Why Terrorism Doesn’t Work
In the annals of human conflict there is no more disturbing aspect than the practice of terrorism. Contrary to what the Bush administration would have you believe, terrorism is not an enemy, it is a technique. Declaring a war on terror, to paraphrase a U.S. military commander who’s name I have now forgotten, is the same as declaring a war on night raids. It is a war which cannot be one as there is no clearly defined enemy. This is indeed true, and I would add that further, using the method of terrorism is a guarantee that your cause will not prevail.
Groups who use the methods of terror often seem to do so with the intention of frightening their opponent into giving in to their demands. Taking hostages, attacking soft targets, suicide bombings, these are all methods meant to instill fear into the hearts of a populace. This fear will, they suppose, cause governments to meet the demands of the terrorists in order to bring about some goal the terrorists hope to achieve. The reality though is, by using the methods of terror such groups do nothing but destroy what credibility they have and instill hatred in the hearts of their opponents.
Take for example the Belsen School Hostage Crisis which took place in September 2004. Muslim terrorist took possession of a school filled with kids, in the ensuing mayhem 344 people were killed, 186 of them children. The act was supposed to somehow gain the Chechen people their independence from Russia, but killing children, innocent children, can do nothing but evoke hatred in the hearts of the Russians. The only response to such a heinous crime can be annihilation of the terrorists, as they are obviously operating at a sub-rational level of thought. There can be no reasoning with a group willing to kill children to further their cause, or a group who would hack off a soldiers head with a saw, while he is still alive no less.
The same reaction provoked America’s attack on Afghanistan. Disgust and outrage at the murder of innocent civilians. Any credibility groups who opposed American policy in the Middle-East had evaporated with the smoke of the twin towers. This is a real shame as those groups do have legitimate cause for the anger against America. However, any hope of moderate, rational minds coming to some kind of consensus on how to address concerns and work out rational solutions to problems are quickly destroyed by car bombs, suicide bombers and senseless murder.
I fear I may have oversimplified the problem, as well documented atrocities have been committed by both the American and Russian governments all over the world. These have also rightly been called acts of terrorism by Noam Chomsky among others. However, the same applies here too. Terrorist acts create a vicious cycle of violence which seems impossible to transcend. Look at the Israeli Palestinian conflict, both sides have committed unspeakable violence upon each other, there is little chance for reconciliation. What is the way out of this cycle of senseless violence? I wish I knew.
January 30 2007 11:02 am | George Bush and Anti-war and Terrorrism and Chechnya
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