Quote Originally Posted by Thorne View Post
Crazy does not necessarily equate with stupid. It's crazy to strap a bomb to your chest and explode it, knowing you are going to die. It's crazy to fly an airplane into a building, knowing you are killing hundreds of people, including yourself. It does take some intelligence to learn to fly that plane, even marginally, well enough to crash it. And it takes a lot of intelligence to plan and coordinate all the intricate elements of such a plan.

But I don't care how smart they are, I doubt very much that any of the planners truly expected the towers to fall as they did. I don't think anyone could have predicted that. It's only in hindsight, after much analysis, that we understand just how that happened.
I agree crazy and stupid are not the same but I still think it unwise to underestimate or misrepresent your foe. You say the suicide bomber is crazy because he is going to a certain death. Does this mean the americans, military and civilians, who have willingly sacrificed their lives for a cause were also crazy. As regards 'no regard for human life' (mkemse) muslims ask the same question in regard to the countless hundreds of thousands of Iraqis who died as a result of sanctions or bombs (90+% of which weren't smart). Portraying terrorists as crazy is bound to invite comparison with the actions of western countries. Were the IRA crazy terrorists when they bombed shopping malls. The USA didn't seem to think so, the IRA were openly raising funds in the US and weren't a proscribed organisation. Terrorist or freedom fighter is well covered debate topic, the IRA, ANC, PLO and Zionist Haganah have all been described as terrorists.

Until such time as you look at the cause of terrorism and address grievances there is no military solution. Many muslims accuse the west of having double standards and by simply writing isalmic terrorists off as crazies only confirms that belief and make it easier for the terrorists to convince potential recruits that he West is anti-Islam and the only thing it understands is the use of force.

PS - Yes nobody expected the Towers to collapse but the planes carried maximum fuel and hit where maximum damage would result.