Waking up in a new world: Part IX

Editor's note: Is that a light I see at the end of the tunnel? We are almost done, but if this is all new to you, your long - but worthwhile - journey starts here. Also, the Author wanted me to make it clear that all links were my idea. Sometimes I can be a dolore nell'asino.

Terrorism

I don't need no stinkin' Wikipedia.com to tell me what terrorism is. And, unlike the US Supreme Court's opinion on pornography, I don't need to see it in order to know it.

Terrorism, simply put, is the practice to inflict as much horror, death and destruction on a people, so that they will give the perpetrator whatever they want, in order to halt future acts.

Its very similar to war, but not quite. War attempts to destroy the opposing nation's will to fight by destroying their means of defense (or retaliation), thereby rendering the opposition government impotent. Wars are usually fought hot and fast, as in World War II, or Iraq. Sometimes they are fought excruciatingly slow, as in the Cold War. Terrorism is neither. It's like war in slow motion, like a simmering pot. Instead of a fleet of bombers dispensing death en'mass, the bombs go off, one at a time, over weeks, months, years, decades.

Despite claims to the contrary, terror is not the tool of the powerful, but rather the tool of the weak. Its used by groups and organizations who know they can't stand up to a real army, so they don't. Instead, they hide in the shadows, they blend in with the citizens, they look for vulnerability among the populations, then they strike with great ferociousness and they strike everyday people, just living their lives. Their goal is horrific headlines of blood and body parts everywhere, people screaming in terror. Dead children. Don't like it? Then give them what they want.

I know the first question leaping to a liberal's mind at the above statements: what's the difference between the US' actions in Iraq and al Qeada's actions? After all, the actions of both sides result in the deaths of innocent civilians. But there is a difference. When the US accidentally kills innocent civilians, its not because they are the target, but rather because that's where the targets hide, among the innocent. When terrorists kill, its because innocent civilians are the targets. There is a difference, and I will not budge on this point. There is a difference.

While the overall odds are in favor of powerful nations defeating terrorists, in reality, they have the upper hand. They choose the targets, the timing, the weapons. There is no warning, just gunfire, explosions, and the body count. And let us not forget the headlines. Any terrorist worth his weight knows the modern terrorist battle is fought in the media. They know that very well. And the modern media is only too willing to help them out for the sake of ratings.

The reasons for employing terror tactics are, in my opinion, as varied as the number of terrorists. That is, each terrorist has his or her own reasons for deciding to kill civilians. Perhaps vengeance, hatred, insanity, love of carnage, or maybe its just some sick bastard's method for achieving fame. Politicians will tell you we need to learn the "root causes" of terrorism, so we can help stop them. In my opinion, the biggest root cause is an utter lack of hope for the future, complete despair. But in reality, it's what ever an individual feels is appropriate to strap on a bomb and kill.

I would be academically dishonest if I did not address the issue of 'one man's terrorist is another man's freedom fighter' but that's a deceptively difficult question to answer, as it means looking at each case individually. What are the terrorists attempting to achieve as opposed to their opponents? For example, let us look at the bloody struggle in North Ireland. Back when I was in highschool, I had a friend who's family was a host for a foreign exchange student. She was a Protestant from Northern Ireland, quite cute, and I'm a sucker for a sexy accent. I cornered her in a bar one time (drinking age was 18 back then) and I asked her, I wanted to know the real story from some one who really knows. I asked her, what was going on and why. First off she assured me it wasn't nearly as bad as the American Press made it out. She worked in a government office (she was an exchange student several years earlier, and by this point she was on vacation in America and made sure to stop by and visit her friends) and had one or two bomb scares, but that was the extent of it. She explained that while she was Irish, she considered herself a British citizen. That one sentence summed it up pretty good. Both sides were fighting for the same thing, their right to their own country. See what I mean about a difficult question to answer? The northern Irish who were Protestants considered Northern Ireland to be their country, and they wanted to remain part of Great Britain. The Catholic Irish considered the British to be invaders, they wanted their country back.

See what I mean?

Since the thrust of this series of writings is America and Iraq, I will not even attempt to cover all terrorist organizations, and will instead concentrate on the ones in the Middle East.

What Al Qeada claims it wants is easy to discern, they've posted their demands many times. Among them are demands that the US sign the Kyoto Accords and the return of Spain to the Muslims. (I wonder if they'd negotiate over France instead?). The whole thing reminds me of the movie Air Heads, or maybe Die Hard. Make outrageous demands to create a diversion for your enemy.

What bin Looser and al Qeada really want, is fairly obvious. World domination, but for now, they'll settle for rulership of the entire Muslim world. They want to use terror to scare western civilization out of the Middle East, thereby stripping Muslim dictators of their powerful supporters and weapon suppliers. Then they can begin knocking off moderate Islamic nations, via revolution, one by one. The eventual, short term goal, is to overthrow the Saudi family and conquer Arabia. Once in control of Islam's holiest sites, they become the standard bearers for Islam. What Islam is, is what they say it is. Knocking off the Pope does not make the killer the Pope. Controlling Mecca and Medina does - more or less - control the voice of Islam.

From the throne of Islam, they can continue to foster terrorism and revolution throughout the Muslim world, until bin Looser can be crowned as the Caliphate, or true successor of Mohammed. Remember previously when I mentioned the reasons for a terrorist to kill? Remember the part about some sick bastard wanting fame?

As the Caliphate of a reborn Muslim empire, bin Looser not only controls the message of Islam, he controls the world's oil supply, as well as the trillions of dollars the Saudis, the Kuwaitis and the Iraqis already have from the past sale of oil. A significant portion of the world's economy.

I believe bin Looser was also counting on Saddam's weapons of mass destruction, as a bargaining chip with the rest of the world, but it appears Saddam out foxed him on that one.

But their long term goal is also obvious, world domination. That may sound a bit far fetched, until you dig a little deeper in Wahhabism. It's a very strict form of Islam, in that, any one who doesn't believe in what they do - completely, without question - are infidels, beneath a dog, and worthy only of death. They believe Islam is the only true religion (in particular, their flavor of it), and therefore is destined to control the entire world. Look it up, its in your Quran. That means Shiites, as well as any Muslim who won't tow their line on conformity. Every one in the entire world who differs from them on any issue or point, deservers death. Think about that. A terrorist organization who's declared if you don't accept them as the ultimate authority in the world, you are their enemy.

And to achieve their goal, everyone and anyone must die. Preferably, horribly.

What does that mean for the innocent civilians of the Middle East caught in the middle, as well as the rest of us, should they achieve any manor of success? Take a look at the Taliban in Afghanistan, you'll get a very good idea of their paradise on earth. And it ain't pretty.