Al-Qaeda has struck again - this time in Madrid, Spain. And so the fight on terror (or more correctly, the fight against fundamentalist islamic socialism) continues. In a short while we will here the debate about whether this attack means the 'war' is a good idea (because those nasty terrorists need to be stopped) or whether it shows that the 'war' is a bad idea (because terrorism continues, and some argue is being encouraged).

But I wanted to bring up something slightly different, and maybe a little offensive to some weak-stomached readers. The question I pose is - can anything justify such acts of terrorism?

Lets see what some of the leaders of the world have said:

* John Howard (Aust): "a dreadful atrocity without any justification".

* Kofi Annan (UN): "The killing of innocent people cannot be justified, regardless of the cause"

* Jacques Chirac (France): "these irresponsible acts, which can have no justification, are from every standpoint to be condemned."

* Romano Prodi (Pres of Euro Commission): "There is no justification whatsoever behind which the authors of this bestial crime can hide"

Apparently, there can be no justification. Now - this is probably a very appropriate thing to say as such a time... especially for a politician. But is it true? Can the intentional killing of hundreds of citizens ever be justified?

Put aside for the moment the exact details of this particular example of terrorism, and consider the broad principle. What if, by killing several hundred europeans - you could end terrorism? What if killing 1000 people would result in the break up of Al-Qaeda? What if running an plane into a building and killing nearly 3000 people resulted in fewer wars? What if invading a country and killing over 3000 people resulted in fewer terrorists? Would it be justified?

Take another example, what if the killing of many thousands of civilians could end a huge and disasterous war? What if you had the choice of killing those innocent people - knowing that if you did so, you would probably save many more lives? Would you drop the bomb on Hiroshima? Can it ever be justified?

To those sensitive petals that are getting offended, please try to understand (take your time) that I am not trying to justify or condemn any one particular act of terrorism... I'm just exploring the idea of whether it can ever be justified. What do you think?