Letter to The Washington Post

From: Dr. Michael Berenhaus [mailto:mberenhaus@comcast.net]
Sent: Sunday, August 19, 2007 11:51 PM
To: 'letters@washpost.com'
Subject: letter to the editor

Dear Editor,

Laura Schoppa correctly states in her letter-to-the-editor [Aug. 18, 2007] that “to eradicate terrorism, we need to understand its roots.” But she is dead wrong when she says that “terrorist attacks often are acts of desperation committed by people who feel …wronged.” Where is the desperation of those that murdered 3,000 Americans on September 11? Where is the desperation of those that murdered 52 Brits and wounded 700 on 7/7/05? Where is the desperation of those that murdered 191 Spanish and wounded 2,050 in the 2004 Madrid train bombings? It is not desperation at all that caused these terrorist attacks but hate. And hate is the root cause which must be removed in order to eradicate terrorism. The inculcation of hate in Muslim youth and the glorification of martyrdom must be dealt with honestly and openly. Only then will terrorism be halted.

Michael Berenhaus