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Terrorism and Terrorists: Why?

In the glib quick sound-bite world of George Bush and others like him, the latest incident of attempted terrorism of planes is simple. They are out to destroy liberty and freedom! If only it were so straight-forward!

As thinking people ponder what has, yet again, caused young people to want to engage in wholesale destruction of human lives and general devastation, John Tirman, Executive Director of MIT's Centre for International Studies, in this piece from AlterNet puts forward 10 pointers about the true nature of terrorism and its causes.

"What we now know about the London-based plot to destroy ten civilian airplanes points to six conclusions.

First, what stopped this plot was law enforcement. Law enforcement. Not a military invasion of Pakistan, Iran, Lebanon, Egypt, or Iraq. Old-fashioned surveillance, development of human sources, putting pieces together, and cooperation with foreign police and intelligence services."

Tirman then lists his other 9 points. Read them here.

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