. "Wiping Israel off the Map" is still the parlor talk of madmen who face their own constituencies, and are using it to distract the people from issues such as food and work. And so far, it isn't working.

Your chances of dying in a terrorist attack in the US are less than that of getting struck by lightning. While playing golf. In the rain. Your chances of dying in a terrorist attack in Israel are still lower than getting in a fatal car crash. Your chances are still higher of getting mugged in Jerusalem. Or Tel Aviv. Or Ramallah.

The reason we are all a flutter with fear is because going by a terrorist attack seems so senseless, and such a horrible way to go. On 9/11, nothing changed except our own minds. And that which changed was a shift into delusion.

[ProfessorGAC]

1. There's Always A Threat

But, not enough of one to really change our way of life, our government or principles.

It's risk management. I'll accept the miniscule risk of terrorist attack to preserve our current way of life. The benefit of doing nothing outweighs the risks.
The Professor

[aquart]

9. Agreed.

My sister summed it up beautifully: "Where are the car bombs?" If there are terrorist cells everywhere in this country, why aren't cars exploding? It's cheap, it's easy. How come it ain't happening? Except on TV.

[Taverner]

15. Exactly. And even where they do have car bombs...

Like Israel for example - you're still safer walking on the streets of Tel Aviv than the roads, while driving. Not because of car bombs, but because of car accidents. Did I mention they don't believe in lanes in the mideast?

[Deja Q]

10. What is our current way of life?

[coalition_unwilling]

28. Of course, we could change our policies, if we really wanted to

reduce the "threat." As Abraham Lincoln once said, "The best way to get rid of an enemy is to make him a friend." Repukes have been a long, slow state of decline since those glorious words were uttered.

[Donnachaidh]

2. The Shepherds of Terror are in The White House

They learned well from herr Goebbles, et al. What better way to control the populace than to play on their fears?

[DinahMoeHum]

3. Hell, I've got a better chance at winning a goddamn lottery. . .

than being a victim of a terrorist attack.

:evilgrin:

[cali]

4. Partially agree.

One's chances of getting mugged are certainly greater than of being caught up in a terrorist attack. But if you don't think there's a terrorist threat, albeit a greatly exaggerated one, you have to ignore Bali, London, Madrid, Istanbul, and others. And we are certainly generating anger and hate by occupying Iraq and supporting the Israeli occupation.

[Taverner]

7. That's my REAL worry

It has been established that Bush, Cheney, Rummy and Rove have all worked VERY hard to make sure we do have a terrorist threat. They want one - they relish in the deaths of Americans. At night, when they go to sleep, they jolly themselves to sleep with visions of death and destruction.

If there is a threat anywhere, it lies in the White House.

[Deja Q]

13. Bingo. There IS a real terrorist threat.

Maybe it is being hyped, but terrorist acts are definitely still being committed.

The truth is in the middle.

I just hope there is a future for our children to have.

[Taverner]

17. OK - if there is a threat, you should be facing it on a regular basis

When's the last time you faced danger from a terrorist attack?

And now, when's the last time you faced danger from another car swerving into your lane?

[jdlh8894]

21. You have the option to swerve out of it's way. JAT

[aquart]

18. Boston? Chicago? Kansas City?

Let me know what's blown up lately.

Oh, and thanks for the gratuitous anti-semitism. Israeli occupation of what? Israel?

[cali]

23. Anti-semitism? That's offensive as hell.

There's NO anti-semitism in my post, and sorry, Israel IS occupying the West Bank, and it is a very real issue. That hardly makes me anti-semitic. Really, this place is fucking nutty; I get accused of being an apologist for Israel and AIPAC and accused of anti-semitism at DU.
Just fucking offensive and ridiculous.

[aquart]

26. Uh huh.

Color me impressed. Twelve million horrors being committed all over the world and the only one you can mention is Israel's attempt at controlling a situation in which a population has vowed to kill them.

Whatever.

[Nederland]

5. Misleading title

I think what you are actually trying to say is that the terrorist threat is smaller than we act like it is, not that there is no threat whatsoever. I think the fact that nearly 3000 people died on 9/11 is proof positive that the threat does actually exist, even if it is way, way smaller than the administration is making us believe.

[Taverner]

8. Two buildings vs loss of an American City (NOLA)

where's the real threat?

And if we're going to accept that there is a terrorist threat, we need to also accept the asteroid threat, the lightning threat, the alien invasion threat and the threat of robot overlords. All are equally possible in terms of bringing us harm.

[Nederland]

11. They are both real

It's just one is much bigger than the other.

What is so difficult to grasp here?

[aquart]

16. Not really.

Well, yeah, people make threats. Not one believable conspiracy has been exposed since 9/11. Not one.

So diverting a national budget to empty threats?

Terrorism is Republican PR.

[Nederland]

19. What are you talking about?

There have been several terrorist actions since 9/11. The attacks in Spain and England jump to mind--or do only Americans count in your worldview?

[spoony]

24. I think the line of argument

is a lot like the Ahmadinejad threads here. We can't acknowledge something bad because Republicans exploit the fear of that thing. It's a very weak notion to those of us who can walk and chew gum at the same time, and can recognise that both terrorists and our own corrupt leaders are problems.

[aquart]

12. And that's only the first city.

Not to mention the towns. Lotta towns gone, too.

[aquart]

6. I know.

It's a complete misdirection. Basically, another gay marriage amendment...except they get to divert funds to their buddies with it, so it's MUCH more fun for them.

No terrorist ever destroyed a city. Yet terrorism gets the money and protection from the ravages of climate change gets NADA. We are going to be unbelievably sorry.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

14. we like to believe there is a threat because it makes us feel like tough heroes

as opposed to mundane people.

[aquart]

25. Not a New Yorker?

I'm just guessing you never stopped dead in your tracks until a plane passed overhead.

Being traumatized and frightened is not macho. And don't think any of us are over it, we ain't.

Nobody in this country has as much reason to buy the terra! terra! terra! spew as we do, but we never once voted for a Bush, and we put Democrats in the Senate. My congressman is a Democrat, too.

Why? Because we know what happens AFTER a terror attack. Life happens. If you're still alive, you keep living. The rest of the country doesn't seem to have a clue about that.

We have muggers in New York. And we occasionally have terrorists (although the last ones only touched the pavement in pieces). So bloody what?

Like Chicago after the fire and San Francisco after the earthquake we know who we are better than we ever did before.

[jdlh8894]

29. Your courage and resolve is commendable

For some reason, some people don't realise what you,your family and your neighbors have to expect (hopefully never again) ever day.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

30. i am a new yorker. i think this whole concept that we are 'battling" somewhat

does feed into our feelings of being tough.

[hunter]

27. Yep. We mindlessly follow the people who claim we are heros.

We pay great attention to the terrorist bombing, but not to the ordinary car accident.

Cars kill more people than terrorists, but we're not bombing places where they make cars.

[La Lioness Priyanka]

31. exactly. we buy into the idea that somehow we are all now in some constant battle.

[jdlh8894]

32. " but we're not bombing places where they make cars."

Keep my mouth shut, I'll live longer.

[sentelle]

20. There is a terrorist threat.

We are simply looking at a small portion of it.

Timothy McVeigh Bombed the Murrah Federal building. he was not an Islamo-fascist (or whatever is the current phrase du-jour). He was ex-military.
Eric Rudolph (the Atlanta games bomber and abortion clinic bomber) was also not from the middle-east.

John Lee Muhammad was Muslim, but not arab. So far, all three were American.

At least two of the following were conservative whack-jobs, (or in other words, Bush's base).

The government ignores them because they vote his way.

[dkofos]

22. Unless you take in to consideration the BFEE. They are the terrorists!!

[Poiuyt]

33. The problem with terrorism is that people don't keep the threat of it in perspective

As you pointed out, the chance of being killed in a terrorist attack is very small. But Bush and Rove have successfully used the threat to gain political power.

The goal of terrorism isn't to kill people, it's to create fear. So I guess you could say that the terrorists, with help from Bush, have won.