Extremists to Get Weapons of Mass Destruction

Ridge Warns U.S. Could Face Suicide Bombings

Suicide Bombings May Spread to Europe, U.S.

Other Groups, with Al Qaeda, Said to Threaten U.S.

NY on Attack Alert, Suspicious Bag Shuts Bridge

Detroit, St. Clair Rivers Shut After Phone Threat

Bin Laden Aide Talks, Sets Off Alerts in U.S.

FBI Warns of Possible Scuba Diver Terror Attacks

Coast Guard Warns of Maritime Terror Threat

Al Qaeda Tells U.S. to Get Ready for Attack

Ridge Says Al Qaeda Still Active in United States

Poll: Most Say Another Attack Cannot Be Stopped

The Bush Doctrine doesn't work any better overseas

Bush Heads to Europe Warning of Terror Threat

Bush Says Europe Faces Risk of Terror, Urges Unity

Report: Al Qaeda, Taliban Smuggled Into Europe

Bush Calls for New NATO to Fight Terror 'Blackmail'

Airliners Cancel Flights Amid NATO Summit Fears

U.S. Warns Citizens in Arab World of Terror Threat

Report: Taliban, Al Qaeda Plotting in Pakistan

U.S. Warns Al Qaeda Has Toehold in Indonesia

and despite the fact that its policies aren't working, the Bush Administration continues its secrecy and its attacks on civil liberties

FBI to Be Given More Scope for U.S. Surveillance

FBI's New Authority Draws Criticism

Bush Opposes Independent Sept. 11 Probe

Cheney Fears Leaks From Any New Sept. 11 Inquiry

Senate Panel Passes Bill to Force Ridge Testimony

All the Bush Administration seems to be able to accomplish is raising the fear level in a misguided attempt to stay in power.

"Why do they hate us so much?"
      7 year old boy on CNN shortly after 9/11

This is the question that needs to be answered if we are going to stop terrorism. The short answer to this key question is "The foreign policies of the United States of America since the end of WWII have frequently been ones of exploitation and oppression."

Yes, shocking as it may seem, the freedom loving US of A has a history of ripping off other counties for the economic gain of US businesses - see for example the US involvement in Iran, Guatemala, Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Zaire, Brazil, Greece, Uruguay, Bolivia, Chile, Saudi Arabia, El Salvador, Nicaragua, Honduras to name just a few examples.

This exploitation is what generates the hatred that makes someone become a terrorist; that leads someone to hate America so much that they are willing to die to try and stop the behavior of Ugly Americans.

So solving the problem of terrorism is simply a matter of behaving is a way that is non-explotative. It means to stop going into other countries and ripping them off.

The major complaints of 21st century terrorist against the US are twofold:

• US support for Israel.
• US foreign policy due to the US's thirst for oil. This dependency is why the US has a heavy handed presence in a number of Middle Eastern countries.

The complaint about Israel can be solved by the US using its influence to aid the creation of a Palestinian state in the West Bank. This will not be easy given the Jewish settlements of 250,000 people in the West Bank, but it has to be done to decrease the hatred of the US - and for humanitarian reasons as well.

In order to eliminate terrorism, the US needs to eliminate, as much as possible, its dependency on foreign oil. Now, of course, the Bush Administration wants to do this by drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. But there is not nearly enough oil there to eliminate the US's dependency on foreign oil - only enough to further line the pockets of the Bush Administration's rich friends.

No, to solve the terrorism problem, it's necessary to drastically reduce America's dependency on oil - any oil, from anywhere. To this end, the following steps need to be taken:

1. Raise the federal tax on gasoline by 1¢ a week for the next 4 years. Every Monday morning at 12:01 AM, the tax goes up by a penny until it reaches an additional $2 per gallon.
2. Use the money collected from this tax to fund research into alternative energy. The money should be primarily aimed at research into fuel cell technology, solar technology and to harvesting wind power in the Great Plains. It could additionally be used to improve mass transit such as funding high speed rail transportation in the Boston/Washington corridor and in the San Francisco/Los Angles/San Diego corridor.
3. The money collect from this tax should not be given away; it should be made available as long term interest free loans with the requirement of royalty payments to the US Treasury from all income earned as a result of technology developed from these moneys.

This plan will reduce America's dependency on foreign oil on two fronts:

• It will discourage people from driving gas hogs.
• It will eventually lead to environmentally friendly energy sources that will enable the US to disentangle itself from repressive regimes that are breeding grounds for terrorism.

• Inform others of the failure of the Bush Administration's anti-terrorism plan.
• Avoid lifestyle habits that contribute to energy waste - this means everything from turning off unneeded lights to not eating fast food (a notoriously energy wasting industry).
• Drive an economical vehicle rather than a gas-guzzler - Toyota and Honda already have Hybrid Electric Vehicles that are 50% more efficient than the average automobile as well as being 90% less polluting.
• Write your lawmakers - send them this page if you can't think of anything else to say.
• Don't vote Republican - it only encourages 'em.