quote:
Originally posted by Barry the Sprout:
If we pin it all down to one person then we run the risk of ignoring the wider causes. Society has a tendancy to find a scapegoat for its problems. What is most scary for me is that Hitler was a gifted product of his time. Nazism could happen again given the same circumstances. Another example might be McVeigh. The idea that the American racist right is going to be destroyed by his execution is laughable. Scapegoats are dangerous things for society as they hide the real problem more often than not.
Hitler was, by far not alone in his attempts at world domination, but he was a leader, an incitor of violence against other humans (his radio broadcasts into Austria, for example, helped to elevate the moral of Austrian Nazis...).
We all know there are more McVeighs out there and not just in our country, but in other countries as well.
No one is pointing a finger at Bin Laden and crying scapegoat. He is a leader, an incitor of violence and murder in the name of religion. Taken down (or even out) his followers will do one of two things, cry for further war because their prophet has been slain (or imprisoned) or they'll drop out of sight for a time because they haven't the funds to carry out his plans for the destruction of the western world.
It'd be really naive of anyone to think that by taking him out of the picture that violence by terrorists would come to a halt, but IMO taking Bin Laden out (or down) is the best place to start.