Reply #24: I don't know how the other candidates would answer this question [View All]

[Feanorcurufinwe]

but I do know that Dean's answer is DEAD WRONG:

AUDIENCE MEMBER: What do you think is the root cause of Arab-Muslim terrorism against the United States, and what is your policy to correct it?

HOWARD DEAN: Given what I just said about the nature of terrorists-- Terrorists are terrorists first. They may have a cause, but there's no justification for the murder of civilians, in any circumstances. So the root cause of terrorism is some kind of psychological, deep-seated problem, a willingness to do unspeakable things to other human beings. The things that motivate them have a lot to do with the nature of their own government, feeling powerless, being involved in an institution that, like many institutions, has trouble changing and adapting to the modern world, in some cases being indoctrinated to hate, with a substitution of ideology for ambiguity, which is always, in a difficult world, for folks who are struggling, is always a temptation. So there are a lot of recruitment ways that terrorists recruit people. But the cause, I would never connect the cause of actual terrorist acts with deprivation or powerlessness.
http://www.jfklibrary.org/forum_dean.html

The root cause of Arab-Muslim terrorism against the United States is our 100% support of Israel no matter what Israel does. It's not a policy based on our national interest, it's a policy based on the fear of politicians to upset the pro-Israel lobby.

Ignoring this obvious fact, as I would guess all the other candidates will as well, is going to have long-term negative consequences for our country.