I cannot imagine what some people think causes terrorism? And don't say, "they will hate us no matter what, it doesn't matter what we do". That is a lie, as well as the "they hate us for our freedom" garbage that was spouted by people immediately after 9/11. They could give a rat's ass about "our freedom". We Americans have always been a sucker for a good marketing campaign, but that one sucks.
Most sane people disavow terrorism in all forms, but to claim that it does not have a cause or to blatantly lie about its causes is pure propaganda. There is no fathomable justification for flying jets into the WTC, IMO, but a far more honest explanation for their motive would be hatred for the U.S. due to various alligiences that we have around the world, or that we have U.S. troops stationed in Saudi Arabia. I am not going to use the word 'logical' while discussing Islamic extremists, (or any religious extremists anywhere, including in the U.S.), but the most believable motive for their hatred would be along these lines. The argument of, "they will hate us no matter what for our freedom, so it does not matter what our policies are", is a steaming pile of B.S., intellectually dishonest and really cynical when spoken by leaders who know better in order to influence the opinion of a public that generally is not very conversant in foreign matters, (to put it politely).
What's the point? That if we really want to end terrorism, and the hatred that is behind it, we must become a credible enforcer of human rights everywhere, not selectively. We have a horrible track record of looking the other way when "allies" or countries deemed insignificant to U.S. security engage in gross violations of human rights laws. This hurts our standing in the world immeasurably and sows the seeds of terrorism. Lastly, terrorism is not something that conventional military power is very effective in fighting, just look at Israel. Probably the most security consience place on earth, and the most terrorist attacks. (By a group w/ zero conventional military capability).
