[Biradallo]

Well, I don't exactly trust Israel any more than Muslim Extremists. The Muslim guys will use force and death while the Israeli officials use politics and speech. Both of them are bad news.

The conflict in the Middle East between Palestinians and Israelis is not simple matter either. And one, I would argue, that we should not be involved in by any measure. But we ally with Israel and give them all of their power. I wonder why their enemies then target us?

If what you say is true Belphebe then we are screwed. Are you aware that Pearl Harbor was allowed to happen and in a large part provoked on our behalf? 9/11 was much the same story. America is no stranger to letting things happen so they can get what they want out of it.

If this big event goes down, American citizens should leave the country ASAP. It won't be a good place to live.

[bs44MhUW]

Coming from a military standpoint, one yes I am prepared for this. I'm also prepared for our Second Amendment rights to be destroyed by our current U.S. administration which in my opinion will greatly effect what Juval Aziz is talking about. In regards to the Israeli administration and their war with the Palestinians, it is important that at least in modern history any action against Palestine, military or political, has been a reactionary response to Palestinian attacks. That being said, some times Israel does go a little far with how they respond. I also think it is important to point out that Israel does not attack Palestine as a whole, they attack Hamas. Hamas is currently in control of the country of Palestine and so to the rest of the world this looks like a was between two countries when in fact it is another sect of the War on Terror. I do believe America's prevention methods for terrorism are flawed. I could list multiple ways we could improve security but the majority of them would probably be viewed on this forum as a militant perspective but EVERYONE on this forum needs to understand that the people who comprise these terrorist groups aren't just after America for supporting Israel, they're not just after Democracy. Their "Jihad" is an unjustified "holy war" that the Ayatollah in Iran has created primarily because they feel that their country is superior to any other. That being said the same ideal is upheld here in America and every President in the past 20 years has had this same narcissistic view of ourselves. In most every speech in regards to our country's status or future the phrase "the best country in the world" or some similar phrase is used and is viewed by the outside nations as an insult to their country which is completely understandable. As much as I dislike the Obama administration and as much as it grinds my gears to have seen him AND George Bush Jr, bow to the King of Saudi Arabia I can at least understand that it was a formality that was necessary to promote peace between the primary country that we are reliant on over any other.

To me, our nation has become complacent again after the 9/11 attacks. For about a year, everyone in America became a patriot. People joined the military that never had any intention of doing so for a cause that, at the time, they felt was justified which now I have seen within the military people have that cause degraded by media publicity and a fear of the job they raised their right hand to do. When you take your oath to join the U.S. military you pledge to fight all threats to the nation both foreign and domestic. Terrorism crosses both of those territories as most apparent in the recent Fort Hood shooting by a Major who had been identified as having contact with a radical Islamic Imam in Yemen. To me our biggest threat comes from within because of our lackadaisical views within our intelligence communities. That is a point that Aziz has nailed right on the head.

The over reliance on technology has been portrayed in movies and throughout the media as our biggest weakness because key placed attacks could literally cripple our nation to the point that we may not be able to return from this. In order to be proactive against terrorist attacks to our technological infrastructure it would require a much more militant approach but would be impossible to implement currently as we are not officially "at war" according to Congress.

I also think the human element has been negated within the intelligence community as every time we hear on the news about a major incident happening, (Fort Hood again most recently as I cited above) the information given by a field agent seems to be dismissed instead of properly looked in to. For example, when the CIA picked up on the fact that the Major who was currently at Fort Hood had contact with the Imam in Yemen it was dismissed as a research project he was doing while stationed at Walter Reed Army Medical Hospital, a key point for ALL wounded soldiers from over seas. He was removed from Walter Reed because his commanding officers were too lazy to do any necessary paperwork to remove him from the Army, so in order to save themselves the time and effort they just changed his duty station so they didn't have to deal with him. That is a HUGE problem to me and I think his commanding officers at Walter Reed should be investigated and possibly removed from their commission as officers in the U.S. Army.

I could honestly go on for days about this since I have a very first person view of the events that most people just see on Fox News or CNN but I'll stop with that.

[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.