HOW TO STOP THESE TERRORIST ATTACKS

[Yavin4]

1.) Develop an alterntative fuel source and put into place an energy policy that severely restricts imported oil from the Middle East. This will include forcing much higer CAFE standards on cars, and increasing funding for public transportation.
This move alone would defund much of the terrorists.

2.) Withdraw the military from the Middle East. Contrary to the massive media propaganda campaign of disinformation, the Arab world DOES NOT want the U.S. military on their soil. True, they do want a democracy, but they do not want our military on their land. WE CANNOT ACHIEVE PEACE AND STABILITY THERE WITH OUR TROOPS ON THE GROUND, AND ANY U.S. POLITICIAN WHO BELIEVES THAT MORE U.S. TROOPS IS THE ANSWER IS A DUMBASS.

3.) Put world pressure on ALL arab nations to open up their governments to democracy, and to install programs and policies which will lift their people out of poverty.

4.) Find and bring OBL to justice. Now, this alone won't stop terrorism, but bringing him down would send a strong signal to all other terrorists that whoever is the leader can and will be taken down. Allowing him to live and operate is providing an inspiration to the other terrorist cells.

[cynatnite]

1. Real peace between Israel and Palestine

A Palestinian state which gives them complete autonomy to run their country as they see fit plus a treaty with Israel ceasing all hostilities.

[Yavin4]

4. That Would Help As Well, But U.S. Military Withdrawal

would be more important. Whether it was Beiruit under Reagan, Saudi Arabia under Bush I, or Iraq today, the Muslim world reacts violently when they see U.S. troops on their soil. Unless we really do have a real serious national security threat, there's no reason why we should be stationed on their land.

[justinsb]

2. I'd say

2) Withdraw the military from the ME, South and Central America, the Carribean, Europe, Korea, Japan ...

4) I hate to say this but it doesn't matter. OBL is already a god in the Arab world, whatever happens to him now. If he lives his status stays where it is or goes up, if he's captured or killed he's a martyr and obtains mythological status, they will be selling posters of him for generations.

[spindoctor]

3. That sounds about right

Now which political mastermind will figure it out first? ;)

[justinsb]

5. Also, as someone mentioned in an earlier thread

cut military spending by 100 billion anually and put that money in a trust fund to help rebuild and stabalize Iraq and Afghanistan, have some international body (such as the UN) administer the fund. No American companies or workers should qualify for any of the contracts.

[Yavin4]

6. I Say We Let The Iraqis and the Afghanis Rebuild Their Own Nations

We should respect them as people and let them have sovreign control over their resources, their land, and their government. Instead, we're using thier country as neocon lab experiments.

[justinsb]

7. Ok...but especially in Iraq

The US broke it, in an illegal war, and should by all rights pay extensive reperations.

[carnie_sf]

8. I think the key point

is number one. Having the entire world economy this dependent on crude oil only puts more power (economic and otherwise) in the hands of states whose repressive policies foster the development of terrorists. Think Saudi Arabia.

[Yavin4]

9. The First Item Would De-Fund The Terrorists, But

withdrawing militarily would do even more good.

[The Crazy Canadian]

11. How about removing the neocons first.

If you withdrawl the military, these bastards are still going to be in power. Plus, with the neocons in power, this will never happen. They want to invade more Muslim countries in their goal of transforming the Middle East.

Defunding terrorists is good, but we should really be focusing on how to prevent Muslims from adopting the Jihad holy war world view espoused by these radical Islamists.

[Media_Lies_Daily]

10. How about we bring the NeoCons to justice first? IMHO, that's the....

...key to ensuring that the rest of the things can be taken care of.

As far as OBL is concerned, do you really believe he was the brains behind 911? If you can truthfully answer "Who benefitted the most from 911?", you'll know the answer to that question. Don't forget that OBL denied any role in the attacks on 911. The only video in which he supposedly claims responsibility is clearly a fake because the person who is claimed to be OBL does NOT look anything like his before or after photos.

One more point...fanatical terrorists work under the premise that dying for their cause is the best thing that could happen to them. As a parallel point, being killed adds another martyr to the list of those that are fighting the Great Satan (America), and does nothing but further inspire their followers to commit still more acts of terrorism.

[LSK]

12. good points.

5. Resolution of the Israeli/ Palestine situation.

[athena]

13. Also, provide financial aid to be used for education and women's rights.

Withdraw the oil money by lowering our dependence on their oil, and offer aid (real aid, not loans) in return for improvements in education and civil rights. I am guessing that many people become terrorists because they feel they have nothing to live for. If people see that honest hard work will enable them to live fulfilling lives, they will not become terrorists.

That will not stop the fanatics and the die-hards, but it will stop many low-level recruits who volunteer as suicide-bombers.

[Hippo_Tron]

14. Imagine if we had taken all of the money from the Iraq war...

And invested it in renewable energy. I have to wonder if we would still be fighting a "war on terror".

[G_j]

15. Department Of Peace

http://www.kucinich.us/issues/departmentpeace.php

Department of Peace
The United States was founded on hope, optimism, and a commitment to freedom. We can once again become a beacon of hope for the world. To do that, we must reject the current administration's policies of fear, suspicion, and preemptive war. It is time to jettison our illusions and fears and to transform age-old challenges with new thinking. This is the idea behind my proposal to establish a Department of Peace. This is the idea to make nonviolence an organizing principle at home and abroad and dedicate ourselves to peaceful coexistence, consensus building, disarmament, and respect for international treaties. Violence and war are not inevitable. Nonviolence and peace are inevitable.

We can conceive of peace as not simply the absence of violence but the presence of the capacity for a higher evolution of human awareness, of respect, trust, and integrity. We can conceive of peace as a tool to tap the infinite capabilities of humanity to transform consciousness and conditions that impel or compel violence at a personal, group, or national level toward creating understanding, compassion, and love. We can bring forth new understandings where peace, not war, becomes inevitable. We can move from wars to end all wars to peace to end all wars.

Citizens across the United States are now uniting in a great cause to establish a Department of Peace, seeking nothing less than the transformation of our society, to make nonviolence an organizing principle, to make war archaic through creating a paradigm shift in our culture for human development for economic and political justice and for violence control. Its work in violence control will be to support disarmament, treaties, peaceful coexistence and peaceful consensus building. Its focus on economic and political justice will examine and enhance resource distribution, human and economic rights and strengthen democratic values.

We must change the metaphor of our society from one of war to one of peace. The Department of Defense now requires in excess of $400 billion for its activities. A Department of Peace can be an effective counterbalance, redirecting our national energies towards nonviolent intervention, mediation, and conflict resolution on all matters of human security.

A Department of Peace can look at the domestic issues that our society faces and often ignores as we focus on matters internationally. We have a problem with violence in our own society, and we need to look at it and address it in a structured way. Domestically, the Department of Peace would address violence in the home, spousal abuse, child abuse, gangs, and police-community relations conflicts, and would work with individuals and groups to achieve changes in attitudes that examine the mythologies of cherished world views, such as "violence is inevitable" or "war is inevitable." Thus, it will help with the discovery of new selves and new paths toward peaceful consensus.

The Department of Peace will also address human development and the unique concerns of women and children. It will envision and seek to implement plans for peace education, not simply as a course of study, but as a template for all pursuits of knowledge within formal educational settings.

Americans have proven over and over again we're a nation that can rise to the challenges of our times, because our people have that capacity. And so, the concept of a Department of Peace is the vehicle by which we express our belief that we have the capacity to evolve as a people, that someday we could look back at this moment and understand that we took the steps along the way to make war archaic.

Violence is not inevitable. War is not inevitable. Nonviolence and peace are inevitable. We can make of this world a gift of peace which will confirm the presence of universal spirit in our lives. We can send into the future the gift which will protect our children from fear, from harm, from destruction.

` ` `
Congressman Kucinich is the 2003 recipient of the Gandhi Peace Award. Former recipients include Eleanor Roosevelt, Cesar Chavez, A.J. Muste, Dr. Linus Pauling, Dorothy Day, Sen. Wayne Morse and Marian Wright Edelman. See website: http://www.pepeace.org/tmpl/gandhi.html