Eric White
All of us, whether we believe that war is the right or the wrong approach, have the same goal of ending terrorism and living in a safe and peaceful world.
If we are ever to stop terrorism, we have to ask what it is that the terrorists think they are fighting against. To say that they hate us because of our freedoms is as false and unhelpful as assuming that they hate us because of pollution, globalization or a list of other complaints that some might have against U.S. policies.
Terrorists of every ilk have specific grievances that they mistakenly believe can be addressed by violence. In the case of Osama Bin Laden, whether or not he was involved in the particular attack of September 11th, he has repeatedly condemned the U.S. war and subsequent sanctions against Iraq and U.S. troops being stationed in Saudi Arabia, as well as U.S. support for Israel. It is his stated belief that if the people of the United States are made to feel the same kind of pain we have inflicted on the people of the Middle East, then we will decide that the cost is too great to continue our policies. If he were just to attack our military targets, the reasoning goes, it would have no effect on our policies.
This is the same mindset that we sometimes find in ourselves when we want to support war. It is very similar to what President Bush says is our motivation for bombing Afghanistan and other countries: to cause so much pain to the enemy that they will abandon their policies and tactics.
Of course, the opposite is true. Both
war and terrorism serve to strengthen the resolve and the support of the other
side. Both are counter-productive. The more devastating the war we
wage, the more sympathy the terrorists will garner, and the more violent
reprisals we can expect. Many people around the world will see the
distinction between the "good guys" and the "bad guys"
blurring, as civilians are killed and live in fear on both sides.
It is natural to ask the question,
"If war only makes things worse, then how do we solve the problem of
terrorism?" The Friends Committee on National Legislation (FCNL) has put
together the following suggestions:
1) Mobilize and lead law enforcement agencies around the world to investigate, apprehend, and bring to justice those responsible to the full extent of U.S. and international law. In response to earlier bombing attacks against Pan Am flight 103, U.S. embassies in Africa, and the World Trade Center, U.S. law enforcement officials worked closely with law enforcement agencies in countries around the world to identify, apprehend, and prosecute the alleged perpetrators of those attacks. To advance international cooperation to stop terrorism, the U.S. Senate should immediately ratify and implement the International Convention for the Suppression of Terrorist Bombing.
2) Lead the United Nations in cooperative action to interrupt and seize the financial resources that support these criminal terror networks. To support this effort, the U.S. Senate should promptly ratify and implement the International Convention on the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism.
3) Lead the United Nations in bringing diplomatic, political, and economic pressure to bear against the governing regimes of nations that give support or shelter to terror networks. If international sanctions are applied, they should be focused narrowly on those in political power.
4) Stop the CIA from funding, training and directing terrorists. In the war against the Soviet Union, the CIA funneled weapons, money and other resources to Bin Laden's Maktab al-Khidamar organization and Bin Laden's Mujahadin was secretly trained by British troops in Scotland. The CIA also gave Pakistan $3 billion to distribute at its discretion among "freedom fighters" in Afghanistan, including the Taliban, and total U.S. assistance given directly to the Taliban this year alone was $124.2 million. We should stop befriending potential mass-murderers just for political expedience.
5) To demonstrate consistency, the United States should stop harboring terrorists such as Orlando Bosch, who masterminded the bombing of a Cuban civilian airliner in 1976, killing all passengers and crew members. The U.S. has for years rebuffed extradition requests from Costa Rica for suspected drug dealer John Hull, the Indiana resident accused of involvement in the 1984 terrorist bombing of a news conference at la Prenca.
6) Dramatically increase U.S. humanitarian aid to the millions of refugees in zones of conflict. War orphans and refugee youth are especially vulnerable to recruitment by terrorist organizations. This is of special concern today in Afghanistan and Central Asia.
7) Lead the international community in cooperative efforts to reduce stockpiles of chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons and materials in the U.S., Russia, and elsewhere and to guard against terrorist use. Support increased funding for the "Nunn-Lugar" threat reduction initiative.
8) Support an international ban on the sale and transfer of weapons to zones of conflict. Weapons sales and transfers increase acts of violence, suffering, and the collapse of civil institutions. These conditions breed future terrorists. The U.S. is the world's largest exporter of weapons. We should stop exporting weapons to regimes that are undemocratic and violate human rights.
9) Resume and intensify U.S. efforts to secure a just and lasting peace in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, a major source of deep anti-U.S. sentiment throughout the Arab world.
10) Our dependency on oil has led us into wars and to support tyrannical regimes that have destroyed many lives. Many terrorist attacks have had as their stated goal revenge for these oil-driven policies. We should take serious steps to switch to renewable, sustainable energy sources.
The ultimate weakness of violence is that it is a descending spiral, begetting the very thing it seeks to destroy. Instead of diminishing evil, it multiplies it. Through violence you murder the hater, but you do not murder hate.... Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars. Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.... The chain reaction of evil-- hate begetting hate, wars producing more wars-- must be broken, or we shall be plunged into the dark abyss of annihilation.
- Martin Luther King, Jr., Strength To Love, 1963