Recently, President Obama ordered a U.S. military strike in Yemen that killed 49 civilians, among them 23 children and 17 women. It first originated in his mind through intelligence briefings. President Obama(and others) believed the region was home to members of an al-Qaeda cell. In retaliation for the attacks, Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab boarded a plane flying to Detroit. He attempted to destroy the plane as well as its passengers. The idea to kill everyone on board, including himself,first existed in his mind. The Pentagon's and CIA's brain trusts have linked Abdulmutallab to al Qaeda in Yemen. Therefore (and in his mind),President Obama thinks reprisal strikes against more targets in Yemen are needful.

Last week, a suicide bomber struck a CIA base in Afghanistan killing seven officers. In his mind, the suicide bomber was outraged over the treatment of Iraqis at Abu Graib prison and the U.S.-led invasions of Iraq and Afghanistan. He was also retaliating against covert drone strikes that have killed over 300 innocent Afghanis. In their collective mind, the CIA believed the targeted people were terrorists. Several months ago, an Army Major shot and killed 13 U.S. troops at Ft. Hood, Texas. Internally, he was upset about the killings in Iraq and Afghanistan and of having to be deployed. At Fort Hood, tens of thousands of soldiers are taught who the enemy is. In their minds and for that reason, they must learn necessary skills to kill their alleged foes.

Perhaps all along the "mix of human and systematic failures" that have contributed to the "catastrophic breach of security" on December 25, and the other days mentioned above, is not only how information is collected and processed, but why it first originates in the mind and in a nation's collectivized way of thinking about and then judging the world.Already, the U.S. has expanded counter-terrorism units, including increased training and new state-of-the-art and highly lethal weapons.In response to the deaths of the CIA officers, U.S. intelligence officials have vowed they will avenge the attack through aggressive measures and counter terrorism operations.

At what point does countering terror actually become terror? At what point will the endless cycle of violence and killing end?

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