Doug Henwood:
> Who knows? Smartness may have nothing to do with it; people feel and
> act differently if they're in the midst of something than they do
> from afar. Suicide bombers could think that they're going to wear
> down their enemies, who will eventually give up.
That is what I meant -- wear them down spiritually.
In conventional war, hatred of the enemy may serve one's own side. But in asymmetrical war, it serves the enemy by multiplying and amplifying his presence. Just so, the continual excitements that followed (and continue to follow) September 11th served the cause of the perpetrators and lay the groundwork for further acts of the same kind.
-- Gordon