Originally Posted by
marct
Hi GP,
The terrorists are in general altruistic--willing to die or kill but doing it for the public good and in believing that their actions are really in the interest of others--but their actions are, like all human actions, motivated by and satisfy their selfinterest (as defined in their eyes). And by the way, you cannot change the terrorist's beliefs--in other words, you cannot create a cause to live for that is greater then their cause to die for--terrorists have to be killed, they cannot apostatize. This fact is why we hear so much about the religious Jihadist, religious extremists and why Terrorists are considered radicals--these conditions are very much at the actualization levels and they mirror belief systems that are so deeply held as to be extreme. Religion, democracy are selfactualizing concepts too. The Insurgents in Iraq are not acting at that level. When you are drinking from the same trough as your cow, you are not thinking about selfactualizing concepts. They will ebb and flow because their motives are selfish--it is all about them. These guys are locals, operating within KM of their own homes and there are many different groups. When I used the word utility, I did not mean Utilitarian. What I meant is in the purest definition of Utility--the quality or property of being useful--in other words, this insurgency in Iraq meets their primal need for food, money to acquire worth, power to control their neighborhood, self-security etc. and therefore, they only want the lawlessness to continue. The insurgency wants protractedness because they will ride the lawlessness as long as is possible. Their goal is not to win and that is why you never hear of an insurgency that wins--that is not their goal. You see if they were to win, then they would be responsible for caring for others, establishing a government, meeting needs of the local population, providing services and in providing Hope. Thank you for letting me discuss my radical ideas.
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