Why has there not been another 9/11 or worse?

[YT2095]

well apparently it Was aimed at you guys, using OUR Turf do do it from, all flights from UK to America.

 

it`s uncertain if it was because the majority of passengers would be americans and to be blown up mid Atlantic or over USA soil?

 

that could take a while before the exact plan comes out (if it does).

 

and Thnx, our guys are second to None

[GutZ]

I was impressed by the press conference. I didn't catch it all because I had to rush off to work, but it was very well done.

 

What's very interesting is the high tech survilance equipment out there now. Computers analyzing movement from a video feed. It recognizes alot considering how basic the principle is behind it. Then there are robots that do the same.

 

Studied are being done on human behaviourial patterns so that soon these computers can spot irregular behavior, which might minimize the programming need (my guess) for the above mentioned.

[Jim]

I’d hate to work for a major newspaper today. Editors of major newspapers around the world are probably frantically preparing a special insert to include all of the letters from Muslims outraged by this misuse of Islam. Hell, they may have to devote a special section just to all of the jihads that are going to be issued against the plotters.

 

What worries me even more is how many deaths will occur tomorrow morning as Islamic countries erupt in protest tomorrow over this distortion of the teachings of Islam?

[Jim]

B. Lewis is often quoted for having stated "Europe will be Islamic by the end of the century." Here is a translation of an excerpt from the oft quoted interview with the German magazine Die Welt:

 

The World: Will the struggle against al-Qaeda last for decades?

 

Lewis: I think that it is a long process without a guaranteed outcome. One must consider the possibility that al-Qaeda might win. They have many allies in the West, not all of them known to us. Among the ones we know about I count the growing Islamic minorities and converts in Europe. The situation is similar to the one we once faced with Communism. It appealed to unsatisfied people in the West since it appeared to provide them with an unambiguous answer. Radical Islam has a similar attractive force. It communicates to people convictions and certainties; indeed. it gives them the sense of a mission. Its followers appear united whereas the democracies appear deeply split.

 

The World: Will the EU form a global counterweight to America?

 

Lewis: No. Next to the United States, the future global players will be China, India, and possibly a healthy Russia. Surely no one knows what the dominant regime in Moscow will be, but it will certainly not be communist. Europe will be a part of the Arabian West. Migration and demographics point in that direction. Europeans marry late and have few children if they have any. But they allow heavy immigration: Turks into Germany, Arabs into France, and Pakistanis into England. These people marry young and have a lot of children. According to present trends, the population of Europe will contain Muslim majorities by the end of the 21st century at the very latest.

 

While we may be able to stop attacks by Islamic terrorists by the skin of our teeth today, I wonder what kind of success we will have as these trends continue to unfold over the next 10-20 years.

[abskebabs]

I think the actual intention of the attacks was to blow the planes up when travelling over the sea so that it could not be recovered, and how the plane was destroyed could not be found so the actions could be repeated by other cells. They are getting pretty wily nowadays.

 

It's amazing how much thought ppl like this put so much thought into how to carry out their actions, yet seemingly so little about their actions and their implications. I'm really glad the intelligence services succeeded this tme, it may be a good PR and morale boost them in the long term.

[Sisyphus]

Jim, I think that "Europe will be Islamic" logic is flawed. It depends on "present trends," but they are just that - present. What seems more relevant is that new immigrants tend to have more children, and old generation families have less. This is true all over the world. But the thing about time is that new becomes old. Looking only at 1840s America, for example, you could have said that "if current trends continue, America will be 80% Irish by the end of the century." Contrary to what one might think on St. Patrick's Day, that wasn't the case.

[Jim]

Jim, I think that "Europe will be Islamic" logic is flawed. It depends on "present trends," but they are just that - present. What seems more relevant is that new immigrants tend to have more children, and old generation families have less. This is true all over the world. But the thing about time is that new becomes old. Looking only at 1840s America, for example, you could have said that "if current trends continue, America will be 80% Irish by the end of the century." Contrary to what one might think on St. Patrick's Day, that wasn't the case.

 

You make a fair point and certainly "always in motion is the future." However, we can't ignore that the Islamic population in Europe has gone from 1 million to 18 million and is still growing.

 

You are right that second and third generations have lower birth rates as they become integrated into society. This probably results from the increased education and affluence of the later, more integrated, generations. There is, however, a real question as to whether these groups are integrating into society.

 

In any event, if we start to get more and more second generation home grown European terrorism, it won't take a majority to cause huge problems.

[Jim]

James Fallows, no fan of the Bush administration, thinks it is time to declare victory against al-Qaeda.

 

Mission accomplished?

[Skye]

The problem is that declaring victory isn't action. Maybe he has more concrete plans for what declaring victory would mean regarding Iraq and Afghanistan. It's difficult judge without that. I don't think it'd be wise to pull out from either country though.

[Jim]

The problem is that declaring victory isn't action. Maybe he has more concrete plans for what declaring victory would mean regarding Iraq and Afghanistan. It's difficult judge without that. I don't think it'd be wise to pull out from either country though.

 

I wouldnt' declare victory either although I agree it's hard to judge his argument without having access to the subscription portion of the Atlantic Monthly.

 

I think Fallow is talking about the mindset of the nation. It reminds me of the scene from Wag the Dog where the President's opposition declares victory in the Albanian war.

[JHAQ]

Read http://www.thereligionofpeace.com/ & be very afraid

[Pangloss]

I'm almost as afraid of the people who made that web site as I am of Islamic extremists.