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U.S. Academics Warn War On Terrorism Breeds Terrorism

HeadlineMar 09, 2005

U.S. academics are warning officials in Spain that the war on terror may breed more terrorism. The warning comes at a summit ahead of the one-year anniversary of the March 11th deadly train bombings in Madrid. University of California professor Mark Juergensmeyer said the US military’s detention of Islamic militants captured in Afghanistan as “prisoners of war” at Guantanamo Bay had exacerbated the threat of extremism. He said “We have the Guantanamo effect. That is dealing with terror in such a way that it has an incubator effect. One has to examine the penal system’s role in creating more terrorism.” Jerrold Post of George Washington University added “Most strong counter terror attacks are for ensuring domestic voters that something is being done. But there is usually an increase in terrorism afterwards.”

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