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THE REALITY OF TERRORISM IN TODAY'S WORLD

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Over the past decades, and especially since September 11, 2001, we have been cowering in a constant fear of the next terrorist attack. Immediately following the September 11 attacks, the US started a terrorist alert code to act as an early warning beacon for Americans. The Patriot Act and other freedom-suppressing legislation was quickly enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Bush. We were told to fear the terrorist, but to go about business as normal.

 

Then a curious thing happened, the terrorists didn’t show up. On US soil, there have been a total of zero terrorist attacks since 9/11. In France, zero attacks. In Germany, zero attacks. In Portugal, zero attacks. In Italy, zero attacks. In Europe, only Great Britain and Spain have suffered since 9/11. In fact, the new world in post-9/11 looks strikingly similar to the old world pre-9/11. There are as many terrorist attacks happening around today as were happening before 9/11 with one great exception – where the US has intervened in the affairs of other countries while “fighting” this war on terror.

 

Where have all the terrorists gone? We were told that we must fight this war on terror or the next attack may be in the form of a mushroom cloud. We were told to be very afraid of this new menace that threatened to do away with the US, all Americans as well as the American Way of life. We were told that only by enacting these very restrictive laws and by invading two sovereign nations could we possibly avoid a total and complete destruction of the US. And we did just that. Out of a sense of revenge we gladly invaded Afghanistan. Out of a sense of foreboding we just as gladly invaded Iraq. But have we done anything to abate the threat of terrorism itself??

 

Let’s look at some statistics, shall we??

 

According to the-eggman.com, in the year 2002 alone, nearly 1 million people died from heart disease in the US. Cancer caused the deaths of over half a million. Respiratory disease was the cause for over 100,000 deaths. Diabetes caused another 70,000 deaths and the flu added another 65,000. Automobile accidents were the cause of over 40,000 deaths and firearms added another 28,000. But what about terrorism?? How do these statistics compare to our hated jihadists hell-bent on destroying America. How many did they kill in the US in 2002??

 

Uh, none.

 

Okay, then, how about 2003 in the US??

 

Ditto, none.

 

How about 2004, 2005, 2006 or 2007?? Uh, not one terrorist-related death in the US.

 

So, for the past seven years since 9/11, not one single terrorist attack on US soil, and not one death resulting from these nonexistent attack. Yet in the interim, the US has invaded two sovereign nations presumably to stop this war on terrorism. We invaded Afghanistan to rid that country of its terrorist training camps and to capture Osama Ben Laden. That was our only supposed reason to attack Afghanistan. Yet today, nearly seven years later, we’re still there. Afghanistan today resembles a country that is in complete chaos, ruled by local war lords and preparing for a return to power of the Taliban. Yes, the very same Taliban that we deposed at the beginning of the war.

 

The same holds true for Iraq. We invaded Iraq to depose Saddam Hussein and get rid of his weapons of mass deception, er mass destruction. While we have gotten rid of Saddam, we found no weapons of mass destruction and no proof that Saddam was anywhere near the threat that this administration claimed he was. In fact, that country that never knew what suicide bombing and militia-style fighting were before March 20, 2003, now sees such events occur on a daily basis. Scores of civilians die daily in Iraq as the country slides further down the abyss of destruction. And now, this same American administration cries forth that we CANNOT leave Iraq now, because it’s too unstable of a country.

 

So let’s recap:

 

Since 9/11, there have been zero terrorist attacks in the US and zero deaths resulting from it. As a result of these zero attacks, the US has invaded two sovereign nations. As a direct result of these invasions, over 1,000,000 Iraqis and Afghans have been killed, and over 4,000 Americans have been killed. Over 500,000 Iraqis and Afghans have been wounded, and around 41,000 Americans have been wounded.

 

But wait, there’s more.

 

According to Unknown News.net, since 1968 less than 43,000 people have been killed by terrorists IN THE ENTIRE WORLD. That means that in the last 30 years, less than 2,000 people die annually from terrorists attack around the world. That’s less than 1 in 3,000,000. That means that the chance of being killed from fireworks is 10 times greater than being killed by a terrorist. The chance of being killed by a bee sting is 60 times greater, and the chance of being killed riding a bicycle is 600 times greater. Yet none of these tragic deaths command our attention as much as terrorism. If terrorism is such a threat to all of civilization, then why aren’t more people dying from it?

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66 year old Californian-born and bred male - I've lived in four different countries, USA, Switzerland, Mexico, Venezuela, and currently live in the Dominican Republic - speak three languages fluently, English, French, Spanish - have worked as a (more...)
 

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