What is a Terrorist?

In the United States everyone is entitled to his or her opinion. However, unlike in our Constitution (after a lot of amendments of course) all opinions are NOT created equally. There are learned opinions from people who have a good grasp of the subject, and then the random musings of people who because of having watched 5 minutes of Fox News or CNN, suddenly feel they are then qualified to work as a foreign policy advisor. Everything in the world is not good vs. evil or black vs. white. This simplistic approach to the world is dangerous, as we've witnessed during the past 5 or so years (at least). I read the Anderson Cooper 360 Blog comments section this morning and as usual walked away from my computer disgusted, because most were so ignorant and many, unfortunately, bordered on racist.

So, who are the Lebanese? What sort of government do they have? Is it a strictly Muslim country? Are they an oil rich country? Without referencing a map can you describe where Lebanon is? Who is Hizbollah and why do they have a problem with Israel? (We ask the Lebanese government to disarm Hizbollah, but we can't get the guns out of the hands of Idaho gun-nuts here in the U.S. and provide police protection for domestic terrorist groups like the Klan and Neo-Nazi's when they want to march through our neighborhoods while the NRA is sure to protect their weapons. But I digress...) Having separately hosted at least 6 Lebanese medical students in my home a few years ago I know the answers to these questions. Feel free to check out the CIA Factbook for the basics. And while you are researching, look up the definition of terrorism and terrorists? (Also, just for fun compare that definition with the military doctrine of Shock and Awe...makes you squirm a bit doesn't it?). My main question for the day, however, is what drives someone to this desperate state? What make someone join a group like Hizbollah in Lebanon? What makes the majority of Palestinians vote Hamas into power? And why is nobody addressing this root cause? If China for example somehow "annexed" the U.S. and shoved our population of 300 million into say West Texas do you think the "patriots" fighting back would accept the moniker of terrorist? We cannot continue to merely paint them as monsters without addressing the issue of HOW and WHY they came to choose this way of life. Although, I am not sympathetic to their methods, I am interested in their conception. I've always thought that a terrorist is born each time some 9-year old boy sees his father standby emasculated and helpless as IDF soldiers bulldoze their family home. We cannot effectively combat what we do not understand. The "war against terror" is a oxymoron. War is terror.