Terrorists from East and West Galvanize World to Unite (Jordan Times, Jordan)
"For
decades, the West saw itself as a victim of terrorism that originates in the
Muslim world; now the Muslim world begins to see itself as a victim of
terrorism that originates in the West, in addition to its home-grown terrorism.
The obvious point to stress is that both are now targets and sources of
terror. Therefore, all must now work together, in honesty and in earnest, to
eradicate this malady. Militarism alone cannot eradicate terrorism. As has
become very clear, George W. Bush's war on terror increased rather than
decreased terrorism."
Until the emergence of the so-called Islamic State and similar
criminal al-Qaeda offshoots, “Islamist” terror had been seen by Western powers
as essentially an external threat.
After the advent of IS, however, it has become a real threat
to them as well.
The events of September 11, 2001 set the rhythm and the
pattern: a group of non-Western Muslim radicals, born and bred in failed Muslim
states angry at being used and then betrayed by Western powers, began directing
their wrath at the West and committing acts of terror against it out of revenge
- in addition of course to horrific acts they committed and continue to commit
in the Muslim world.
Now though, that rhythm and pattern have radically changed, and
in many ways have reversed. As the terrorist attacks against Charlie Hebdo
and other recent European targets reveal, the followers of IS and other al-Qaeda
offshoots are growing and now act from within Western countries themselves.
This is a very significant development, indeed.
They target the West and also us Muslims.
Thousands of Western-born and bred terrorists - the likes of
the infamous Jihadi John
of IS and White Widow of Al Shabab [Samantha Lewthwaite] - are in fact coming from the West to
commit chilling acts of terror in our part of the world.
For decades, the West saw itself as a victim of terrorism
that originates in the Muslim world; now the Muslim world begins to see itself
as a victim of terrorism that originates in the West, in addition to its home-grown
terrorism.
The obvious point to stress is that both are now targets
and sources of terror. Therefore, all must now work together, in honesty and in
earnest, to eradicate this malady.
Militarism alone cannot eradicate terrorism. As has become
very clear, George W. Bush's war on terror increased rather than decreased
terrorism.
That doesn't mean that terrorism shouldn't be fought
militarily. It should. The current U.S.-led coalition fighting IS could be the
stepping stone for a more effective military confrontation against terror organizations
in our part of the world. These groups must be eliminated. Nothing short of
that is acceptable.
Posted By Worldmeets.US
To do so, of course, we need to the entire region on board.
For there remain key countries in the region and further afield that have not
only not joined with, but seem to be both directly and indirectly contributing
to the survival and growth of IS as well as other al-Qaeda offshoots.
As long as there are countries that remain “neutral” or
worse, tacitly abet and support IS and others, the war against the terrorists
can never be won. In addition to militarism, however, much must be done to eliminating
the causes of terrorism.
One is to resolve the question of Palestine and put an end
to Israel's occupation and aggression, which have for decades directly
contributed to the emergence, spread and prolongation of terrorism in the
region and beyond.
The Israeli government should understand this and do its
best to defuse terror. This will only be possible when Palestinians are given their
rights and the Arab-Israeli conflict is once and for all ended amicably.
Another step that needs to be taken is to address theological
and political factors, both in our region and the West, that contribute to the
emergence and rise of terrorism.
Some radical theologians, through their misguided use and
abuse of religion, instigate and inject vitality into terrorist groups. So too
do some politicians, who because of their misguided authoritarian policies,
also instigate terrorism.
A third measure would be to tackle the socio-economic
causes. While some people join terrorist groups for religious or political
reasons, many join as a result of socio-economic exclusion. In a recent article
titled Europe's
Jihadi Generation, this was potently argued by Javier Solana.
Focusing specifically on the circumstances in Western
societies which contribute to the rise of terror, he attributes the phenomenon
specifically to socio-economic exclusion.
To fight terrorism, then, all of us - Westerners and
Easterners - must be on the same page and work earnestly together to eliminate
the causes, and not just the symptoms, of terrorism.
