[3131s]

They’re certainly bothering people and threatening peoples’ freedom.

All of them? What percentage of the dead were terrorists? Because "they" in this case is referring to around 1 million people now.

[mercurysmessage]

People fail to notice that many who are killed are innocent, and this actually creates more people willing to fight back.

It's a vicious cycle, and the murdering of innocent people only makes it worse.

[rayiner]

It’s not clear to me whether that’s true on a larger scale. Obviously, innocent people die in war and that’s regrettable and to be minimized. But innocent people also suffer from the instability and insecurity caused by terrorism. Note that while most countries opposed the US invasion of Afghanistan, opinion polling in India—which shares a border with that country—showed a majority of people there supported military action against the Taliban.

Note that leaving terrorism unchecked also has a cost. I agree folks tend to have a perception of terrorism risks that outweighs the actual cost in lives. But while the psychology is in peoples’ heads, the dollar impact is real. People don’t want to invest in an area where terrorism isn’t a risk. People with means and opportunities leave such areas, creating brain drain. The existence of these unstable places like Afghanistan imposes a real cost on the people in surrounding countries.

Innocent people will die in any significant military action. And if avoiding those casualties is the overriding concern, then you should never engage in non-defensive military action. And that’s certainly a very defensible position, but I’m not sure it’s always the correct one.

[akavi]

> while most countries opposed the US invasion of Afghanistan, opinion polling in India—which shares a border with that country

India does not de facto share a border with Afghanistan (Its claimed extent of Kashmir does have a small border, but in practice that's irrelevant)

[hutzlibu]

"Note that leaving terrorism unchecked also has a cost."

True, but I believe there were a LOT less terrorists on this earth, before the US started its War On Terror.

So fighting terror, yes, but maybe not by blowing up whole weddings, because one guest has a cell phone that was linked to a bad guy?

(sadly not really exaggerating)

[colinmhayes]

I don't think people are failing to notice. That's one of the most common complaints.

[Simulacra]

"I'll tell you what war is about, you've got to kill people, and when you've killed enough they stop fighting."

-Curis LeMay