First, you are utterly, utterly wrong about Al Qaeda just wanting to make their mark on the world. As Ryan said, I won't argue the facts - they exist, and even if you try to twist them, they still exist and you have not proved them wrong. Go read "Inside Al Qaeda" by Gunaratna, "Clash of Civilizations" by Huntington, or "The Al Qaeda Documents" by Venzke. They have a motive and they have an agenda. They aren't doing this for fun.
Why don't you hear people equate the Palestinian suicide bombers with the IRA or the Tamil Tigers or chechin rebels or......
because it's politically correct and grabs more headlines and support if it's equated with Al Qadea and Septmenber 11, that's why.
This is actually a good point. People in the US are such fucking hypocrites - you NEVER hear about cracking down on the IRA or anything like that, but they are the exact same thing as the Palestinians and Al Qaeda: a terrorist organization based upon a pure motive. You don't hear about the Tamil Tigers because people in the US don't give a shit about brown people in Sri Lanka killing eachother. I totally agree with your point, that linking the Palestinians to Al Qaeda is used for emotional reaction - however that doesn't change the fact that the link is valid. If I said "Bush is EVIL! He wants to drill in the ANWR!! EVIL EVIL EVIL", does that change the fact that he wants to drill in the ANWR? *chuckle* Logic, bro...
To simply boil the whole Arab-israeli conflict down to a cold blooded terrorist act on September 11 is offensive to the Palestinian people and their struggle, and totally misses the real point of what's going on. It simply gives Israel a right of passage to do whatever they want.
Who's boiling it down? I believe if you look above all you'll find I said was that the Palestinian terrorists and the Al Qaeda terrorists are morally the same: horrendous. I even said
Note I am equating the use of terrorist tactics on both sides, not their core causes..
Anyway, it sounds like I am agreeing with you on all points but one.
- we agree that the Palestinians have a valid cause
- we agree that terrorism in all forms is to be abhorred
The thing we don't agree on is the motivation of Al Qaeda.
They are not, in general, racists.
They are fundamentalist Muslims.
They take a far harder line towards infidels than mainstream and normative Islam.
They believe that western-style capitalism has caused many of the problems that their countries face.
They believe that imperialism has caused many of the problems that their countries face.
They believe that the US, a nation of infidels, having a strong interest in, and even control over, Saudi Arabia is sacrilege.
They did not surface at 9/11: they've been active for around 9-12 years now.
Since 9/11 I've been reading all I can (about 6 books) trying to understand what their motivations are. From where have you gained your information?