Religion of Peace (Continued)

In Nigeria.  From the January 21, 2012 Daily Telegraph:

Terror attacks in Kano, Nigeria, kill at least 162

Bomb attacks targeting security forces and gun battles have killed at least 162 people in Nigeria's second-largest city of Kano, sources say. 

The death toll following coordinated bomb attacks and gun battles in the Nigerian city of Kano has risen to at least 162, a source at the city's main morgue has said.

A curfew was imposed on Kano in Nigeria's mainly Muslim north after it exploded into violence on Friday evening, with eight police and immigration offices or residences targeted.

The main newspaper in the north said that a purported spokesman for Islamist group Boko Haram had claimed responsibility for the violence, saying it was in response to authorities' refusal to release its members from custody.

Yes, I know, that most Muslims who do not approve of this sort of thing.  But even among Muslims in America:

1% – say that suicide bombing and other forms of violence against civilian targets are often justified to defend Islam from its enemies; an additional 7% say suicide bombings are sometimes justified in these circumstances.

 And the percentages that do not believe the U.S. is sincerely trying to fight terrorism are scary:

Currently, opinion is divided – 43% say U.S. efforts are a sincere attempt to reduce terrorism while 41% do not. Four years ago, during the Bush administration, more than twice as many viewed U.S. anti-terrorism efforts as insincere rather than sincere (55% to 26%).

 What is especially outrageous about this belief is what is the alternative?  The U.S. is spending vast quantities of lives and treasure for what?  It is obvious that no one is sending young men and women off to die because it is fun.  It is also obvious that fighting in Muslim countries does nothing to make us popular among Muslims.  It is obviously not about oil: Afghanistan does not have any oil.  The only real natural resources that Afghanistan has are rare earth metals, and those were discovered by accident after the invasion.  All the garbage that Americans have to go through because of terrorism, including TSA's Security Theater, limitations on mailing, paranoia when traveling by air, are major problems and nuisances.

You have to wonder a bit about the sanity of anyone that thinks that this is not about counterterrorism.  Incompetently done in places?  No question, especially some of the TSA follies.  But there is no upside to any of this stuff for anyone in any positions of power.  Americans have always believed that the business of America is business.  We would much rather be selling movies, or computer systems, or music to people around the world.  That's what we are good at, and we like doing it.  \

Worst of all: who are the major victims of Islamic terrorism?  Other Muslims.  Tens of thousands of Iraqis and Afghans, overwhelmingly Muslims, have been killed by these terrorist attacks since 9/11.  There are times you have to wonder what alternative universe someone has to live in to think that the U.S. has spent this enormous amount of resources for some other purpose, with counterterrorism simply a ruse.