Initiatives
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Terrorism: A License to Kill
October 27, 2002
By Robbie Friedmann
The latest anti-Israel terror-of-the-day was a suicide bomber who blew himself
up today killing at least 2 people at a gas station near Ariel and injuring
scores of others. This followed the bus bombing last week that killed more than
a dozen and injured about 80 people as well as many attempts that were foiled on
a daily basis (Jerusalem Post,10-27-2002).
And the terror directed against Israel is supplemented by the globalization of
terror elsewhere. Interestingly enough, all targets are those that provide
convenient "addresses" for Islamic terrorists (the French tanker, the Bali
resort), for those who support them for political or national objectives (the
Chechens), for those who appear to be sympathetic to or are inspired by them
(the Washington, DC snipers, the LAX shooter), and for those who imitate them
(Helsinki). It is NOT (yet) directed at Muslim or Arab targets.
The Chechen seizure of the Moscow theater ended up in a costly rescue operation
that claimed the lives of at least 90 of the hostages. But not before the
terrorists killed hostages and threatened to kill more of the 700 they captured.
Killing hostages is apparently "sanctioned" by religious interpretations (Pro-Chechen
Islamist Website: Islamic Religious Interpretation Permits Killing of Prisoners,
MEMRI, Special Dispatch - Jihad & Terrorism Studies, October 27, 2002, No. 434).
Nothing perhaps is more indicative of the perverse sense of the need for
justification of a human action as an ideology (that leads to the action) or a
rationalization (that explains it afterward). Killing hostages occupies in the
mind of the terrorist one of the steps in the ladder to heaven along with
murdering innocent and un-expecting citizens as well as killing oneself in the
process - if it helps bring them closer to 72 eagerly awaiting and never tiring
virgins.
Interestingly, reports from Israel claim that the Russian special forces were
trained by Israel's Anti-Terror Unit - Yamam (Russian
special forces learned from IsraelYossi Melman, Ha'aretz, October 27, 2002).
The report also claims (found only in the Hebrew version of Ha'aretz) that the
pattern of the Chechen terrorist operation follows closely after that of the
9-11 atrocity in planning and execution. Here too, the operatives did not know
each other and until the last minute did not know the full nature of the target
and operation. They apparently had local sympathizers who have aided and abetted
them. Yet, despite the similarity in the modus operandi there is a difference in
that the Moscow attack resembled the terror incidents of the ‘70s when and where
specific demands accompanied the attack. In this case, the Chechens demanded
Russian withdrawal hoping to bring to the forefront a cause that has rarely
received public attention after the West has given the Russians a green light (The
Chechens' Holy War: How Global Is It? Serge Schmemann, The New York Times
October 27, 2002).
The Jerusalem Post Editorial stresses a commonality between the various
terrorist attacks the world over and suggests the lessons is that:
"Islamist-inspired terror is a threat to civilization as we know it, and it must
be fought without exception or compromise" (Moscow
on the Hudson, The Jerusalem Post, Oct. 26, 2002).
But then the editorial goes beyond the specific acts of terror and the rescue
operation and addresses the French and Russian attempts to curb any American
action in Iraq suggesting that "What France and Russia are doing now is, at
best, buying Iraq's despot time, and at worst, saving his regime." A departure
point of political interests (namely, what would the Russians and the French
gain if they prevent an attack on Iraq) helps us understand that in the same
manner that terrorists operate in a cold and calculated fashion, so do national
entities. And nowhere is it more evident than in the current upheaval in the
Middle East and in activities related to the "causes" espoused by those who deny
the right to anyone else to even have a cause.
Indeed, the Palestinians seem to have immersed themselves in such a culture of
violence that it is almost unimaginable how they would be able to develop a
substitute peaceful narrative to even if they ever achieve their aims (not just
of having a Palestinian state but of completely eradicating Israel). Being
manipulated for years by various Arab states and by Iran the Palestinians are
hoping that a US attack on Iraq will lead to an international conference which
in turn will benefit them (Iraq
First: Arafat thinks that another Gulf War will lead to an international
conference Ehud Ya'ari, The Jerusalem Report, November 4, 2002).
Ironically, this is a win-win for the Palestinians: if the war is averted, they
will benefit from the "grace" and support of Saddam Hussein (with whom they
sided in 1991), if it is carried out they will benefit from the fruits of an
international conference. Either way, terror as a strategy pays off well for
them and yet there is still wonder as to how to provide adequate disincentives
for them to cease terrorism and violence. Why should they? The internal debate
in Israel is seemed to shape up around an understanding that following a massive
US victory in Iraq, the Palestinians will be politically far more disadvantaged
than they currently are. For the Palestinians who claimed for years that the
road to peace in the Middle East will have to go through Jerusalem (namely that
the Palestinian "problem" has to be solved first - and with their understanding
that they will get Jerusalem), Ya'ari suggests "To paraphrase one of Arafat's
own old homilies, one could say that from now on, the road to an agreement
passes through Baghdad."
But to those who think that it will end in Bagdad they better take a hard look
at what has been brewing in the Arab world since World War II. The level of
anti-Semitic and anti-American rhetoric has reached such cultural depths that
are not likely to be extricated short of a serious root-canal work, full heart
transplant, brain surgery, and complete change of blood type. These metaphors
may be harsh but interestingly there are some Arabs who are themselves calling
for this change (Kuwaiti
Columnist Urges Reexamination of Education in Arab and Muslim Countries
MEMRI, Special Dispatch - Reform in the Arab and Muslim World, October 23, 2002,
No. 433). By reexamining Arab-Muslim education, religion and culture "The
reshaping of one's perception of our religion and culture by reexamining the
educational curriculum, the media, and religious discourse which is mainly
[found] in Friday sermons, is first and foremost for us, we the Muslims, and not
for the West or the East. We will continue to carry our Arab and Islamic
characteristics, but we also want to live harmoniously and peacefully with
ourselves and with the peoples of the world." The mere fact that such voices are
even heard is positive but the challenge may be too difficult to overcome.
The problem is that anti-Jewish, anti-Israeli and anti-American sentiments have
been institutionalized in the Arab world over generations with increasing
dosages without offering any acceptable substitutes in sight. In Syria the most
"popular book" is the "Matzah of Zion" authored by no other than the
intellectual-on-duty, the Syrian Minister of Defense (Al-Hayat
Highlights Large Popularity of Syrian Defense Minister's Blood Libel Book at
Syrian International Book Fair MEMRI, Special Dispatch - Syria/Arab
Antisemitism, October 22, 2002, No. 432).
This book is a rehash of the 1840 Damascus blood libel and apparently it wets
the Syrian appetite enough to be so "popular" (or so the official Syrian report
goes). The Egyptians on the other hand resort to one of the "originals" - the
infamous ''Protocols of the Elders of Zion,'' planning to produce a 30-segment
TV series. So what the Syrians will be reading, tens of millions of Egyptians
(and many other millions Arabs who watch Egyptian TV and movie productions) will
be saturated with TV "factual" attribution of vile traits to Jews and Israelis
for "stealing Palestine" (Egyptian
TV plans to air series based on anti-Semitic book Salah Nasrawi, Associated
Press, Boston Globe, 10/24/2002). This cultural poisoning of the mind is
dangerous not only for Israel but for the Arab societies as well as it sinks
them into deeper traps which will only make it far more difficult to get out of
and hence they pose a danger to the rest of the world
And while poisoning the masses, Arab professional propagandists relentlessly
continue the public relations campaign and are able to reap success on various
fronts including Western and Jewish pacifists (How
the Arabs effectively use Jewish pacifists as tools in their new war of
extermination against Israel Michael Anbar, Israel Hasbara Committee,
October 7, 2002). And the tactic has also been rather successful in exploiting
principles of balance and fairness in Western (and Israeli) media to help
confuse the terms of reference western audiences use vis-a-vis the perpetrators,
the understanding of the conflict and in attribution of intent (Trojan
horses and Trojan colts Michael Anbar, israelinsider, October 13, 2002):
"The vehement objection of the Arab states in the region to a regime change in
Iraq, advocated by President Bush, is well understood - a democratic Iraq would
be just as threatening to their regimes as democratic Israel. So they launch a
propaganda campaign against the existence of Israel and against the potential
democratization of Iraq. A major aspect of that campaign is an intensive but
subtle psychological assault to confuse and demoralize the American public. Our
problem is how to recognize, expose and muzzle the Trojan horses that are in our
backyard."
As indications are persistently evident that the attack on Iraq is imminent -
for the last few weeks we even hear of specific dates such as the end of
November, now the "latest" journalistic prediction states that the US will "be
ready" for an attack in just about 8 weeks (A
Matter Of Weeks Jim Hoagland, The Washington Post, October 25, 2002). "The
tip-off that the Defense Department is moving into its final phase of planning
and preparation comes from a decision to begin military training of Iraqi exile
forces and dissidents who can be spirited out of Iraq. The limited training will
take six to eight weeks to complete, military planners say." There are many
other tip offs such as the heightened level of preparedness of the Israeli Home
Front for an Iraqi attack. Short of Hussein willingly disintegrating - a highly
unlikely scenario - any version of action on Iraq whether clandestine, or full
scale is rather likely.
Israel and the US represent everything the Arabs and Muslims despise and reject
(if this seems an unwarranted generalization one then needs to wait for
different positions espoused by their political leaders, clergy, and press in
Arabic and Farsi - and a far lower support rate in opinion polls - those are not
yet available) and flippantly they projected Bush's "axis-of-evil" unto him and
Sharon. But this vilification and violence is not limited to those quarters. The
Europeans add their own version to it. As Joseph Joffe suggests (The
axis of envy The Jerusalem Post, Oct. 26, 2002) "Anti-Israelism and
anti-Americanism travel together. In the Arab Middle East, the link is standard
fare, but a more interesting case in point is Europe."
There are several reasons for it but mostly it is the obvious contradiction
between European views and those in Israel and the US. While there are elements
of post-nationalism in Israel as well as in the US, "Israel will remain a
threatened polity, and the US the world's number one, for the rest of this
century." Therefore, what will determine the outcome are the "stark and
incontrovertible facts of power and position in the international arena."
But the international arena is a blurred concept because international causes
are fought now not in a battlefield but in the streets of any given home-front
(and those are now anywhere in the world). Therefore it is helpful to examine
the reaction of "interested parties" to the Washington sniper to learn from it
about what the future may hold.
The Atlanta paper carried in interview with local Muslims who expressed
"concern" that the "killers tar their image" (Islam
connection shakes Muslims Saeed Ahmed, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution,
October 26, 2002). The reporter interviewed several members of the Muslim
community who were quoted as being concerned about their image. The reporter
then states that "Although officials haven't said whether religious beliefs
played a role in the attacks, some Muslims fear that message has seeped into the
American consciousness. The recent terrorist attacks in Indonesia, Kuwait and
other countries where Americans were killed have strengthened the belief that
Islam fosters terrorism, some said."
While one could be sympathetic to unwarranted stereotyping and false attribution
of intent and even action to a large group of people based on the action of
extremists from within that group, the fact remains that none of those
interviewed has condemned the action and since 9-11 we are yet to see an
unconditional condemnation of terrorist acts when committed by Arabs/Muslims.
The Egyptians were not willing to accept the fact that the Egyptian pilot
committed suicide when downing EGYPTAIR 990
http://www.greatdreams.com/plane990.htm - on October 31, 1999. And it is
still a rather likely scenario that it was a terrorist murder by suicide. Most
importantly, whatever technology is employed in the war against terrorism, the
first signs of success will be when the Muslim community in Europe and the US
turns en-mass against the perpetrators, condemns them (unconditionally) and such
statements are saliently evident in community after community and are repeatedly
made by the clergy and secular leadership. Only then will there be a chance that
similar voices will be heard in the Middle East as well.
As long as Arab American and European apologists (and their sympathizers)
continue to "understand" the terrorists, and express "concern" about their own
image, the situation will prove to get even worse. If such condemnations do not
come (and fairly soon - as it is already more than a year late), Americans will
have no choice but to help have the prophecy of the "tarred-image" be
self-fulfilled as after all the facts on the ground show who the perpetrators
are and who their sympathizers are. All we need is to do something about it.