Maybe I’m a pessimist, but I don’t really see it that way. There hasn’t been another major attack in the United States, but this could be attributable to many other factors other than the so-called War on Terrorism. What if the terrorists are just biding their time, waiting for our guard to go down, as would be sensible? What if the next attack is so intricate that it takes years of planning each step?
If there are no attcks in the near future, the proponants of the Patriot Act and the like will point to it, and say “See? It’s working!” But, I could point to my remote control and vouch for the fact that it keeps away wolves, because, after all, you don’t see any wolves around my house, do you?
My mother once warned me never to pull a gray hair, because “It’ll come back and bring its friends with it.” Similarly, I’ve noted that we cannot possibly arrest every terrorist. It’s absolutely impossible. As soon as one is taken down, another will step into his place. If, in taking that man, you kill other people, then their family members will step up as well.
It’s extrordinarily difficult to fight against an idea. The harder you fight, and the more you kill, the more you convince embittered people that their cause is just. Isreal and Palestine are a perfect example. A terrorist attack is followed by a retaliatory strike, which in turn, inflames the friends and family of the dead into wanting to get revenge by planning a terrorist strike. It’s a vicious cycle. It’s also extremely hard to stop a person who is perfectly willing to die in a terrorist attempt. He fears not arrest. He feels he will be rewarded if he succeeds in giving his life for the cause.
If anything, my fear is that the “War on Terrorism” will only feed the beast. Anti-American sentiment is seething, and we’re not moving in the most diplomatic manner. Instead, we’re throwing our weight around, and bellowing threats. Our president actually referred to a few nations as “evil.” What a way to fan the flames!
