The Canadian National Newspaper: Meaning and Purpose of Terrorism: How to deal with it Effectively

The New Webster's Dictionary of the English language describes terrorism as a system of government that rules by terror and intimidation. Terror is derived from the Latin world "terreo" meaning to frighten. Hence, terror involves fear, which agitates the body and mind. Throughout history, governments and various groups used terrorism systematically when such entities felt highly threatened for various reasons. It was a last resource they felt they had when dealing with a situation that was getting out of control.

Since a problem is best understood by going to its source, terrorism can be dealt with properly and effectively by going to its roots. Unless the root of terrorism is fully realized, we are bound to experience this brutal event periodically till the end of times. The reasons for terrorism may vary from one global area to another. Such reasons cannot be taken lightly. They need to be properly explored and analyzed because they constitute the source of systematic serious threats.

Although the roots of terrorism may stem from numerous sources, for all practical purposes we may concentrate on the following four: (a) religious fanaticism, (b) political extremism, (c) governmental abuse and (d) military intervention. The targets of terrorists differ, depending on which of these categories they may belong. Let us examine each of these categories of terrorists.

In some global areas, people have been brainwashed to view things in a certain way and to pursue actions proposed to them accordingly with no questions raised. Most terrorists have been viewed as religious fanatics who developed a clear misconception of God. They sought to gather support and momentum by immersing people in phenomenal ignorance relative to the realities that eventually surround them. This step is important, especially when people are trained to perform sadistic actions by inflicting enormous pain on others and without feeling any remorse of conscience.

Religious fanaticism may lead to sadistic practices, which may be used to admonish people of what is awaiting for them if they were to follow certain ways. Inflicting pain for the sake of pain is often the ultimate objective of this kind of terrorism. Religious fanatics in Afghanistan, for example, have destroyed anything that had the semblance of Buddhism, regardless of the fact that Pope John Paul II condemned their actions. Terrorists of this kind would proceed to do anything, which they believe would bring more observance of rules and regulations within the boundary or their religious beliefs.

In political extremism we always find a group of people who are determined to get what they want by all means, regardless of the consequences. Most terrorists of this nature seek to destroy anything, which is not in line with their objectives. Although the motivation for their heinous crimes may differ, they tend to reveal sensitivity in the selection of their targets. Very often, innocent people die as a result, even though their death was not a part of the terrorists’ conceived plan. Such terrorists feel they cannot stop certain evil, especially when dealing with power-abuse at the very top level of society.

Moreover, in political extremism we may find dedicated groups that are determined to whip things into order in a way as to stop injustice from spreading. In spite of good intentions they may have, these political extremists seem to function on the Machiavellian philosophy: the end justifies the means. This philosophy has been viewed as immoral by many and even condemned as evil in a number of instances. Unfortunately, this philosophy has become the foundation of terrorism in all of its various forms.

Most of the dictatorial regimes, which assumed governmental power through coups and other illegitimate means, have been known for their brutal rule that terrorized an entire nation. Since terrorism is linked with brutal actions, most terrorism in history has been instigated and practiced by governments. In fact, this type of terrorism has been the most brutal, merciless, and wicked in history. People are imprisoned and executed on mere suspicion without any trial or recourse to any law. In essence, these government officials may enter the Guinness Book of World Records as the greatest terrorists in the history of the human race.

As a matter of fact, Mao Tze Tung of China has been enlisted in this book as having been responsible for the massacre of 29 million people within the confines of China alone. To add insult to injury, such dictatorial regimes have used their military systematically to kill anyone who tries to protest injustice and who tries to demand better treatment. Most of those massacred were women, children, the elderly and the sick.

Regardless of what we may hear to the contrary, if we were to examine the purpose of the military in history we will always come to the same conclusion. Its primary purpose is to control whole populations through the promotion of terror. In fact, the military people carry guns and rifles and all kinds of weapons of destruction. Dictatorial regimes have used the military to terrorize their people systematically and brutally. Ironically, such vicious regimes have purchased their weapons of destruction mostly from so-called democratic nations, including the United States.

What do such nations as Indonesia, Burma, Cambodia, Nigeria, Angola, Sudan, Chile, Bolivia, Paraguay, among others have in common? Their respective governments used the military to terrorize their own civilians, killing tens of thousands of innocent people that included women, children, the elderly and the sick. We are all familiar with Tienamen Square in Beijing when in 1989 the Chinese government ordered the military to invade with students’ peaceful protests and to shoot them down. The military, by its very nature, is trained to perform acts of terrorism, which are viewed as legal.

Maryknoll Productions in New York and the Center for Defense Information in Washington, DC have produced numerous videotapes showing how the United States has equipped the most notorious dictators in the world with all kind of sophisticated weapons. Such weapons were then used to massacre innocent people, mostly women and children, the elderly, and the sick simply because they protested injustice and demanded better treatment. Most countries, including Angola, Sudan, Liberia, Somalia, Cambodia, among others are infested with American landmines with hundreds of people, including children still dying each week. Those who survived American landmines have had one or both legs amputated. When relatively recently the United Nations voted to outlaw landmines, the United States was virtually the only dissenter, the only one that refused.

When communism collapsed in 1987, the whole world took a sigh of relief. Every nation felt that under the leadership of the United States the world was finally bound to have a permanent peace. But it took only a few months for the United States, which houses the seat of capitalism, to show its real teeth. Instead of embarking on a program of disarmament, as advocated by the United Nations, the United States embarked on a program of rearmament. Instead of enfolding NATO and bringing it to an end, now that the Warsaw Pact was dissolved and the Soviet Union ceased to exist, the United States moved to expand NATO while urging those who joined to spend billions of dollars on new weapons all purchased from the United States.

For the past few decades, the United States has manufactured and sold weapons of destruction every year more than all the nations of the world combined. Not only so, but the United States sold weapons to opposite factions within the same nations, like with the case of Burundi where we had the Hutu fighting the Tutsi, killing each other in tense of thousands weekly. Some of the most notorious dictators to whom the United States furnished weapons without limit, which were used exclusively to kill their own innocent and helpless people, were: Pinochet of Chile, Abacha of Nigeria, Suharto of Indonesia, Saddam Hussein of Iraq, Mobutu of former Zaire, and Galtieri of Argentina.

Since World War II ended in 1945, some 50 million people were massacred brutally with American weapons. And such a massacre with American weapons is still going on to this very day! Millions of relatives across every continent are still mourning the loss of their beloved ones who fell victims of American weapons. The exhortation of the Master Teacher: He who kills by the sword will die by the word, cannot be taken lightly. Also, the Buddhist teaching of Karma: You will be treated same way as you treated others, needs to be taken very seriously.

Terrorism cannot be stopped by counteract it with terrorism because terrorism breeds more terrorism. Just as the destruction of New York and Washington, DC reveal acts of terrorism, the destruction of Afghanistan by US and British forces also reveal acts of terrorism. In both cases, thousands of innocent people died. While the United States refers to those innocent people who died in New York and Washington, DC as "victims" the same nation refers to those innocent people who died in Afghanistan by U.S. bombs as "collateral damage." This is somewhat degrading to refer to innocent Afghanis women, children, the elderly and the sick recently killed with American weapons as "collateral damage" like these sacred human beings were nothing but a piece of furniture.

In view of what has been stated, we have to realize that the security of people everywhere is not to be sought in weapons of destruction and in the formation of military alliances. People's security is linked with good health, good education, good housing facilities, along with a healthy environment and a spiritual revival. The relatives of those victims who died of American weapons in Latin America have besieged the American government, saying: Do not send us anymore of that military aid which was used to kill our helpless and innocent people. Instead, send us food and medicine and other necessities of life.

When the United States and its NATO allies bombarded Kosovo for three months, under the pretext of freeing the people from Milosevic of Yugoslavia, during these three months alone more people were killed in Kosovo with American weapons than in the previous 55 years in the same territory under Milosevic all the way back to Tito. This proves that the act of military terrorism was highly devastating.

Terrorism could be brought under full control if the United States, in conjunction with the United Nations, will stop relying on the military to solve world problems and instead embark upon taking the following steps:

1. Put top priority on the suffering people everywhere. We are living now in a world of interdependence. What affects one person will affect the rest of the world.

2. Promote a program of disarmament and development. The United Nations took good steps in this direction. However, such steps were hampered by the weapons industry.

3. Assume the responsibility to develop a new world economy. The United States and industrial countries cannot continue to rely on weapons to make quick money. This is a lethal product, which leads to death.

4. Protect people from the exploitation of big business. The capitalist-oriented nations thrive on the exploitation of people by instigating them to borrow money and to buy items they do not really need.

5. Urge churches and civic groups to defend the helpless. Several of these agencies receive money from their members who work for the weapons industry, which they never criticize and condemn.

Terrorism is a brutal element, which should not exist any longer in our earthly society. We need to go down to its roots in order to pull them out. The terrorist act in New York and in Washington, DC, though utterly deplorable, had a specific message. This act of terror was directed toward the seat of world capitalism and the seat of the world military might.

Capitalism was singled out by Pope John Paul II as one of the greatest two evils of the 20th century, along with communism. He said that both systems advance their objectives through the exploitation of people. The capitalistic system has exploited ruthlessly the nations of Africa and Latin America, not to mention others. As a result, most of these countries have turned into deserts for all practical purposes. Besides, the millions of American landmines have turned a number of these nations into cemeteries. Only God knows how many millions of innocent people suffered and are still suffering because of the ruthless exploitation of the capitalistic system, which is headed by the United States.

The military has always been used in history to wage indiscriminate acts of legalized terrorism which killed millions of innocent people, destroyed our environment and obliterated from the surface of our planet most of our sacred cultural heritage. The toxic wastes produced from big corporations headed by the weapons industry in the United States alone, has caused cancer to two million Americans every year. If just 50% of the billions of dollars spent on the military could be used for constructive purposes, the United States in particular and the world at large will become a safer and more secure place of habitation.

With such money, we can feed all the hungry people of the world for the rest of this century, procure prefabricated homes for the millions of homeless people everywhere, provide free health care to all the people of this planet, give the children of all nations free education from kindergarten, elementary and secondary schools through college and university, and provide to the developing nations schools and hospitals equipped with the best available technological means. This way we will stop the enormous suffering of this world and the roots of terrorism will be obliterated before we even know it.

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