But also I do not feel inclined or obligated to afford a terrorist a courtesy of understanding their motivation or point of view or grow my mindfulness. Murder is evil, terrorists are evil - is there more to understand in anyway other than purely academic?
One is naive to believe understanding the human condition of a murderer by getting to know their family or understanding them pre-radicalized will bring change or make an impact or stop the next one. No offense but in my opinion this is philosophical gibberish.
"If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles."
Your point a agree with on a big picture level, the war fighters and analysts and policy makers need to understand capabilities and motivation of the enemy. I'm not a war fighter and I don't believe it makes any sense for me or other Joe Average Citizen to empathize or understand a psychopathic foreign enemy. Understanding in this case won't get you far.