The Truth About Terrorism: Forget What You Think You Know

I have done some surveys and discovered that most Americans have the wrong idea about so-called terrorists. We can not be blamed for this as most of us only know what is blasted over the media. Having been in the military myself and having traveled all over the middle east, I can tell you that reality and media don't match. The major idea out there is that Islamic fanatics want to rid the world of all infidels. This is not the case. The major complaint posed by these groups and their major driving force is in fact two completely different things. The first and major component is the spread of Christianity and capitalism.

America, as well as many other nations, have a permanent presence in the majority of Arab countries. With this presence comes the missionaries and the political idealists. The sad truth is that we often make learning our religious beliefs a condition for providing our assistance whether it be money or food. This notion likely offends you, the American reading it and it certainly offends me, the American writing it. We must then imagine how we would feel about having our beliefs pushed aside, told our God doesn't exist and that we are wrong. We wouldn't like this at all and it is likely we would launch a revolt. Is it any wonder that they feel the same? We also have pride in our history, our Constitution and our way of life. So do our Arab neighbors. They are no more likely to want to give up their beliefs any more than you and I and yet it is forced upon them.

Now, this does not mean I condone the bombings and killing of innocent people and neither does their religion. So why do they do it? Imagine for a moment that we, the Americans, were not a super power. Imagine that we were small and weak in military and financial standings. Now imagine that these "radicals" invaded our land and began to force their beliefs on us and our children. Would you lay down and convert? Would you peacefully and openly change all you have believed in or would you fight? If you choose to fight, how will you fight? When faced with an overwhelming enemy, the only tactic that works is guerrilla tactics. You have to attack your enemy and then disappear as you can not go head to head. I can say with a strong level of certainty that if I were being forced to change my beliefs or if I saw my children being torn from our beliefs, that I would fight. I would fight hard, mean, nasty or what ever other way I had to to win.

The world knows, as a matter of FACT, that on more than one occasion now, British troops disguised as "militants" have attempted to pull off attacks and make them appear to have been committed by "terrorists". If you haven't heard of this, Google it and see for yourself. There are also many mixed opinions and certainly many unanswered questions regarding the 9/11 attacks. On top of this, many of us are aware of the link between where the oil is in the world and the countries we view as enemies.

So, am I here to beat up us Americans? No. We have a proud history that has been filled with truly helping other nations, with ridding the world of Adolf Hitler and others like him. We have been there to bail out people all over the world and have received little thanks for it. In fact, many of those we have helped and that still owe us vast sums of money seem to have nothing but bad things to say about us. So be it. My purpose here is to offer a much needed, fresh perspective on our Arab neighbors. My visits to these countries were almost all pleasant. They are filled with good people trying to make a living just like us. There are a few bad apples but it is only a few. I hope that they too realize that We The People are not always accurately reflected by the actions of our government and corporations. Who knows, maybe even Bush, who wanted us to not be concerned with these issues or afraid, can one day complete a sentence without the "T" words in it.