Fear Mongering at Bargain Rates!

In today's National Post, ex-CIA spook James Woolsey is quoted as saying that the upcoming Canadian election may provoke a terrorist attack, and presents the Madrid bombings as an example of why. He suggests the terrorists were out to influence the Spanish elections, and suggests they succeeded, because the Spanish are planning of pulling troops out of Iraq.

Spook is a good name for Woolsey, because all he's selling is fear. Woolsey makes no case for what sort of direction terrorists would be seeking to influence Canadian elections. Given that Canada didn't join the Iraq War, committing terrorist violence here would simply harden the Canadian resolve to fight terrorist groups.

Moreover his argument that Spanish reaction to the Madrid bombings hurts the so-called war on terror also does not hold up under even light examination. The Iraq War appears to have created more terrorists. Resources that could have been spent fighting terrorists, have instead been spent invading and occupying Iraq. The reaction of the Spanish electorate appears to be the most rational. They are moving to refocus their efforts on fighting terrorists, instead of being distracted by imperialist fantasies.

But on the whole, I really find this war on terrorism idea loathsome. Stating that we're at war is a form of terrorization, and it is a distraction from other better approaches to solving the problem of terrorist groups.

You can no more make war on terror than you can on drugs or crime or poverty. The metaphor is a very poor one because these kinds of problems cannot be solved by violence. Reducing the threat of terrorism can only be accomplished by taking actions in a number of areas. Using military might should be the least important of these. Combating terrorist groups is best done through cooperation between different levels of government and government services, along with information sharing between countries. It is first and foremost a police action. It is about finding and arresting the criminals who are planning the violence. Bombing, invading and occupying Iraq has done nothing to stop terrorist criminals.

But, it is just as important to address the roots of terrorist violence. Terrorist groups receive a lot of the support they do because of the social inequity and oppression in many regions of the world, and particularly in the Middle East. The industrialized west is complicit in much of this social inequity, all in the name of maintaining access to cheap labour and cheap natural resources. Terrorism will only increase if these inequities continue. Making the effort to address these inequities will reduce the support many terrorists receive.

Confronting the ideologies that support terror through counter argument and by setting a better example are also vital actions to take. You can't simply allow the right of free expression to void responsibility to argue against the inciting of violence and hatred by radical, militant Islamic groups. It is imperative that alternate points of view be provided, but simply talking the talk is not enough, we have to walk the walk, we have to set a better example.

Allowing the violation of civil rights, committing assassinations, essentially ignoring the rule of law because we have the might to make right; all of these things demonstrate a willingness to use violence. Supporting oppressive governments to gain access to cheap oil or other resources again uses violence to get our way. Is it any wonder that violence is a tool terrorists are willing to use, when it is a tool so readily employed by the wealthiest nations? Our use of violence may coerce some while our gaze is on them, but as soon as our back is turned they will find a way to strike back, and one of those ways is terrorism.

Declaring war on terror simply dumbs the whole issue down. It is the refuge of salesmen looking to peddle their services. They want to scare you into buying their very simple plan. But to truly make a difference requires thought and no small measure of sacrifice.