The Folly of Fighting Terrorism

Will Sampson has some intriguing thoughts on The Folly of Fighting Terrorism

The notion that persecution and bad treatment creates stronger adherents is not a new concept. Tertullian is famously quoted as saying that "the blood of the martyrs is the seed of the church." So, if torture and martyrdom caused the early Church to phenomenally expand, what do we think it will do to al-Qaeda? Do they believe any less in their vision of the world than those early Christians? Or, to contemporize the example, are terrorist cell members any less dedicated to their worldview than Chinese Christians, a group that seems to grow in direct proportion to its poor treatment? Inflicting terror on those from whom we hope to gather information with which to combat terrorism is a fool's errand and it is helping to shape the next generation of extremists.

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