What the war on terror is really all about.

I was recently sent a link to a video that questions whether or not the Pentagon was actually hit by a 757 on 9/11/01. I watched the video, and it did what it was designed to do, it made me look at things from a different perspective and with a more questioning mind. But what it has not done is cause me to believe that George W. Bush was "behind" the attacks, as the site and video suggested.

After watching the video I began to wonder about who produced it. So I began looking up information on the website that was hosting the video, looking at other sites that link to it, and sure enough guess what I come across...

I come across Islam on the web. A vast array of websites including Hamas Online, HumiliateAmerica.Com, the KavKatzCenter (you know, the Chechen terrorists that are currently holding 400 school children hostage right now in Chechnya.) and the jackpot for everything terrorists... The World of Islam Portal.

One of the links that I came across took me to IraqVicims.Com, a website dedicated to showing the horrors of war to the entire world. They have photographs of men, women, and children who have been killed or maimed as a result of the war in Iraq. Of course they also have the infamous Abu Ghraib prison abuse photos.

While all of these photos are tragic, a couple of things occurred to me. One, we do not know the story behind the photos, so they are nothing more than photos. By this I mean that if we looked at a picture out of context, then we don't know what brought about the end result. Yes, it is sad that innocent children are being injured or killed as a result of this war, but how are they getting themselves into these circumstances where being injured or killed is even possible?

And then there's two, I come across a photo of a group of apparently Iraqi women holding riffles and surrounded by children. I'm also reminded of the early days of the war when Husein's "elite" guards would position themselves in hospitals and near schools and then fire on American troops.

And then it hits me, these people, these terrorists do not even care about their own children being injured or killed, as evidenced by the fact that they put them directly into the line of fire, but they may actually view the death of their child as something worthwhile. How would it be worthwhile?

Well, if I'm an Iraqi terrorist and I'm truly dedicated to my cause, then I am willing to die and even put my children in harms way to advance that cause. Then, if my child is killed or badly injured, I simply call in the news crews and let them snap a few photos for the AP wire and then send those photos to people who might be sympathetic to my cause. I do not understand these people.

Firing on American troops from a mosque, school, or hospital is another great way to get "collateral damage" photos. These people understand the rigors and horrors of war, after all they've been killing each other and killing Jews for thousands of years. But we live in a time that is unique in all of history. A time when women who would kill their own children in the womb in the name of their convenience will also stand up and say "war is bad, it kills children". We live in a time when paradox and oxy morons are the rule of the day.

So if America is attacked, as we obviously were on 9/11 (in spite of what the conspiracy video that lead me on this journey would have me believe), and we decide to retaliate and defend ourselves from further attack, then we are suddenly labeled "imperialists". If during the war we wage in order to defend ourselves some "innocent" people are injured or killed, then we are labeled "terrorists".

So it seems that our only option is to do exactly what talk show hosts have been saying all along, we either wipe these people (and by "these people" I mean the terrorists who blow up our buildings and take children hostage in order to advance their cause) from the face of the planet, or convert to Islam and release all of the captured terrorists. I, for one, choose the first option.