Editor: Many terrorists live relatively conventional lives, but in some respects they are as merciless as those who behead people in Iraq. They are people like you and me who lead over-consumptive and unsustainable lifestyles at the expense of other countries in the name of free trade.
The evil-doers' terrorism originates from a sense of impotence against unjust governments and their heinous deeds receive worldwide attention. We are motivated by greed, a sense of superiority and an irrational belief in our right to rule the world, but our terrorist activities are usually disguised in hypocrisy about freedom and democracy that's become part of our belief system.
The poverty and suffering of billions of people who lack the basic necessities of life is not the result of rogue dictators, natural disasters or lack of resourcefulness, but is the consequence of America's policies and actions. The cultural coercion we engage in destroys indigenous communities, contaminates the environment and provides regimes with military armaments to facilitate a system of control that supplies our wasteful obsessions.
While America thoughtlessly devastates economies, it revels in its lust by consuming a quarter of the world's resources and producing almost a third of the pollution. We spend $10 billion a year on pornography, which is more than the estimated cost of providing clean water and basic health care to all the world's poor. And, incredibly, America's richest 10 percent have incomes equal to almost half of the world's poorest people. Ruthless acts of bloodshed by terrorists are unlikely to stop until America's arrogant intrusions into international affairs, its disregard for international law and its economic weapons of mass destruction are rendered ineffective. This world we have unduly shaped in our image of inequality, exploitation and empire will not stand the test of time!