Senators, representatives and the general public were right to be shocked and outraged upon learning of the Pentagon's plan to arrange a futures market dealing in terrorism.

The brainchild of John Poindexter and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency would have allowed investors to basically place bets on acts of terrorism, including bombings, assassinations and coups in the Middle East. While it's good to see the market shut down, the people at the Pentagon who came up with it should continue to create inventive ways to fight terrorism.

In the past, Congress has approved about $750,000 to the terrorism market program, known as Futures Markets Applied to Predictions.

On the outside, it seems sick and twisted to allow people to anonymously bet on acts of terrorism. Not only would future investors be able to join the market but potentially terrorists as well.

A militant group could pool together a sum of money and place a contract for a bombing in Palestine on a certain day. They carry through with the attack - killing innocent civilians and making money in the process.

This is why the project was shut down, and rightfully so. In addition, it's interesting to see Poindexter, who was sentenced to prison for lying to Congress about his involvement in the Iran-Contra affair. His sentence was later overturned because the testimony he gave to Congress under immunity may have influenced the testimony of witnesses against him.

In addition, privacy issues were raised after Poindexter's office created the Terrorism Information Awareness project, which collects information on millions of Americans in the name of spying on terrorists.

It should come as no surprise to the U.S. government and the people it represents to see a man who sold arms to Iran to dream up a scheme where people can profit from murder. People should be asking why President Bush even hired Poindexter in the first place.

On the other hand, the FutureMAP project was a creative, though ridiculous, way to try to corner terrorists and anticipate their attacks. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz said, "It is brilliantly imaginative in places where we want them to be imaginative."

Some supporters of the project say the market can predict events even better than experts in the field. If a number of investors, small or large, are betting on an attack on a certain day, the government would likely increase security and take other action to prevent the attack they think might be coming.

Though it seems like a shocking human rights violation, the project was developed with good intentions. After all, one of the government's duties is to protect U.S. citizens, and, in certain instances, those abroad. Since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the government has committed itself to fighting terrorism around the world.

Since there's no manual on how to stop attacks and assassinations before they happen, teams at the Pentagon need to think up inventive ways to combat the spread of terrorism.

While the Pentagon certainly overstepped its boundaries in trying to create a futures market for terrorism, the government should be encouraged to think up imaginative and more civilized ways to combat terrorism and fight for global safety.