BLOOD BROTHERS

Scott Roeder, arrested in the shooting death of abortion provider Dr. George Tiller, like other persons who have been convicted of previous such murders and attempted murders, are the Americans who most remind me of al-Qaeda terrorists.

A critical similarity is the dedication and courageousness with which they go about their dastardly deeds. Whether they perish in a suicide mission such as the September 11 attacks or make little attempt to escape arrest and subsequent imprisonment or even execution as happened to Rev. Paul Hill, these folks seem to have a need to martyr themselves. As a result we cannot label any of them cowards.

Another strong similarity is an obsessive religious fanaticism which leads them to ignore mainstream religious tenants of peace and goodwill in favor of murder and mayhem. Whether its Middle East terrorists misinterpreting the Koran or old-fashioned American fundamentalists perverting Biblical concepts, these terrorism practitioners become entranced with their supreme moral beliefs which lead them to kill innocents.

While we need to be ever diligent protecting our land from foreign terrorists, we must not ignore the profound threat posed by the terrorists within.

Also published in Glen Ellyn News, June 3, 2009