Combatting Terrorism

The Bush administration has seen fit to update its strategy for winning the war on terror. The document is somewhat ironically titled, "National Strategy for Combating Terrorism". I would like to forthrightly point out that the document is not titled, Winning the War on Terrorism, and after reading the document, I can see that combating is much more appropriate term than winning. The entire document can be found here.

Perhaps the most simplistic and dishonest section that I read is the pitiful explanation for the causes of terrorism. Note that the piece does not discuss terrorists as the people they are, but the more abstract term, terrorism. I am not sure that is intentional, but the lack of analysis into that issue alone is cause for great concern among the thoughtful public. According to the National Security Council, and approved by GWB himself, terrorism "comes from":

Political alienation. Transnational terrorists are recruited from
populations with no voice in their own government and see no legitimate way to promote change in their own country. Without a stake in the existing order, they are vulnerable to manipulation by those who advocate a perverse political vision based on violence and destruction.

Grievances that can be blamed on others. The failures the terrorists feel and see are blamed both on others and on perceived injustices from the recent or sometimes distant past. The terrorists’ rhetoric keeps wounds associated with this past fresh and raw, a potent motivation for revenge and terror.

Subcultures of conspiracy and misinformation. Terrorists recruit more effectively from populations whose information about the world is contaminated by falsehoods and corrupted by conspiracy theories. The distortions keep alive grievances and filter out facts that would challenge popular prejudices and self-serving propaganda.

An ideology that justifies murder. Terrorism ultimately depends upon the appeal of an ideology that excuses or even glorifies the deliberate killing of innocents. Islam has been twisted and made to serve an evil end, as in other times and places other religions have been similarly abused.

The document summarily dismisses the following as causes for terrorism:

Terrorism is not the inevitable by-product of poverty. Many of the September 11 hijackers were from middle-class backgrounds, and many terrorist leaders, like bin Laden, are from privileged upbringings.

Terrorism is not simply a result of hostility to U.S. policy in Iraq. The United States was attacked on September 11 and many years earlier, well before we toppled the Saddam Hussein regime. Moreover, countries that did not participate in Coalition efforts in Iraq have not been spared from terror attacks.

Terrorism is not simply a result of Israeli-Palestinian issues. Al-Qaida plotting for the September 11 attacks began in the 1990s, during an active period in the peace process.

Terrorism is not simply a response to our efforts to prevent terror attacks. The al-Qaida network targeted the United States long before the United States targeted al-Qaida. Indeed, the terrorists are emboldened more by perceptions of weakness than by demonstrations of resolve. Terrorists lure recruits by telling them that we are decadent, easily intimidated, and will retreat if attacked.

The document is a pitiful example of the hubris of this dishonest and incompetent administration. Terrorism is a tool, not a person. It is impossible to fight a tool because it requires someone to use it before it has any efficacy. Terrorism has always been a tactic of those who have no other options. The paper is correct in that there are rich terrorists and non-Iraqi terrorists. Nor are all terrorists angry just about Afghanistan and the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict. However, its conclusions for what causes terrorism are horribly simplistic and superficial. In fact, they all seem to stem from the criticism of the Bush Administration's occupation of Iraq. They are all justifications of maintaining the current course in Iraq.

A quick look at each in turn:

Political alienation. For example, the Bush administration believes that when people can vote, they will not become terrorists. Or, because when they are politically alienated and have no voice in their government, they naturally turn to terrorism. Osama bin Laden was a very wealthy and had access to the power structures in Saudi Arabia. In fact, he also had some access to the U.S. power structures as a CIA operative fighting the Soviets in Afghanistan. Now OBL is an atypical example but using him as an object lesson is no less responsible than using 9/11 perpetrators as proof that terrorism does not arise from poverty.

Grievances that can be blamed on others. I do not understand this bullet point or what it is trying to prove, but it sounds much more like the current GOP election season campaign talking point than a reason for terrorism to me.

Subcultures of conspiracy and misinformation. This is another bullet point that seems to describe Rovian political tactics rather than honest explanations for the proliferation of terrorism.

An ideology that justifies murder. Again, I do not understand how this is an honest explanation of the reasons people embrace terrorists tactics. Further, it is dangerous and inhumane to single out Islam as the only idealogy capable of producing a terrorist. To single one of my favorite objects of distaste, Mormonism, I submit that Mormonism also preaches justifications for terrorist actions. Please see Chapter 4 of the First Book of Nephi directly from the Book of Mormon on the official Mormon website. In this account, Nephi a poor son of a prophet and a one day prophet himself, kills a wealthy landowner, Laban, in Jerusalem. It is not so much the account of the murder, but the justification itself that is striking.

Every human being is born with the capability of writing a symphony or murder. Whether those talents and that potential are developed during their childhood and subsequent life is secondary to the fact that every human is born with that capability. Our institutions must be modified to bring out the best in each of us instead of ensuring that death by suicide is a more desirable option than making the most of our lives. Of course, democracy should be encouraged in every country, (not just those with oil and other resources), and for that the Bush administration is certainly to be commended, but the criticism remains that they do not have the slightest clue how to do that. If this document is the best they could commit to paper on how to cultivate democratic states, then I have even less confidence in their ability to actually bring it to pass.

That brings me back to the title, "combating" terrorism. There is far more money to be made from military contractors during war than there is in during peace. The state of perpetual war ensures a strong support financially and morally for the regimes that preach it. Therefore, the strategy is not to defeat terrorism, but to combat it as long as there is money to be made, and as long as their constituents accept it. If anything else were true, I am sure all the brainpower in Washington D.C. could come up with something better.