If you are reading this, you are probably not a terrorist or a prospective terrorist. Most likely, there is nothing that would lead you to carry out an act of terrorism. But, ask yourself something. What might make you at least consider blowing up a truck-bomb or strapping on a suicide vest and walking into a pizzeria? What would the Norwegians have to do to you to get you thinking about taking that kind of revenge in downtown Oslo?
If they bombed your hometown, would that maybe get you fantasizing? How about if they invaded America, took your brother into custody, and raped him?
At some point, if the Norwegians inflicted enough harm and suffering on you, you might just start to get a little twitchy. Maybe you wouldn’t actually do anything about it, but you might just wish you could. And that is the starting point for any terrorist. Without a set of grievances, they’d either attack no one, or they’d attack someone else.
According to the 9/11 Report, the Hamburg Cell went to Afghanistan because they wanted to get training for the war in Chechnya. Somehow they were convinced to attack America instead. But, as far as I know, they never considered attacking Oslo.
When our country invades and occupies a foreign country, it makes it more likely that there will be people wanting to commit acts of terrorism against us. If there is some greater good involved, then we have to accept that increased risk. But there was no greater good in Iraq. All invading Iraq did was make our citizens less safe. It made us all less safe by making a lot of people incredibly angry.
There is no good reason to needlessly make our citizens less safe. Stupidly and immorally angering people is something that should be avoided.
The Republicans responded to 9/11 by making most of the world extremely angry and then told us that this was keeping us safer. Now they worry that a trial will be an unacceptable threat. It’s insane.
