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Here are some ideas
From Average Joe to Jihadist
By Eugene Robinson
Friday, July 15, 2005; Page A23
Washington Post
eugenerobinson@washpost.com

"The likelihood, though, is that only luck was going to uncover this plot, and luck isn't a plan."

Luck is always a factor or is it God's will or fate?

"Michael Chertoff, the secretary of homeland security, told Post reporters and editors Wednesday that his department could never lose its focus on the fact that a nuclear or biological attack would be "an order of magnitude" worse than any subway bombing. Americans need to build a "resiliency factor" into their concept of dealing with terrorism, he said."

We needed a "resiliency factor" during the American Revolution and again from 1861 to 1865.

"They (the London bombers) were home-grown: the maniacs next door."

Are they really maniacs or like Pogo are we the enemey ourselves? What keeps most of us from acting like maniacs?

"In a courtroom in Alexandria on Wednesday, a federal judge sentenced Islamic scholar Ali Al-Timimi to life in prison for inciting young Muslims to join the Taliban and fight against U.S. forces in Afghanistan. It's always difficult in a free society to criminalize speech. Let's assume that in this instance the punishment is justified. Will putting Timimi in prison do any good? Or does hateful jihadist exhortation simply give oxygen to a fire that is already smoldering?"

What is the line we have to draw? What about the Houston rappper who lost his job for his website lyrics(http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/3267228)?

"A couple of days after the bombings, Londoners went right back to riding the subways and buses. I stand to applaud them. That was a stirring act of defiance, a message to terrorists that We Are Not Afraid. But defiance isn't quite the same thing as victory."

What is victory? How can we define it so we can go about our business? Are 1984's War is peace, freedom is slavery, and ignorance is strength slogans valid? I like Ring Lardner's "Three out of three people die, so shut up and deal."

"Since the bombings, there have been more than 100 reported attacks against Pakistanis in Britain, including one killing. The hard-right, anti-immigrant British National Party has already used images of the bombed-out London bus in its campaign advertising. But revenge surely isn't the same thing as victory."

William Blake in Proverbs of Hell says "Damn braces. Bless relaxes." People are not ready to relax.

"To win this war we need to understand the enemy. Ignorance isn't the same thing as victory, either."

Did we come to understand the Nazis or the Japanese is World War II? We came to understand how to impose our will on them and disenthrall them from their beliefs.