Avatar/War on Terror spoilers within!

If you haven't seen Avatar, you should probably see it soon. Because it won't be in cinemas much longer. Anyway, I'm going to be talking about it like you've seen it.

So I watched Avatar again. And knowing what was coming, the Na'vi really annoyed me. They were really quite stupid. Here's why:

- They did not understand the Sky People's intentions, despite the signs being there to see. They ignored them and hoped the problem would go away.
- Despite their clear intelligence, they did not understand that their weapons had no effect on the Sky People's machines and armour. Their bows and arrows had not done any damage to them in years of trying... yet they persisted with them.
- Even when they were expressly told that the Sky People were coming to destroy their home, they gathered to attack them, using the same useless tactics. It was pointless and sad.
- It took a massive destruction event to make them realise they had been stupid in their approach. They ran away and retreated to their sacred places to regather.
- They only changed their approach once Jake Sully captured a giant freaking dragon to win their respect back, and he used his military knowledge to defeat the Sky People.

It reminded me of the West's approach to Islamic terrorism in the 1990s and 2000.
- We did not understand the terrorists' intentions, despite them being very open about it. Their public proclamations calling for the destruction of Western nations were ignored. Their calls for jihad and acts of terror went unheeded.
- Despite clear knowledge that our security procedures at our borders were not nearly good enough, we persisted with them. People had been coming in and out of Western countries for years, even though they probably should have been detained.
- When there was clear and mounting evidence that a major attack on American soil was brewing, those responsible for dealing with it just hoped it would go away. They relied on the same security procedures that had been repeatedly breached for years.
- It took a massive destruction event on September 11, 2001, for the West to realise its approach had been stupid.
- From there, the Western countries massively increased funding for security technology, intelligence assets on the ground, and changed their entire approach.

A lot has been made in America of the similarities in the film between the company (RDA) mining Pandora and the US military. Commentators have said it presents the US Military in a bad light. I think they've got it the wrong way around.

RDA had a clear purpose, a technological advantage and an enemy who underestimated it. The parallel is clearly with Islamic terrorists before Sept 11. On the other hand, the Na'vi had superior numbers and great firepower but lacked the conceptual knowledge on how to best use it to combat an enemy it didn't understand. Clearly, they are analogous to the Western military. Once the destruction event occurred, the game changed. The larger side was able to use its greater capabilities to overrun the side that had had the advantage.

What do you think?