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Is that grilled Chicken Little I smell? If one new study has it right, then most of the sky-is-falling noise about global terrorism over the last few years looks pretty groundless.
The new Human Security Brief 2007, published this week and including a comprehensive review of the statistical data on global terrorism, shows a sharp drop in the incidence of terrorist violence around the world. Deaths from terrorist actions have declined by some 40 percent.
The study from the Human Security Report Project at SimonFraserUniversity’s School for International Studies in Vancouver, Canada, says the expert consensus that Islamist terrorism is rising simply has it wrong. It points out that “the loose-knit terror network associated with Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda has suffered a dramatic collapse in popular support throughout the Muslim world”.
Of course, the counting is complicated by a number of factors, but overall, this seems to burst the bubble of the doom-and-gloom crowd. The new study also contains an interesting section on “Why Most Terrorist Organizations Fail”, again pulling the rug out from under many who think violence against civilian targets is somehow a successful method for achieving political aims.
I wonder if any of those thoughtless voices in the media who have essentially been cooperating in spreading unnecessary fear might just want to reconsider how they cover terrorism. Probably not, I guess. “The Sky Is Falling” and “We’re All Going to Die” are still headlines that will sell papers and keep audiences from turning the channel.
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Let us hope this all is true and that if "terrorism" in concept set forward by the west and the USA is in deed going down..and we all need to remmeber that to terrorize and act violantly have two different meanings. The most important point to stress here that who end up targeted and victimized are the innocent civilians.
Terrorist is one who carrys out acts of premeditated violance against innocent people, who have nothing to do with the cause of those who carryout such atrocious acts. Terrorisum can nevr be justified, how ever worthy the cause is.Those who try to justify or excuse such acts are no better than the Terrorists and sometimes is a bigger threat to society than that posed by the terrorists.There are no good or bad Terrorists. All are Terrorists. I am delighted to note that terrorisum is decreasing.
Not sure if I understand your argument, but it may just be that the Western world (the U. S. mostly) which has tried to counter Islamic militancy through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly through the (often-misguided and fear-engendering) efforts of President Bush and colleagues, actually got it right. Maybe Islamic terrorism *was* on the rise, and through the counter-terrorism efforts of the last 5 years, it is now declining.
Jessica writes: "it may just be ...President Bush and colleagues, actually got it right."
You don't really expect Simon Fraser Universityâs School for International Studies in Vancouver, Canada to ever admit that do you?
These children live in a protected fantasy world where cultural diversity, no matter how perverse is to be celebrated and the worst crime one can commit is to say something that might offend someone other than a white male.
These people would be the first to beg for America's military to come save them at the first sign of trouble. These are the same people that coddle their drug addicts with "safe injection sites", free needle exchanges and free crack pipes. Go figure.
Purposely targeting mass crowds of innocent civilians for slaughter is what terrorism is. Killing a terrorist and killing a civilian are two different things! I wish the world would wake up and start telling the terrorists to stop the war, not the people that are killing the terrorists! It's so backwards people, wake up already!
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Journalist Andrew Stroehlein is Communications Director for the International Crisis Group, the conflict resolution organisation, where he promotes responsible coverage of current and potential conflicts and helps draw attention to forgotten wars around the world.
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Journalist Andrew Stroehlein is Communications Director for the International Crisis Group, the conflict resolution organisation, where he promotes responsible coverage of current and potential conflicts and helps draw attention to forgotten wars around the world.
23 May 2008 16:20:53 GMT
Let us hope this all is true and that if "terrorism" in concept set forward by the west and the USA is in deed going down..and we all need to remmeber that to terrorize and act violantly have two different meanings. The most important point to stress here that who end up targeted and victimized are the innocent civilians.
26 May 2008 21:11:16 GMT
Terrorist is one who carrys out acts of premeditated violance against innocent people, who have nothing to do with the cause of those who carryout such atrocious acts. Terrorisum can nevr be justified, how ever worthy the cause is.Those who try to justify or excuse such acts are no better than the Terrorists and sometimes is a bigger threat to society than that posed by the terrorists.There are no good or bad Terrorists. All are Terrorists. I am delighted to note that terrorisum is decreasing.
27 May 2008 08:37:32 GMT
Not sure if I understand your argument, but it may just be that the Western world (the U. S. mostly) which has tried to counter Islamic militancy through the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, particularly through the (often-misguided and fear-engendering) efforts of President Bush and colleagues, actually got it right. Maybe Islamic terrorism *was* on the rise, and through the counter-terrorism efforts of the last 5 years, it is now declining.
30 May 2008 08:02:16 GMT
Jessica writes: "it may just be ...President Bush and colleagues, actually got it right."
You don't really expect Simon Fraser Universityâs School for International Studies in Vancouver, Canada to ever admit that do you? These children live in a protected fantasy world where cultural diversity, no matter how perverse is to be celebrated and the worst crime one can commit is to say something that might offend someone other than a white male. These people would be the first to beg for America's military to come save them at the first sign of trouble. These are the same people that coddle their drug addicts with "safe injection sites", free needle exchanges and free crack pipes. Go figure.02 Jun 2008 13:55:49 GMT
No mention of Israel. No word of Hamas. Are those guys serious?
10 Jun 2008 12:22:14 GMT
Purposely targeting mass crowds of innocent civilians for slaughter is what terrorism is. Killing a terrorist and killing a civilian are two different things! I wish the world would wake up and start telling the terrorists to stop the war, not the people that are killing the terrorists! It's so backwards people, wake up already!