I have to admit I came out pretty strong when the Abu Ghraib abuse scandal broke. While I am still upset that the activities there reflect wrongly on America and our military, in retrospect I do not think those abuses will be cause for increased violence against Americans. Yes, it will be used as an excuse for such terrorist acts, as in the Nick Berg atrocity, but those who hate us, will not hate us more. They cannot.
It didn't take an Abu Ghraib to instigate the suicide crashes into the Twin Towers, the Pentagon and a Pennsylvania field. It didn't take Abu Ghraib to incite the beheading of Daniel Pearl. It didn't take Abu Ghraib to provoke the Bali nightclub bombing, the Madrid train bombings, the US embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. The Cole, the multiple attempted infiltrations of US borders by terrorists that have, so far, been thwarted by the border patrol and law enforcement.
No, Abu Ghraib didn't motivate the Berg barbarity, al Qaida doesn't need reason to act. They already have their own reason, the hate us. Any other motivation given is merely an excuse.

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