Why do Al Qaeda target civilians?

Why do Al Qaeda target civilians?

Jason Burke (Author) gives expert video advice on: Are we in imminent danger?; Why do Al Qaeda target civilians?; What is our foreign policy doing to our domestic security? and more...

From a militant's perspective, civilians are no longer civilians. The logic, twisted though it may be, is that because we live in Western democracies where we can vote for our government, we have a responsibility for those governments' actions, a collective responsibility and, therefore if those government's are responsible for something the militants see as justiflying an attack that means we have all become targets. It's a twisted logic but it's a very effective one, paticularly when it's pushed out by clever and sophisticated propaganda and recruiters of some sort.