RichC., your mantra about killing terrorists is the height of silliness, not least because the word “terrorist” in American discourse is politically manipulated and meaningless. For many in the world, including me, the U.S. acts as a force exporting terror in many forms around the globe: YOU are the great terrorists. In addition to exporting it directly, your country also contributes immensely to creating the conditions for war and political violence in every corner of the world. Anti-imperialism was the foundational principle of the American state. The fact that most Americans now are stone cold blind to the imperialist crimes of their own country – thinking instead that the U.S. is somehow a global hero – is the highest form of irony. The fact that you think al-Qa’idah represents a greater threat to world peace than your own hyper-militarised state would be risible if it weren’t so very menacing. For truly peace-loving Americans, the majority of the world would prefer that you fight against violence by attacking the U.S. arms industry, the U.S. network of military and naval bases around the world (many in colonies seized and maintained by force), the illegal U.S. monitoring of all global communications, and the U.S. support of anti-democratic regimes on every continent.
