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to make a Terrorist

To carry out successful attacks a terrorist organisation requires commited individuals who are strongly motivated. One can combat terrorism by addressing the ideological arguments that allow terrorist organisations to recruit members. The current war on terror' centers on Muslim extremists who have emerged from their western homelands or foreign countries. UK think tank DEMOS' published a report arguing that one thing missing from the war on terror' was involvement and engagement with domestic Muslim communities which have been overlooked as key allies: "Muslim communities suffer some of the worst indicators of deprivation, discrimination and social exclusion, and many are deeply unhappy about aspects of the government's foreign policy towards the Islamic world, which they feel constitutes a war on Islam'. Cheap international travel, satellite television and continuing links to family and friends in countries of origin provide a vital bridge between these personal and global grievances." (DEMOS 2006, p.13) The paper argues that involvement and integration between mainstream society and Muslim communities will reduce the threat of home-grown' terrorism. That is, one will be less likely to be influenced by radical ideologies that rage against their society if they indeed feel a part of it. If, as stated above, the aim of terrorists is to encourage separatism and revolution, then unity and integration form a direct challenge. To fight the war on terror' domestically the motivation to join a terrorist cause must be reduced and this means programs, policy and political language that promote integration rather than divisiveness.

Good vs Evil

The motivation of foreign terrorists can also be reduced if one is able to accurately understand and judge what it is. Ideologies and religion mask the real reasons which motivate those who attack the West. It is easy to blame religious extremism and ideologies as it offers a clear good vs evil' paradigm which is simplifies the matter, however, those in the field of counter-terrorism rarely use such simplistic explanations. Former head of the CIA's Bin Laden Unit Mike Scheuer: "Bin Laden is attacking us because a specific set of US policies that have been in gear for 30 years and haven't been reviewed, haven't been debated, haven't been questioned." (Corera 2004) Scheuer is referring to policies such as the US's support for Israel, their presence on the Arab peninsula and perceived oppression of Muslims (Corera

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