[Northern Yankee]

Vonnegut said it was "sweet and honourable" to die for what you believe in, and rejected the idea that terrorists were motivated by twisted religious beliefs.

So I guess blowing up innocent men, women, and children really doesn't matter then, as long as you believe in it.

[manwiththehands]

Reminds me of the naive Peanuts' Linus character saying: "It doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere"! It's kindergarten philosophy with disastrous consequences in the real world.

[sphinx]

So I guess blowing up innocent men, women, and children really doesn't matter then, as long as you believe in it.

My thought exactly. I don't have any problem with a suicide bomber who charges a tank with explosives strapped to his back. If he's on our side, give him a medal. If he's on the other side, let's hope we shoot him in time, but we can respect him as a soldier. But blowing up places of worship, hotels, and markets is a different matter.

I get the feeling that many commentators on the left have already implicitly accepted terrorism as a legitimate form of warfare. I suspect this has mainly to do with contempt for the victims, but it is clear that very few of them have any idea just how slippery is the slope on which they are standing.

[highlander_UW]

Vonnegut said it was "sweet and honourable" to die for what you believe in, and rejected the idea that terrorists were motivated by twisted religious beliefs.

He's been watching too much Palestinian TV, they use the same terms.