01-12-2015, 10:00 PM
I do believe that moving forward France will invoke harsher penalties for terrorist-related activity of any kind. They'd be foolish not to do so.
9⁄11 woke up the American population; we were, in general, ignorant and complacent in regards to Islamic extremism and terrorist activities before those concepts literally came crashing in on us, right before our eyes. So, there's more screening at the airports now, as there probably should have been before the attack on the Twin Towers. But, extra minutes at airport security does not equate to a "significant change in lifestyle", it's an occasional minor inconvenience.
I don't know if I'm representative of the American population on the whole, but 9⁄11 didn't instill fear in me and hasn't affected the way I live my life. I don't personally know anyone who has restricted his/her personal freedoms because of that event. However, it did increase my interest and awareness of extremism outside American borders and how it affects the lives of those in other countries (and how it affects global politics as well).
You, on the other hand, are busy trying to avoid becoming a victim by remaining a moving target. I see that as a major change in lifestyle caused by fear (wisely so) of extremists.
I completely agree with your contention that extremists/terrorists have learned from experience and have benefited from exploiting technologies (internet, social media); technologies which actually symbolize some of what they claim to abhor in western society. They are more effective at global recruiting and gaining wide scale exposure than they were 15 years ago; no doubt about it. And, yep, Mr. Baghdadi and some of his rival contemporaries are making big bucks off the ignorant loyalty, desperation and murderous acts of their followers.
At the same time, I think the rest of the world has learned more about them and how to deal with them too. We can have this type of exchange on an internet forum and, presumably, people reading along generally know about terrorist hotbeds; are familiar with terrorist groups like IS, Qaeda, Boko Haram; have a basic awareness of Muslim doctrine, etc... And, governments and national security forces know more about how terrorist organizations and cells operate and how to guard against them too. We don't understand everything about the extremists, nor they about us. We are not immune to attack from them; nor they from us. But, we sure do know a hell of a lot more about each other than we did just a couple of decades ago, on both a micro and macro level.
You're high when you claim that America is so violent in day to day life that an attack by Islamic extremists would virtually go unnoticed in the United States, Mo. The bombing (in the name of Islam) of the Boston Marathon by an American citizen and his older brother was quite terribly "awesome". So too was the mass shooting/murders of American soldiers by a radicalized American Army Major and psychiatrist. Surely you heard about those attacks, no?
In regards to your claim that if America had a Charlie Hebdo type publication it would give Islamic terrorists a note-worthy target that is currently non-existent, that's some major bullshit you're spewing, mi amor. As I said upthread, America as a country and Americans as a people are already glaring targets for Islamic extremists/avengers -- the terrorists haven't exactly kept that secret. While old-school satirical print publications like Charlie Hebdo aren't part of American culture today, a terrorist looking for the kind of honour and glory that you describe has plenty of high profile potential targets on US soil -- for example, Fox news stations around the country, Anti-Muslim politicians in different states, major geographical landmarks in key U.S. cities, etc...
Anyway, I believe that terrorism is here to stay, at least for the forseeable future. Terrorists are becoming more sophisticated, and their designated foes are becoming more aggressive in defending against terrorist acts. And so it goes and goes. Sometimes terrorist organizations, cells, and lone wolves succeed in racking up a high body count with surprise attacks. Even with the best security and most vigilant intel, the element of surprise can't be avoided altogether.
The fact that the major terrorist groups and Islamic sectors in the Middle East are fighting against each other for power and wealth is an advantage to the West, for sure. I don't think the Shiite and Sunni Muslims will be motivated to put aside their fights with each other to join forces against non-Muslims in the near future, if ever. They've been going at if for ages. But, yeah, western societies do need to remain aware of possible repercussions for engaging in wars and conflicts in Islamic countries, poking fun at Muhammad, and continuing to speak freely against terrorism at the hands of Islamic extremists. That doesn't mean significantly changing our lifestyles or negotiating our freedoms, as you continue to insist -- that's just not happening from my perspective, Mo. I instead see people uniting in protest against extremist/terrorist strikes and more committed than ever to protecting our freedoms and lifestyles, even though that sometimes means loss of innocent lives.
9⁄11 woke up the American population; we were, in general, ignorant and complacent in regards to Islamic extremism and terrorist activities before those concepts literally came crashing in on us, right before our eyes. So, there's more screening at the airports now, as there probably should have been before the attack on the Twin Towers. But, extra minutes at airport security does not equate to a "significant change in lifestyle", it's an occasional minor inconvenience.
I don't know if I'm representative of the American population on the whole, but 9⁄11 didn't instill fear in me and hasn't affected the way I live my life. I don't personally know anyone who has restricted his/her personal freedoms because of that event. However, it did increase my interest and awareness of extremism outside American borders and how it affects the lives of those in other countries (and how it affects global politics as well).
You, on the other hand, are busy trying to avoid becoming a victim by remaining a moving target. I see that as a major change in lifestyle caused by fear (wisely so) of extremists.
I completely agree with your contention that extremists/terrorists have learned from experience and have benefited from exploiting technologies (internet, social media); technologies which actually symbolize some of what they claim to abhor in western society. They are more effective at global recruiting and gaining wide scale exposure than they were 15 years ago; no doubt about it. And, yep, Mr. Baghdadi and some of his rival contemporaries are making big bucks off the ignorant loyalty, desperation and murderous acts of their followers.
At the same time, I think the rest of the world has learned more about them and how to deal with them too. We can have this type of exchange on an internet forum and, presumably, people reading along generally know about terrorist hotbeds; are familiar with terrorist groups like IS, Qaeda, Boko Haram; have a basic awareness of Muslim doctrine, etc... And, governments and national security forces know more about how terrorist organizations and cells operate and how to guard against them too. We don't understand everything about the extremists, nor they about us. We are not immune to attack from them; nor they from us. But, we sure do know a hell of a lot more about each other than we did just a couple of decades ago, on both a micro and macro level.
You're high when you claim that America is so violent in day to day life that an attack by Islamic extremists would virtually go unnoticed in the United States, Mo. The bombing (in the name of Islam) of the Boston Marathon by an American citizen and his older brother was quite terribly "awesome". So too was the mass shooting/murders of American soldiers by a radicalized American Army Major and psychiatrist. Surely you heard about those attacks, no?
In regards to your claim that if America had a Charlie Hebdo type publication it would give Islamic terrorists a note-worthy target that is currently non-existent, that's some major bullshit you're spewing, mi amor. As I said upthread, America as a country and Americans as a people are already glaring targets for Islamic extremists/avengers -- the terrorists haven't exactly kept that secret. While old-school satirical print publications like Charlie Hebdo aren't part of American culture today, a terrorist looking for the kind of honour and glory that you describe has plenty of high profile potential targets on US soil -- for example, Fox news stations around the country, Anti-Muslim politicians in different states, major geographical landmarks in key U.S. cities, etc...
Anyway, I believe that terrorism is here to stay, at least for the forseeable future. Terrorists are becoming more sophisticated, and their designated foes are becoming more aggressive in defending against terrorist acts. And so it goes and goes. Sometimes terrorist organizations, cells, and lone wolves succeed in racking up a high body count with surprise attacks. Even with the best security and most vigilant intel, the element of surprise can't be avoided altogether.
The fact that the major terrorist groups and Islamic sectors in the Middle East are fighting against each other for power and wealth is an advantage to the West, for sure. I don't think the Shiite and Sunni Muslims will be motivated to put aside their fights with each other to join forces against non-Muslims in the near future, if ever. They've been going at if for ages. But, yeah, western societies do need to remain aware of possible repercussions for engaging in wars and conflicts in Islamic countries, poking fun at Muhammad, and continuing to speak freely against terrorism at the hands of Islamic extremists. That doesn't mean significantly changing our lifestyles or negotiating our freedoms, as you continue to insist -- that's just not happening from my perspective, Mo. I instead see people uniting in protest against extremist/terrorist strikes and more committed than ever to protecting our freedoms and lifestyles, even though that sometimes means loss of innocent lives.