Alejandro Dubrovsky wrote:
>
> * Alex F. Bokov <alexboko@umich.edu> [011017 13:47]:
> > See, this is what I'm talking about. Crossing the fine line between
> > disbelieving our own gov's propoganda and believing the
> > opposition's. Be equally skeptical of assertions that we are the
> > unequivocal good guys and assertions that they AREN'T the bad guys.
>
> I'll try to clarify my point. There is no need to assign them the charge of
> killing every american to make them the bad guys, and there is no need for them
> to want to kill every american to make them the bad guys. I do believe they are
> the bad guys (or at least, the worse guys). I do not believe they want to kill
> every american.
The problem is one of focus and opportunity. Take one bin Laden fanboy.
Give said fanboy a plan and the means to execute said plan. He doesn't
much care WHICH Americans he kills, just so long as he bags his limit.
Much like a hunter shooting at a flock of birds with a shotgun: he
doesn't much care which individual bird he kills, so long as he kills as
many as he is legally allowed. For all practical purposes, from the
standpoint of each individual bird, the hunter wants to kill each
individual as much as any other individual.
>From this standpoint, bin Laden therefore wants to kill ME, YOU, and
John Clark, as well as every other American. It's nothing personal, and
he's not aiming for us as individuals, he's just hoping to nail as many
of us as he is able, indiscriminately. AND, like the hunter, he doesn't
necessarily want to kill ALL of us at the same time. He just wants to
kill enough of us as it takes to achieve his desired outcome.
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