Looking for motive is not excusing or looking for an excuse. Detectives always look for motive behind crime, but no one thinks they are looking to excuse the crime. Who believes the attacks on the United States have nothing to do with what our government does in Islamic countries? When looking for motive one is accused of "blaming America" for the attacks, it is unreasonable not to expect people to become resentful, and to want revenge, when our government bombs them, supports police states in their countries, and imposes murderous sanctions on them. Look at the United States policies in Iran and our support of the Shah to understand Iranian people's view of our country. Understanding motive is not attempting to assign moral responsibility to anyone other than the criminals who carried out the attacks. The question being asked by seeking to understand motive is, given the interventionists foreign policy isn't it vary likely to lead to such responses? Our government's foreign policy has put the American people in greater danger and made us more open to attack than we would otherwise have been.
In May 1996, on 60 Minutes said that half a million dead Iraqi children as a result of the sanctions on that country during the 1990s were "worth it." How could that remark, which was broadcast all over the Arab world, not help but provoke a response. If Americans lost that many of their family members, friends, and fellow citizens would they not seek to identify the perpetrators and bring them to justice much like we have done in Afghanistan following the September 11, 2001 attacks?
This does not mean Americans are bad people, or that they are to blame for terrorism. It only means that actions cause reactions, and that Americans will need to prepare themselves for these reactions if their government is going to continue to intervene around the world.
The definition of the term civilian is "one not in the armed services or the police force." The definition of the term combatant is "a person engaged in fighting." The definition of combat is "armed conflict, battle; struggle, contest."
In war, there are no noncombatants. Anyone, providing support of any form including moral, weapons, ammunition, transportation, medical, food, etc is engaged in the conflict or engaged in the foreign policy and therefore is a legitimate target.
Anyone providing support to the United States' troops in Iraq or Afghanistan are legitimate targets. All citizens of the United States are legitimate targets. Despite the Geneva Convention, there are no rules in war. We should understand that and act accordingly.
The people of the United States should understand that war is armed hostility between nations and that includes every citizen of each country. War is not something we send our military off to do while we live on as if nothing is different. We cannot tolerate government policies that are likely to make each of us a target. The purpose of war is to kill, destroy, maim, injure, and win! War is not to be taken lightly.
For the past 50 or so years, we have allowed our government to sacrifice the lives of our military as well as the lives of citizens of other countries. It is not the responsibility of the United States to free the people of the world. We are not and should not be nation builders.
War is a terrible responsibility and the citizens of the United States have failed in their responsibilities. And because of that failure, the world is a much more dangerous place.
