Terrorism is a symptom, not the disease

Three weeks ago, the United States was devastated by a terrorist attack that was as brazen as it was unimaginable. All peace loving people were outraged by the scale of the devastation and felt vulnerable to being future targets in a similar attack that could be staged almost anywhere in the world.

Immediately after the strike there was a strong indication of a military strike with an armada of aircraft and warships being deployed for possible military action that many believed would come after the three days ultimatum that the Talibans were first given to hand over Osman Bin Laden. 

The news thereafter has been like a movie script with the focus being on eliminating the villain who at one time was apparently elusive to even his hosts. Many are surprised that Afghanistan has not been hit by a military coalition strike so far not because such a strike is the right option but because of the fervour of activity and intensity of statements made after the attack on 11 September 2001. 

The restraint so far may have been out of strategy but early this week the war drums indicating a strike were once again beating louder. If bombing is the option that is resorted to, one can question the moral implications and logic of waging war on Afghanistan that has already been bombed back to the stone age in 22 years of internecine war and four successive years of drought that have drained it of all its resources. The search for one suspect along with his alleged group of terrorists would not justify rampant damage to a country whose people are on the brink of starvation. Sending food aid to people there is a humanitarian gesture but of what use is this when the same people are exposed to a wave of terror, insecurity of their lives and massive destructions that are bound to result from air strikes? 

 It is obvious that Osman bin Laden, however abhorrent the brand of religious extremism that he stood for, is not the only fountainhead of terror. The attack and planning of the attacks on the World Trade Centre and the Pentagon required witty modern-day planning by a group of individuals from the time the plot was hatched to its ultimate implementation. Conferring on Osama the dubious distinction of being the sole repository of all evil might have satisfied a transient need to have an identifiable villain, but this also, ironically, has secured for him an undeserved larger-than-life legitimacy.

 If Bin Laden did not exist one wonders what the line of approach would have been? With no face to the enemy, people would then probably have undertaken a retrospective view seeking answers to the reasons of what caused the hijackers to sacrifice their lives. Their motive will probably never be known. They left no suicide notes, no political messages and no organisation has claimed credit for the attacks. What we however know is that their action outstripped the natural human instinct for survival, or any desire to be remembered.

 History has it on record that many wars have been fought for reasons of displaying might as a result of which millions of civilians have been killed. Subsequently warring countries have buried the hatchet but the vacuum left in the lives of those who have lost loved ones can never be filled. The reaction of the majority who have suffered through such wars is to seek peace spiritually by trying to come closer to the Almighty but a few who cannot control their rage respond with loathing acrimony leading to such acts as happened on Black Tuesday.

 The coalition against terrorism has brought many countries together for a common cause but the danger is that this strong coalition could easily shatter if this fight against terrorism blows out of proportion due to careless generalisations and untenable double standards. If terrorism is attacked in one country and condoned in another, there will be fury and similarly if terrorists belonging to one race or religion are attacked while others are left there could be a war between religions. The coalition is currently knit precariously and could come under intense pressure if there is a long war in Afghanistan. A better option would be to exercise financial, political and diplomatic pressure while the search and arrests of individual terrorists continues.

 It may be long before the law of love will be recognised in international affairs. The machineries of government stand between and hide the hearts of one people from those of another. Following Black Tuesday, people in America and elsewhere have increasingly been looking for spiritual consolation and answers amidst the human carnage and wreckage of destroyed buildings. The increasing attendance in churches, mosques, temples and synagogues by a world that was shaken by a handful of terrorists gives strong bearing to the fact that human beings are mere mortals whose lives can be changed in a matter of minutes or even seconds.

 In the upsurge of spiritualism that followed Black Tuesday it should however be remembered that Man cannot worship God and at the same time despise his innocent fellow-beings. The two are irreconcilable. Another military attack involving numerous deaths of civilians is likely to spawn more anger and more terror across the world. For ordinary people it could lead to a climate of sickening uncertainty where almost any place could be a possible target for terrorists.

 Terrorism is a symptom not the disease and while in the current war some terrorists will be caught, the disease is likely to produce more symptoms by way of producing more terrorists who can easily establish new bases in remote areas in a short time. If the Talibans have requested for proof on the involvement of Bin Laden in the recent attacks, one wonders why this evidence is not being made available to them when it has supposedly been shared with some members of the coalition.