Terrorism

Why do terrorists hate us?  What makes them angry enough to sacrifice their own lives just to make a political statement and kill Americans?  The answer to that question has very little to do with the perceived decadent and ungodly lifestyles.  They don’t “hate us for our freedom.”  Instead, that anger is fomented by our own actions.  It wasn’t until the 1950s that attitudes in the Middle East began to turn against America.  Since then, our interventions in regional and internal disputes and the presence of US troops in the region have marked a downward spiral in attitudes toward America. 

America has been far from perfect.  We have allied ourselves with despots and dictators that do not share our values, all in the name of access to their oil.  America should act in our self interest, but actions taken with a short-term self-interest in mind have been to our long-term detriment.  America does not deserve to be the victim of terrorists, but we do have to view the state of world politics and attitudes toward America, particularly in the Middle East, in context of our own actions. 

While our military hunts down those responsible for terrorist acts, we should realize a cold, hard truth.  As long as new terrorists are bred, eliminating the ones we know about can never be fully effective.  Until America changes the way we approach foreign policy in the Middle East, the seeds will always be there to provide fodder for the next terrorist.  And changing our foreign policy requires that we no longer be dependent on the region for our economic survival.  The only way to rid ourselves of the threat of terrorism is to achieve energy independence.