IcyMonkey wrote:
just because evil people think you're helping them doesn't mean you yourself are evil.
No, it doesn't. I don't consider the majority of the "anti-war" people evil; rather, they're horribly, horribly misguided, and think that "fighting The Man" by protests such as these is an excellent way of boosting their egos and giving themselves a sense of purpose. Some of them actually mean well, but haven't bothered to learn the facts of the issues; others, the worst type, know the facts all too well, but protest anyway because they aren't anti-war at all; they're on the other side.
However, although the protestors might not be evil just because a terrorist thinks they're helping them, there's a good chance that
they actually are helping that terrorist. Today's protestors, much like their ideological forebears during Vietnam, are actively aiding the enemy, whether they know it or not. The terrorists, like the North Vietnamese, have no chance of defeating the U.S. or its allies in open conflict; the best they can do is to wear away at morale until the U.S./allies say "Screw this, we're going home," and leave [whatever region is in conflict - Iraq, Afghanistan, or in this case Indonesia] ripe for the construction of another
shari'ah theocracy.
The anti-war protests, to them, are a sign that their tactics are
working. Seeing the resolve of the U.S. (or, in this case, Australia) apparently shaken gives the terrorists new hope that they may indeed be able to force a withdrawel.
Quote:
But I thought terrorists were lieing, schemeing bastards whose words are not to be trusted.
If Sawad had said "I didn't do it," in the face of the evidence against him, that would be a blatant and obvious lie. But lying typically has a
reason; in the above case, it would be trying to save himself from the death penalty. But what would be the reason for thanking the anti-war protestors? If it were a lie, it gives him no benefit - since the anti-war protests are useless, he has no need to praise them, because even if the protestors increased their efforts it would still be useless. If his statement were a lie, he might as well not have made it - so why
would he make it?