Lee - I'm with you 100% on items 1-8 on your laundry list. Addressing it aggressively will require some spending. No way around it. I'll probably be footing more of the bill than you will since I live here.

Items 9 and 10, however, I'm perfectly fine with. My kid is learning Spanish and French - not because I'm afraid, but because the world is getting smaller. Got any of the same stats from Texas? It helps a great deal to speak another language in a border state... or if you ever plan to see the world.

In a perfect world, we'd never have to make tough decisions on what to do with people who hate our way of life (because no one would hate anyone). Until we get to that point, however, eveyone is stuck making tough decisions, all of which could be "Monday morning quarterback" second-guessed.

Does interrogation work? Sometimes. If it didn't then police would stop using it.

The question is "does interrogation work against someone trained to defeat common techniques"?


Terrorists don't follow any rules, but that just makes it harder to defeat them. Breaking rules to gain the upper hand in some cases makes you as bad as them.

Interesting tidbit. It has been argued that western powers indeed created the very monsters that threaten our current way of life: Hammas and Taliban. We supplied training, material, and techniques to both organizations to defeat various enemies (USSR and PLO in these instances).

Now, they have turned the anger that we seeded against us. Can you say OOPS...

I think it's all boiling down to radicalizing youth who don't have anything else to do. Seems especially effective on young males who are full of angst and have little, if any, experience with critical thinking skills.


What we need is the new science guy to develop Wonder Woman's truth lasso, so we don't have to torture people.

I used to think if the developed nations work harder at promoting human rights and basic necessities for all peoples, eventually there would be peace. The folly of youthful idealism....

I am not a separatist, but i think we may benefit from some Isolationism....
or at least lay low for a while and take care of our own backyard.... sure there are other countries whos govt. policy that we dont agree with but.... is it our place to turn the world democratic?

Afghani's were at war with the USSR.. but it doesn't seem they care about Russia these days. We are spending gazillions on our foreign policy (and wars) and that money could build us a wall 12000 feet high, secure our borers, handle many more of our social issues, etc.

I know that isn't the answer.. but it seems every govt we get involved in (or try to influence) blows up in our face (from Cuba to Iran, to Afghani's to our efforts to bring democracy to Iraq). Our efforts in S.E. Asia didn't seem to end up helping much either.

Things may be better in Iraq in a few years, but is it our place to force democratic ways on them? Didn't we have them by the BELLS before we invaded them again (I served in Desert Storm)....

Who hates your way of life, it is your foreign policy that creates most of the anger against you (and you are a nice enemy to whip up the masses against sometimes, due to historic reasons).



Yes. And if it dont, torture is not the answer. More and better intelligence is.



Sure they do. They are predictable in many ways when you think about their goals. Not 100% but predictable. Just look at the IRA campaigns.



You mean guys like Karl?
Seriously, I think that is part of it, but the guys making it happen are older and playing for power, like the now dead founder of Hamas and Bin Laden. Brain washing the youth is easier, and they often think they have less to loose. On that thread of thinking, I read that 50% of the population of Gaza are kids and youths. I can only imagine what they think of Israel and what they will be willing to do for payback.




How many conflicts can be traced back to western imperialism or western countries acting by proxy to further their own interests. A lot! Not all, but a lot.

I think Stormin' Norman could easily have driven to Baghdad. What do you think? I also think he was told not to, just so becouse of fear of the current mess.

On the topic of terrorism. I am reading a book called "Bury my heart at Wounded Knee" just now. Most sobering and interesting in many ways. The book is quite relevant for the current discussion.

I got the book from one of my brothers in law who is a US citizen (from Arkansas, so he dont sail, yet). I think many are quite moderate in their thinking, but the extremists (on both sides) are the ones you hear.

What gets me riled up is that Vice President Cheney was part of the decision-making machine that rightly concluded we'd executed a successful mission and Schwarzkopf wasn't to take Baghdad. What the hell changed? Truly, I'm baffled by the contradictory positions taken by major players in our administration that were part of both campaigns.

Bad example! You won't find much guilt associated with it. However, it offers one solution to an otheriwse difficult problem.

John, were on the same page here. Although 9 and 10 don't matter to me, I didn't feel right snipping part of the fact sheet off. As far as bi-lingual, I'm learning spanish myself since I like to know what everyone around me is saying and I travel to Mexico alot. I would like to see the stats from Texas but I have to admit the only time I get information like this is when someone else passes it to me. I haven't had the gumption to dig for it. I would be willing to bet the percentages are in the same range except for maybe the HUD one. I would expand on that assumption but need to back away from it so as to not sound racist. I do think learning atleast a second language opens more doors to individuals in this world.
I do know you will be footing more of the bill than I since you live there now. That's one of the big reasons I moved away from Ca. Don't get me wrong, I have lots of Mexican National friends but they support themselves the same way I would if I moved to Mexico.

Not to scare you, John, but I agree with both of you.....
And John is right that he might be paying the lion share but if the California Bailout that the Governor wants, goes through we will all be paying for this behavior (or maybe our children will).