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Mar 16, 2004 The people of Spain are now, sadly, enduring the aftermath a massive terrorist attack. They have joined the unhappy fraternity of nations to have been attacked in a high profile and devastating manner. Obviously, both the Span and the civilized world want to know who is responsible. In the immediate aftermath, however, I witnessed something happening over and over that disturbs me. This thing that I find bothersome is represented by the question that has been volleyed around the world’s media so quickly it makes one’s head spin: Was this al-Qaida? I have the definitive answer: It doesn’t matter. There is something lurking underneath the War on Terror in this country and around the world that makes me a little nervous. While it is bad enough that certain individuals and groups in the US and elsewhere have made a concerted effort to undermine our efforts to stomp out the scum of the earth who would blow up innocent people, there is something potentially far more dangerous in our midst. The danger, as I see it, is the transformation of the concept of the ‘War on Terror’ into the ‘War on al-Qaida.’ The reason that I find this to be nearly as dangerous as Terror itself is that Terror, once identified, can be fought. On the other hand, if we define some terrorist attacks as not falling into the realm of ‘Terror,’ because they were not carried out by al-Qaida then we run the risk of failing to respond with swift and overwhelming force where it is needed. The first thing people ask when a bomb goes off is, “Was al-Qaida involved?” While this is a valid question from the standpoint that we want to find the bastards, the knee-jerk aspect poses a problem. The first question we should ask is, “WHO is responsible?” We must treat Terror as Terror, whether it is perpetrated by al- Qaida, ETA, IRA, Islamic Jihad, Hamas or whomever. While no one puts it exactly this way (‘War on al-Qaida’), it does not take an IQ much greater than my shoe size to read between the lines. Now, to a certain extent I understand why this is happening. We all find it easier to confront an enemy when we can put a face to him, after all that is part of the problem with fighting terrorism in the first place, the evil ones are faceless. The danger I see, however, is that by defining ‘Terror’ as ‘That which is done by Al- Qaida’ we de-emphasize the importance of fighting terrorists as a whole. It is important to remember whom it is that we are fighting. We are fighting all those who would specifically target innocent human beings for the purpose of inducing terror and intimidating the civilized people of the world. Whether or not we find a connection between any particular terrorist group and a specific attack, there is an intangible and very real connection…they feed off each other. Failing to punish Hamas for a car bombing in Israel will only serve to convince all Terrorists around the world that we do not have the backbone to stand up to them either. So I say: Never forget, never falter and (to borrow from Winston Churchill) never never never give up. ------------ About the author: Tom is a conservative medical student in liberal New England who probably spends too much time paying attention to politics and never lacks topics for friendly discussions. Email Thomas Carroll: carroll@student.uchc.edu Tell a friend about this site! ------------ |
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