[extropy-chat] War and technological progress

[Lee Corbin]

Stathis writes

> > And of course, the so-called "aggressor war" is based upon the
> > perception (rightly or wrongly) that after Al Qaeda wins in Iraq,
> > to the great glee of the half of America that is more scared of
> > the Bush and Christian agenda, then Al Qaeda will get a huge 
> > surge of new recruits.  History loves a winner. And then we'll
> > see if the war just quietly goes away.
> 
> Do you think that the American invasion of Iraq has discouraged
> those who wish to martyr themselves for Islam?  

People have their own agendas, and are influenced by what you
do less than is usually thought. For example, consider the Battered
Wife Syndrome:  her lament is "What am I doing that makes *him*
so angry?"

Well, you can tell her over and over again that it's *not* her, it's
him---but she is so constituted as to be unable to believe that.
She must believe that it's her fault.

So it is with the West.  "What are we doing that makes *them* so
angry?"  Well---yes, it is true:  if the woman were to stop breathing,
to take an extreme example, *he* would probably stop beating her.
And if the West were to stop exporting filth around the world, stop
corrupting the Muslim youth with everything from clothing styles to
bad attitudes, tendentious movies, acceptance of homosexuality,
defiance of parents, and so on and on, and also were to 
become pure isolationists, stop being on Israel's side, profusely
apologize for placing troops on the Sacred Soil of Saudi Arabia
to repel aggression in Kuwait, etc., yes, Al Qaeda might very well
turn its attention elsewhere.  But then, evil does triumph when good
people do nothing.

> Do you think that the American invasion of Iraq has discouraged
> those who wish to martyr themselves for Islam?  

It doesn't matter.  People have their own agendas.

Lee