Quote:
Originally Posted by John Wilkes Booth
they use those tactics because they work. if you look at the reasoning islamic extremists give for defending suicide attacks, it is largely that this is the only weapon they have left while the west has a top notch military & weapons industry.
i should clarify what i mean by respect. i don't mean admiration. i mean respect in the same way churchhill & roosevelt must have respected the nazi regime. if you notice the potential in a threat, you have to respect them on some level. otherwise you have no reason to regard them as a threat.
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I at least understand what you mean. Whatever their principles, most Westerners aren't willing to die for them. Even if a lot of the extremists are willing to go so far cause they're mentally ill, or sociopathic (contrary to popular belief, sociopaths aren't cowards and actually can be quite reckless due to lack of any visceral fear response), their dedication to their cause is clearly stronger than "ours". And you gotta have some kind of respect for someone with that much commitment.
Honestly, even though I consider anyone who would walk into someplace crowded with civilians and blow themselves up to be a lunatic with a warped value of human life, I can understand their rationale in a purely strategic sense. If they can't meet the enemy on the battlefield, and the population of their target areas don't support them, then they don't have any real recourse. So, if the choice is between letting their cause die, their families suffer under the boot of what they view as oppression (not saying it isn't oppression, just emphasizing that I'm looking at THEIR point of view), and allowing their enemies to win, OR doing what they must whatever the cost, can you really tell them that they should find a more honorable way to win if it isn't effective? I'd think that there's hopefully a more effective terror tactic than killing yourself, but then again, I'm no tactician.
I'm speaking mainly of actual extremists in the Middle East fighting actual wars though, such as in Israel.