Where have all the Other Terrorists Gone

The threads about Terrorism in the middle east and south east asia and the groups that conduct these deliberate and horrific attacks aimed at soft civilian targets got me thinking.

Whats happened to all the other scum and vermin in the world...AND I MEAN TERRORIST FOLKS.....no offense meant to any people of the following origins.

The Basque Terrorists in Spain,
The Irish IRA and Loyalist Terrorists in Northern Ireland
Your non muslim French, German Italian fanatics

and the rest out there.

In some countries I can understand it,thier problems have never been the central focus of our attentions, even before 9/11 (thats not a judgement just an observation)

Is it just because the Middle East inspired Terrorism and War is just overwhelming everything else, is it an Australian, American centric thing or has there been an unexpected "positive" of this war that has us all so absorbed and angry.

Has it become "unpopular" amongst the hard and big men and women of groups like the IRA, Loyalists and ETA to be terrorists anymore. Better just to control the local organised crime and just be Kingpins now? How hard has the image of the head chopping, market bombing terrorist affected these other groups in these other countries....Whats the public perception of those that were for some heros four years ago? After the AQ Madrid bombings would a man declaring his support for ETA Terrorists in a Basque pub be more likely to be cheered or beaten to death?

Are they afraid thier traditional ex pat supporters and fundraisers in countries like the US and Australia can no longer stomach thier associations with terrorists?

Or has the media and public focus just shifted?

Spinkeypinkey at another thread was telling me in response to a question I gave him that UK Force levels were being cut at home, because they took into consideration they were in the process of drawing down the UK garrison in Northern Ireland from 15,000 to 4,5000 troops?

I must admit I had lost track of it since 9/11. Is the "Peace Process" in Northern Ireland going that well. Has peoples much changed attitude to terrorism had anything to do with it.

I would really like to know, especially from posters in those parts of the world.



[edit on 8-11-2004 by craigandrew]

no, the US is also vigorously fighting the domestic environmental fanatic terrorists who, so far, have not been responsible for any deaths, but have been responsible for something like 40 million dollars in destruction to various companies, sites and individual property. if the prosecution has it's way, it will also charge certain of them with, at the least, manslaughter for the deaths of firefighters and/or park officers in some of the recent western forest fires in the US.