That phrase – the chickens are coming back home to roost – was popularized by Malcolm X’s (in)famous commenton the assasination of one of the most beloved US Presidents, John Fitzegerald Kennedy. But it has remained potent in explaining boomerangs. It is with this background in mind that one wonders if this is what is happening when we hear news such as this: US strike kills 5 German militants in Pakistan. Why are they also ‘militant’? What makes them join the ‘terrorists’?