[raspirator]

I've been thinking about this thread now for a few hours so I have something else to add that I feel is important.

Terrorism in America is an incredibly easy thing to happen because of our constitution. Because we have the innate right to worship, talk, and think as we please our "melting pot" of cultures can easily have a spoiled part some where. In the early days of the American Revolution citizens created militias in order to defend their families and towns from invading British troops, marauding Native Americans and whatever other form of brigands that attempted to put themselves or loved ones in life or limb situations. While I'm not condoning the fact that we need to create a militia inside of every city or suburb I think it is important as U.S. citizens to understand that when a threat comes from within, it must be dealt with from within. I would hope that anyone who reads this would have the courage to stand up to anyone with an ill intent against others. Now I'm not saying go out, buy a shotgun, and walk the streets looking for terrorists, but I'm saying that vigilance and a phone call can do wonders for our society. So many crimes go unheard of because no one wants to be labeled a snitch or they are scared of any possible retribution from the criminals should it be known that they were the one who tipped off authorities. In the 1930s J. Edgar Hoover set up the initiative known as "the War on Crime" in an attempt to stem all the violence and crime rising from the Great Depression. This initiative was the grandfather of our local neighborhood watch programs that most urban areas have within their communities. The example of the briefcases in the airport that is given in the article is a prime example of what a little vigilance and a phone call could do to save lives.

It is also important to understand that whether you agree with the current wars in Afghanistan or Iraq that the people we're over there fighting aren't just in those locations and they don't care whether or not you have an opinion on the matter. Their entire justification for their "jihad" is that Americans are a blight upon the Earth. Your political views, moral standpoints, and idealogical vision mean nothing to them and given the chance they will kill whatever American or American ally they can.

Also in reference to the talk about Israel as an ally: Israel, as well as several other key Middle Eastern nations (Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Turkey, India, Pakistan), are members of the United Nations. Despite the U.N. being a feeble attempt at world political decision making it is important to support fellow members of the U.N. as a means to keep political relations throughout the world. The old adage of "keep your friends close, but your enemies closer" comes to mind when I think of the U.N. as it is also a means to keep check on our worldwide competition and impose necessary (although highly ignored) sanctions against extremist governments who want nothing but to cause general chaos around the world by waging wars for nothing more than "we don't like you" (ie: terrorism).

While U.N. sanctions have been historically all but a joke, its incredibly necessary to impose them upon fledgling nations and want-to-be superpowers in order to give them the "three strikes and you're out" policy. A lot of people feel it isn't the U.S. or the U.N.'s place to make these demands and policies for other nations because each nation should be able to govern themselves. This is true and I whole heartedly agree, but just like in Occultism we should be looking to the wiser and older people (nations) in order to understand a the guidelines of the practice. Nations who have even the best of intentions in regards to policy could accidentally cause a war just because they may have over developed (or under developed) an aspect of their country upon growth. A prime example is the nuclear debates in North Korea and Iran. For argument's sake lets say Kim Jong Ill and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad have ideas of world peace forefront in their minds at all times. With out proper development of nuclear procedures, safeties, security, and disposal, a terrorist regime or sect could easily gain control of materials that would be devastating to another country. The point of U.N. sanctions is to guide a nation's progress in order to prevent future incidents from ever even happening. To put it in an occult point of view, sanctions are like U.N. magick. If the U.N. sees something that could possibly be harmful in the future they use the sanctions like we use magick to attempt to change the outcomes into something more favorable.