Why indeed? For a nation, the benefit of having a nuclear weapon comes from not using it. Continue reading
Blog Posts and Writings Tagged: terrorism
Blog 125. What do you fear most?
Fear has always been the strongest motivation for uniting people, but Americans are now divided by fear. Fear of what? Continue reading
Blog 103. Are we terrorizing ourselves?
There’s a social science of terrorism. Science News magazine* devoted a special article to the research of anthropologist Scott Atran** of the University of Michigan. Atran has been on the battlefields of ISIS, Continue reading
Blog 35. Complex Terrorism
Terrorism doesn’t work, but fear of terrorism works very well.
Scientific American on terrorism.
The August, 2013 Scientific American offered an article, “Five Myths of Terrorism,” by Michael Shermer. Shermer says terrorism doesn’t work because the terrorists have reason to perpetrate violence; they aren’t under central control, they are not unique geniuses, and they are not deadly compared to the annual average of 13,700 homicides. Shermer notes that most terrorist groups failed to attain their strategic goals.
Shermer is wrong because he ignores the effectiveness of the terrorist acts of 9/11. Continue reading