Bryan;

I hate to defend Maher, but you’re actually arguing his point. The terrorists in the 11 Sep attacks did, in fact, tote their own bombs. And it was specifically the terrorists on the airplanes that Maher was talking about, not terrorists in general. I’m not sure I agree with him on that, but your argument here doesn’t address his point at all. Whatever else you can say about Atta and his companions, they didn’t get others to do the dirty work for them like the leadership of Hamas and the PA.

True enough I guess. But these Hamas types are cowards, and Arafat’s an even bigger coward. A rich one too—he’s apparently been shifting hundreds of millions in aid money to his own personal accounts. I need to dig up the link on that…

Just because you are doing your own “dirty work” does not mean you are brave. I would argue that most (if not all of the 9-11) hijackers were much more appropriately described as deranged. But I could be wrong?

I’m ashamed to admit I’ve watched Bill’s new show, “Real Time”. I have a post about last week’s episode you both just reminded me to write. Check it out if you have a chance. http://12thman.us/2003_09_28_12thman_archive.html#106520267238864843

PS> “Buddy Bowl” hahahaha, Cowboys fan then. Great coaching acquisition and great W over the Giants.

Sorry to be contrary ‘Old Guy’, but I’m still trying to work out the ‘courage factor’ necessary to slit the throat of a 5’2”, 115 lb flight attendant.

Just a thought…

CPT. Charles,

That is obviously the act of a coward. I think what he is calling courageous is the act of suicide in the name of your cause. Self-sacrifice.

Not that I defend it at all…

Well, if I remember right Maher said that flying airplanes into buildings isn’t cowardly, which isn’t necessarily the same thing as saying that it’s brave, and he wasn’t praising them as noble or good. He was actually (I think) juxtaposing their suicidal committment with Clinton’s lame war restrictions to fight from 15,000 feet, which was cowardly on Clinton’s part imho—he knew a single casualty would bring up his sordid Vietnam “I loathe the military” history, and didn’t want to go there, so he fought in a way that would make it nearly impossible to win the war quickly but would also virtually insure that there would be no casualties on our side. Maher didn’t address what the hijackers did to gain control of the aircraft, which was cowardly and despicable, as well as evil and deranged (as was their crashing airplanes into buildings full of innocent people). I’m not sure we even knew much about that angle when Maher said what he said—it was only a few days after 9-11.

File bringing up Bill Maher under “What was I thinking?” The point of this post: Terrorist leaders talk big about taking on the Great Satan, but pee in their pants when the Great Satan or the Little Satan come after them in earnest. They’re cowards to the core who send dupes to die for futile, nihilistic causes.

Considering all the hoopla over ‘rewards in Paradise’, and the fanatical certainty of their ‘holy cause’, I am inclined to deny Jihadi’s the ‘self-sacrifice’ label.

Committing one’s self to an UNCERTAIN outcome (and it’s results…) with no hope of recognition OR reward DOES entail ‘self-sacrifice’.

Don’t make the mistake of assigning Western Civilization value sets to other cultures. In the vast majority of instances, there are NO cultural or MORAL equivalents…period.