<http://www.journal-news.com/homepage/content/news/stories/2006/07/09/HJN070 906ErlichGuest.html> http://www.journal-news.com/homepage/content/news/stories/2006/07/09/HJN0709 06ErlichGuest.html
Terrorism a technique of the weak/7-9 By Richard D. Erlich During July, while we celebrate the creation of the United Sates, and before we move on to the 2006 full-court-press political season, let's talk about some key political phrases, like "national security" and "national survival." During the Cold War, at stake in a worst-case scenario were the destruction of human civilization and the possible extinction of the human species. Earth would survive thermonuclear war and even nuclear winter, as would life on Earth; in a worst-case scenario, humans would not. Even at best, the survival of the American Republic was threatened by the possibility of the Cold War going hot. During the U.S. Civil War, the Union was at stake, and during World War II, an Axis victory could have meant the end of the United States as a sovereign country and maybe the end of the experiment in "Democracy in America." An Axis victory certainly would have threatened American Jews and Blacks and Slavs and others seen be the Nazis as racial inferiors. Islamic fanaticism, especially if met by other fanaticisms, could threaten repetition of the run-up to World War II: mass movements taking over governments and putting their destructive power into the hands of charismatic leaders and revolutionary parties bent on destroying current systems and imposing an ideal. For now, though - let us be grateful - the issue is only terrorism. Terrorism is a technique of the weak, waging "asymmetric warfare" against people with much more military and economic power. Terrorists threaten to kill, wound and/or maim us, especially "soft-target," civilian "us," and destroy property, but that is all that terrorists, as terrorists, threaten. If you want a sound-bite, "Terrorists threaten Americans; they do not threaten America." If some terrorist group can get hold of a nuclear weapon, they will have a weapon of mass destruction. Short of nukes, however, there are no individual weapons of mass destruction, just more or less nasty lethal weapons that can harm people on the scale of, let's say, a major industrial accident involving the explosion of railway cars filled with chlorine gas, or a very bad season of flu, or a major natural disaster. Terrorists threaten "the American way of life" in a political sense if they succeed and terrorize us into a radical change: giving up a lot of liberty to gain some security from terrorists. And they threaten to goad us into at least the appearance of a war against religion - i.e., Islam - that would put the U.S. against radicalized Muslim masses; the temptation is being goaded into a true "clash of civilizations." These distinctions have practical significance. State-sanctioned torture - including the torture of children - could be a justified necessity if the goal were prevention of an imminent nuclear holocaust, and use of torture might prevent that holocaust. State-sanctioned torture is not justified if the goal is to save just my life, or yours or those of a couple hundred of our families, friends and fellow citizens. I reserve the option, of course, to act illegally and immorally to protect my family and friends. If a situation is desperate enough that I'd torture someone, it's desperate enough that I should be willing to submit to jail or execution for doing so. That the Bush administration wants immunity for U.S. torturers as a matter of policy indicates that far less is at stake than imminent threats to national survival, or even truly grave threats to national security. Similarly, surrenders of personal liberty necessary to help ensure national survival are not justified if there is no threat to the nation. The suspension of rights by President Lincoln during the Civil War was probably wrong, but it was and remains defensible, given the threat. The imprisonment of Japanese-Americans during World War II was wrong, but censorship, surveillance, massive military draft and command of the economy were justifiable expedients in the war against the fascist Axis. Today, as a practical matter, the sacrifices for most Americans are of other people's liberty, but large-scale surrenders to government power are not justified given the degree of threat of small bands of fascistic terrorists. Al-Qaida is not the Wehrmacht nor the Luftwaffe nor the USSR's strategic rocket forces. Terrorists can use kamikaze tactics, but they are not the Japanese Imperial Navy. Prudent people take prudent steps to reduce risk. Prudent people avoid giving in to terror, starting with the emotion. America will remain "the land of the free," so long as we're "the home of the brave." The most immediate threat to the American Republic is our inability to judge dangers rationally; the most immediate threat to the Republic is our fear. Richard D. Erlich resides in Oxford. [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: [email protected] Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. 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