[Argh]

The Taliban(whose 'government' is the prime suspect, as they're harboring Osama Bin Ladin) are, in a very real sense, our monster. We created the Taliban as a fanatical nationalistic and religious group, to defeat the Soviets. We trained them. We armed them. And we turned a blind eye to their excesses.

We(and the retreating Soviets) left behind an arsenal that's totally out of proportion with the size of the country. And then we're surprised that these well-armed, battle-scarred religious fanatics have resisted all calls to moderate their ways? Please. . .

Our problem here is a fundamental one- we have a philosophical conflict with the radical Islamists, who :

1. Realize that liberal Western ways are infinately more fun than their way of life, and will steadily corrupt and disrupt their carefully-constructed societies.

2. Have seen what happens to other traditional societies when Western ideas begin to dismantle the traditional social order- chaos, disorder, and ultimately the removal of non-progressive leadership ensue, and that's not something that any authoritarian appreciates. Note China, North Korea, and Vietnam's longstanding war against Western ideas. China has struck a delicate balance between the iron fist and open arms, but they often fire up their hatred machinery in order to keep themselves firmly in control of national politics. For that matter, so does our government.

3. Noticed that most societies seem to need to have an enemy. We're the easiest choice for these sorts of Groups- the democratic socialists of Europe, while historically responsible for most of the problems of this area of the world, aren't the power-that-is. That, and Europe doesn't sell Isreal a lot of weaponry.

4. Isreal's continued existence is a fearful reminder that all things are transient. If I were a Saudi prince, I'd look at Isreal's displaced Palestinian Arabs and say, "but for the grace of Allah go I".

Anyhow, I'm hardly a cowardly racist- I'm part Iroquois, German and Swedish, so I look vaguely Jewish/Arabic, I talk like a native of my state, and I have friends from all over the world. And I don't advocate the eradication of a people- that would put me on a par with Nazis and other thugs.

At the same time, I don't think that we're going to see an end to these sorts of attacks until we have dismantled the nations responsible for their funding, training, and support. I hate jingoistic rhetoric, but unlike some who have responded to the events here, I don't think that we should accept this as just one of the costs of being a superpower. In short, if the radicals of the world want a war, we should bring it to them, wherever governments with foolish ideas about their best interests accept them.