[techweenie]

Mike/IROC, I have to hand it to you, I really have to think about your question.

I'm just another guy with an opinion, but I see it as a bit of a knot,. Religion is tied up in there, but I wonder if it's mostly a tool to recruit and manipulate the least educated and most disaffected in society? (I've read some real stereotype-breaking stuff about education and employment levels of Palestinian suicide bombers -- male and female -- but I think that's a different situation.)

I suspect OBL and his ilk (and the kids who took over our Tehran embassy in the '70s) blame behind-the-scenes maneuvering of the West for various area ills. I think they want us to believe their region is too dangerous for us to mess with through our government (but they'll want our tourist dollars soon after). So: an official 'hands off' policy toward the m.e. is my suggestion as their goal.