Terrorism,War on Terrorism,Anti Terrorism.

Why is it so that people have passionate views on topics which for the most part they know little about.

Take the term Terrorism for instance, because of the bombardment of out senses following September 11Th . The Destruction of the twin towers at the World Trade Centre in New York we all have all supposedly become experts in Terrorist's and Terrorism. I was listening the other day to a few students in a coffee shop chatting about Al Qae'da the Taliban and Hezbollah saying they are fundamentally all the same. This  is absolute bunk. I felt was tempted to go over and embarass both them and myself  in the process by telling them to do just a little research on the issue.

For instance the term Al-Qaeda, alternatively spelled al-Qaida and sometimes al-Qa'ida, (Arabic القاعدة‎; al-qāʿidah; translation The Base) is an Islamic group founded sometime between August 1988 and late 1989/early 1990.It operates as a network comprising both a multinational, stateless Jihadi international.armand a fundamentalist Sunni movement calling for

Al-Qaeda has attacked civilian and military targets in various countries, the most notable being the September 11 attacks in 2001. These actions were followed by the US Government launching a so called War on Terrorist activity.

 As of 2009, the group is believed to have between 200 and 300 members. This is the most militant and single minded of the three organisations.

This Headline in a recent issue of the New York Times got me thinking again about Terrorist's and Terrorist Organisations and our relationship with them...

This is the headline...

"Updated, Sept. 2, 10:25 a.m. | The deputy chief of intelligence in Afghanistan was assassinated by a Taliban suicide bomber Wednesday morning in a blast that killed 15 others in Mehtarlam, which is near Kabul.

A new report by Gen. Stanley A. McChrystal, the top commander in Afghanistan, in detailing the deteriorating situation there raises the question of whether to deepen American involvement in the war. At the same time, his strategy is not so much to kill Taliban insurgents as it is to isolate them by making ordinary Afghans feel secure — an approach that means less force and more economic development."

In other words what the commander is saying is that a military operation is not what is required here.  Fundamentally the Al Qaeda can go on forever as can the current corrupt Kasai government because they have a ready cash crop of poppys growing around the nation.  As long as they have that there willways be rogue nations rogue states willing to supply them with illegal arms weapons bomb and what ever they want...

Hezbollah originated within the Shiiteblock of Lebanon society, which has lived there for more than a millennium. According to a United States Central Intelligence Agency estimate they include 41 percent of Lebanon population. After Lebanon gained its independence on November 22, 1943 and by the time Frencharmy withdrew its soldiers from Lebanon in 1946, the Lebanese National Pact, which is a notional and unofficial understanding, had allocated the seat of Speaker of the Parliament to the Shia in recognition of demographic and political importance, but they remained socially and financially marginalized. Hezbolah .  The war with Israel in the 1980's was where Hezbollah came to the fore to protest and look after Lebanese citizens...

The Taliban Pashtoṭ ālibān, meaning "students", also Taleban, is a Sunni Islamist predominantly Pashtun fundamentalist religious and political movement that governed Afghanistan from 1996until 2001, when its leaders were removed from power by U.S. military forces. It has regrouped and since 2004 revived as a strong insurgency movement governing at the local level and fighting a guerrilla war against the current government of Afghanistan Pakistan allied NATO forces participating in Operation Enduring Freedom and the NATO-led International Security Assistance Force(ISAF).It operates in Afghanistan and the Frontier Tribal Areas of Pakistan.  The Taliban and the sunni Islamist were one section of the Iraqi community which until the US invasion of Iraq coexisted in relative peace with the other factions in Iraq...