Like that analogy very much! Cuts to the heart of the matter and totally brilliant!!

A terrorist or anyone else commiting a crime is a criminal and should be treated like every other criminal. Due process, fair trial and punishment if judged so. Pretty cut and dried.

A gangbanger on the street corner is not guilty just because he's a gangbanger standing on a street corner.

The real gangsters are in organized crime, corrupt politicians, corrupt corporations, corrupt corporate lawyers, corrupt judges, corrupt lawyers, corrupt police chiefs, corrupt policemen, corrupt government and especially corrupt major leaders in our country. They are the terror. They should be feared more than the terrorists.   

The war on terrorism is being used as a fear tactic to take our rights away, a little at a time. Wake up! The terrorist ain't gonna get you, but something else will.

janet - i applaud you.

i agree with janet also.using fear tactics to take away our freedoms.little by little till we have none left......

I realized that when Bush first opened his mouth. We are not fighting a war per se. We are fighting something that will last forever.

When has ANY crime been eliminated, since the beginning of time? Robbery? Murder? Even speeding or other traffic laws are an ongoing issue.

So Bush wants to take on even more criminals, in every foreign country in the world. How dumb. And he expects us to finance it besides? It isn't a war that can ever be won.

I agree with you True critic.
I have come to realize that terrorist are no more than gangsters.
The war in Iraq has been won.
Just leave an elite force to take out international terrorist.
And I say no holds barred. shoot to kill.

I disagree with every comment made here, except for Konane's and JAP69's. Terrorism should not be fought in courts, they should be taken out and fought using unconventional tactics. Our government may have bad parts, but it is MOSTLY good, and to compare it with terrorism is ignorant and wrong. Saying that the US government is the terrorists is in fact the talking-points of the terrorists themselves. The ONLY reason Janet can make a statement like "the terrorist ain't gonna get you" is that our government has been doing its job. It is an extremely myopic comment, and sad to see, but all these types of comments are oh so predictable. Many of the American populace have very short memories. Can you image people like Janet saying that on 9/12/2001? Tell you what Janet, I hope the day never comes, but should another big terrorist attack occur on US soil, you go ahead and make such a statement to the victim's families, or make the statement to ANYONE, for that matter.

I think I agree with you, but only partially. Gangsters don't have a religious or moral obligation to a God or purpose. "There is no honor among thieves" or drug dealers or pimps. The suicide bombers give up their lives to reach a higher form of being. We look at them as "Evil" because our way of life, our religions and our morality disagrees with their way of thinking. Imagine being a poor farmer in Iraq whose land, animals and family have been destroyed by Americans who have come to save you from this "Evil." Would you then thank America for ridding the world of this unseen force or join the very enemy from which they're protecting you?

justxp - they hate us.

most of this country was built on crime and corruption

Yes, Emily. They do hate us. I never said they didn't. I was only trying to say that fighting terrorism is more difficult because we are fighting an ideology, not drug smuggling or prostitution. I was also commenting on the continuous use by the media of the word "evil" as if there are only 2 groups of people in the world, the Good (Americans) and the Evil (people who hate Americans.) I also think men who torture, rape & murder children are evil. However, the difference is that we put the latter on trial and incarcerate the individual for such a deplorable act. Using the term evil allows good people to justify mass murder and the destruction of entire villages, including innocent children and animals. Evil isn't as tangible or absolute as a crime which can be defined by its action. If you call someone a gangster, it's possible he came from an unloving home and is an unfortunate product of his environment. If you call someone evil, he is void of any good, any hope of rehabilitation, a disciple of Satan. It's much more powerful and, therefore, can have a different impact on how people react. Example 1 : A man robs a bank and kills a teller. So we convict him of the crime and send him to prison, maybe even execute him by lethal injection. Example 2: A man robs a bank and kills a teller. His family lives in Afghanistan and are followers of Islam. He is charged with being a terrorist because he probably robbed the bank to launder money to assist other evil people and our freedom is threatened. So it's okay to drop bombs on the village where his family lives, because we are protecting ourselves from evil. Evil is a very powerful word, which is why politicians use it so much. You can forgive a gangster, but you cannot forgive Evil.

Sorry, I don't want to "hijack" some else's Blog.   I was simply trying to answer you an explain what I meant. Peace.

justxploring, very well put.