In the battle to overcome terrorism, Islam is not the enemy, ignorance is.

I would first Like to adress how it is our fault. In 1979, during the Soviet-Afghan War, Osama Bin Laden was recruited by the CIA (covert)to fight Soviet invaders. The war, was publically called a "jihad" by the muslims involved in protecting afghanistan. the "jihad" was supported by the United States. CIA sponsored guerilla training for recruits, was integrated with the teachings of Islam. The Pakistan's Inter-services intelligence served as the middleman between the CIA and the islamic soldiers. Through doing this, the U.S. was able to hide their main objective, which was using Islamic troops to defeat the Soviet Union. CIA's Milton Beardman confirmed that Osama Bin Laden was not aware of the role he was playing on behalf of Washington. "Neither I, nor my brothers saw the evidence of American help" Bin Laden is qouted as saying. These Islam warriors were motivated by nationalism, and religion, yet they were being tricked into fighting for the benifit of the United States. With the backing of the CIA, and massive amounts of US military aid, the Pakistani ISI became a tremendous force, composed of 150,000 Afgani and Pakastani Millitants. With their new power, they became more agressive. When the Soviet Union invaded Afghanistan in 1980 (war started in pakistan), The CIA and the ISI chief both agreed to decieve the world, they publically vouched for negotiating a settlement, while privatly agreeing that military escalation would be the best course. To gain funds for military operations, the U.S. and the CIA turned its heads and allowed the Drug trade, which they had been fighting, to resume. what was once a regional drug hotspot, become the the number one supplier to the United States, the Pakastani Herion-addict population went from almost none in 1979, to 1.2 million in 1985. All of this due to the U.S. interest of wiping out the Soviet Union. After the cold war, the ISI's extensive intelligence military-network was not dismantled, the CIA continued to support the Islamic "jihad" out of Pakistan. Despite its Anti-american idealogy, Islamic fundamentalism was serving Washington's strategic interests in the former Soviet Union. In 1989, the civil war in Afghanistan continued, the Taliban were being supported by the Jamiat-ul-Ulema-e-Islam (JUI), which in 1993, would establish connections with the ISI (the U.S. funded and trained Islamic coalition). in 1995, the Taliban was given all the training camps. At this point, the Taliban and the ISI were basically indistingushable. In 1996, Osama Bin Laden attended a summit led by rebels Shamil Basayev and Al Khattab (both trained in CIA sponsered camps during the war). the summit was sponsered by HizbAllah, in which they planned a war in Chechnya. Despite the U.S. condemnation of Islamic terrorism, the eventual beneficiaries of the Chechen war are the American oil conglomerates, vying for control of oil in the Caspian sea. So why did Osama Bin Laden kill innocent people on 9/11? Because the United States manipulated and used him and his people like they were an expandable resource. The U.S. used them to fight a war for us secretly, they thought they were dying for a cause, but that cause was U.S. gain. then we left the mess for him and his people to clean up. Then in the Gulf War, we go and ride tanks all over his homeland, with his people dying, from mortars and stray missles, and we won't even aknowledge him, yet 6 years later, he inadverntally, helps the U.S. again, we turned the other way, he got us oil. I bet you were ignorrant to that. now for the Qu'ran's intrinsic violent component. English and Arabic are intrinsically different languages. I Speak fluent English, and enough Arabic to get by when i go to Syria (where my family is from). Trying to translate Arabic into English on paper is something my father, who is fluent in both languages won't even give thought to doing. this leaves room confussion among translators. but surely not enough confuesion to explain the passages you show such as... Qur'an 3:56 "As for those disbelieving infidels, I will punish them with a terrible agony in this world and the next. They have no one to help or save them." Right?? Wrong, Relgious texts must not be viewed as static language, I.e. black and white. therefore, as taught in practical translation classes throughout the world, it is essentially the verbalized expression of an author's intention as understood by the translator as a reader. Who then rewrites it in another language for a someone to read who exists in a different culture. F.V. Griefenhagen, a man who has spent his life studing the history of english translations of the Qur'an comes to a crucial conclusion in his research: "Thus, by the 20th century, the translation of the Qur'an into English became the locus of power struggles, not only between Islam and West, but also between orthodox groups within Islam and heterodox offshoots." Americans have a preconcived notion of what they want to see and here, I am amazed that you find a translation of the Qur'an as suffiecnet evidence to support your claim, without even giving though to western bias towards Islam. that, my friend, is iggnorance. "There is no analogy between Judeo-Christianity and Islam." Al-Hajj 22:40 says: "........For had it not been for Allah's repelling some men by means of others, cloisters and churches and oratories and mosques, wherein the name of Allah is oft mentioned, would assuredly have been pulled down. Verily Allah helpeth one who helpeth Him. Lo! Allah is Strong, Almighty." Allah is worshiped by Christians, Jews, and Muslims alike, don't be so ignorant its just another word for God....The God. Also for another analogy, Christianity, Judaism, and Islam all started in Juerusulum. "the evil activities of these people were not commanded by ideology. The Christian Bible did not command the Spanish Inquisition, for example." The Qur'an, Just as the Torah or the Bible, Is not meant to be taken literally, In the bible there is talk about things like slaves and killing and mandates that call for killing (if someone sleeps with your wife or stuff like that.) The radicals interpert as they want, as we christians have done in the past to best suit our needs. Have you forgotten the Crusades? you say that islam persists that the Qur'an is the involiable word of good, well the bible has been around for 500 years longer, and we are just getting the hint that it isn't, so they got time. "The only ignorance here is the ignorance which has put a veil of misunderstanding, blind acceptance and apathy over your eyes and has led you to believe that the world will be the same whether or not we go to war to defend Democracy against Terror." You misunderstand my stance. I am a Christian Arab, if you saw me on the street, I look more german than anything. I have spent over a year of my life in Syria, and I know these people. Winning is dying, losing is surrendering. They hate us because they know we think we are better then them as people. We still need soldiers over there, but we can't kill or deport to guantanamo every terrorist we catch, that doesn't work, it empowers them. Saudi Arabia has the solution. Caught terrorists or fundamentalists are brought to a prison, once inside, it looks like a resort. they go to islam classes and most importantly have fun and are shown warmth and compassion, when americans visit, the converse and laugh, the same people that hated America with all there heart maybe 200 days before. it has been in operation for 2 years, with over 700 prisoners released into soceity, none of them have gone back to their old ways. that is the first step, the second is to let the U.N. take a center stage in the middle east, they can do the same thing we do, but with better results, since they are much less hated then we are, though still hated none the less. I am out of room, oh well.