I'd like to add some more:
"And can we convince politicians, eager for re-election or perhaps electorally desperate, to abstain from using the race or faith card? Not to use fear of terrorists for their own political ends? At the moment, this, and easily understood innuendos, happen unforgivably often. Maybe voters should stand up and say: no race or faith card rhetoric or else!"

Now, ask yourself- if the public were made VERY well aware of a terrorist video- and the actual demands made in the video to pull out of, say, Afghanistan- and the people were TERRIFIED of another bomb attack, which party would most likely win? (for the sake of argument, let's say both CLEARLY have tight immigration policies so there is no "left/right" issue to confuse the topic).
-The party that vows to insist we remain in Afghanistan and put more resources into winning over there?
-The party that vows to pull us out?

Now, without the media broadcasting the motives, how would this play differently?

I'm absolutely amazed that freedom of information aught be suppressed- by a journalist no less- because by some train of logic if the public were kept clueless as to why they just got attacked with nothing more than a few Bush analysis of "hating our freedoms" to go on will somehow dissuade them next time, as opposed to simply encourage them to do it again until their message sinks in....

Parser,

No-one accused Judy Cannon of being part of a "CIA/capitalist/crusader/racist conspiracy", but, as I said, I believe her understanding of terrorism attributed to Islamist extremists is wrong.

The people who gain most from the publicity given to purported terrorists are in fact Governments such as the US Government, the UK Government and our own who seize upon terrorist acts attributed to Islamist extremists to justify wars such as the Iraq war and the Afghan war.

It seems that most of the supposed sectarian violence in Iraq was, in fact, carried out either directly by occupying forces or by patsies acting on their behalf.

An example of the former is an apparent foiled terrorist attack on Basra in September 2005 by members of the British SAS.

Just prior to a religious festival, two British SAS men, dressed as Arabs, driving a car packed with explosives and weapons were arrested by local police in Basra, following a car chase which, in turn, followed their killing of a policeman and a civilian at a checkpoint.

As they were being questioned by the police, the local British Army attacked the police station with tanks and helicopters and freed the captured SAS men, so the investigation was never completed.

For a more detailed account, read "British Uncover Operation in Basra: Agents Provocateurs?" of 23 Sep 2005 by William Bowles at http://www.globalresearch.ca/index.php?context=viewArticle&code=BOW20050923&articleId=990

So, it would seem that the picture we had been fed by the media all those years of British and US occupiers of struggling to maintain the peace between Sunnis and Shiites itching to murder each other is the precise opposite of what was going on.

Bin Laden first became anti-Western over the use of big numbers of US troops protecting his home country's Saudi borders.

As some historians still call this type of protection by US forces a type of neo-colonialism, could historians be partly right that more democratic protection involving global troops would be preferable?

In fact, has such single action by both British and US troops helped to increase Islamic terrorism

Actually Bushbred, Bin Laden is the sworn enemy of the Saudi Royal family too after they swallowed up the Bin Laden family's corporation- and by extension, the Saudi's protective allies, the USA.

In short, it's a gigantic vendetta.

However, the neo-colonial presence in other Muslim countries would definitely draw a lot of Islamic ire (including by him).

I saw a show about him on SBS a while back.

Thanks, King Hazza, so like me you do agree that academic historians have had a rough time bringing out the historical truth of the matter.

Wonder sometimes where it will all finish up, especially as China seems out to make friends with Iran.......?

Reckon we could do with a bit of Mandela Political Magic, 'eh, mate.....?

From BB, late of Buntine, WA, once a steam rail watering joint, midway between Northam and Mullewa. Went to school there, in fact, now it's just a Ghost Town with many good memories, for me, anyway.

Cheers,BB.

Indeed Bushbred, it seems one may very well find lots of cases where an account is made about an individual and broadcasted, yet "little" details are overlooked or left out that change the whole picture.