ON THE WAR ON TERRORISM

To all those who think the US is waging a war against Islam, and would make fun of the "air supremacy" over Afghanistan (ignoring a small detail that possession of aircraft is not the only element of air defence), we would like to quote Michael Moran from an earlier column on MSNBC. He said (taken somewhat out of context with apologies to Mr Moran), "Perhaps bin Laden is right, then; perhaps the West is corrupt and soft and unable to summon the courage or virility needed to make war or even to recognise its own interests. Then again, what would the residents of Dresden or Stalingrad or Tokyo or Hiroshima make of that theory? Or, more recently, the people of Hanoi? Is the West incapable of the kind of slaughter that Al-Qaida [sic] offers up to Allah? In fact, if we’re just talking about pure numbers, we’re a hell of a lot better at it. British bombers incinerated as many as 50,000 people in a single night in Dresden in 1945. American bombers bettered them later that year, killing up to 100,000 in the fire-bombings of Tokyo. Hiroshima and Nagasaki speak for themselves. Yet these were acts taken against enemies that struck first, years into wars that even today stand as warnings to us about the importance of never letting fanatics gain the upper hand again...Is the United States fighting a war against Islam? If it were, you’d know it by now."

We agree with Ms Roy that the war in Afghanistan is actually being fought to uphold the American way of life. A minor detail skipped by her though, is that every country fights its own war to uphold its own way of life. Just as every individual fights to uphold his or her own way of life. Nothing profound here. Will it cause a loss of civil liberties and cause more terror in the future? In the short term perhaps yes. In the long term, the answer depends on the how this war proceeds, and on the ability of educated individuals to stop writing senseless critiques and spend time providing constructive suggestions that may work within the cultural and political milieu of today's world. The United States has recovered from the dark era of Japanese-American internment during WWII and anti-Communist McCarthyism. Those are not forgotten but they forever remain in American's memories as a lesson on how to do things better the next time - and indeed the US has done better in the following years and decades. America's democracy has only grown stronger after each challenge, not weaker, and this is no small testament to the determination of the American people.

Change takes years and even decades and it would be foolish to write anyone off based on short-term thinking. The United States has strong civil rights groups which will not take sacrifices in civil liberties lying down and all citizens should support these groups as and when the need arises. The Constitution of the United States may not be perfect but it is a very firm balancing power in ensuring that the United States does not drift to philosophies inconsistent with democratic values. US citizens should be aware that attempts to distort the democratic process inside the US to achieve short-term goals may very well have the same long-term impacts as other short-sighted actions the US may have taken in the past outside its borders. Hence, the citizens of the US should zealously guard their democracy and freedoms.

Layoffs have been stated as another consequence of this war. Just for Ms Roy's benefit, let us remind her that US businesses have never had to struggle for a reason to layoff people, at least not for a long time! Indeed, substantial layoffs preceded the September 11th attacks. As an aside, we recently had the misfortune to read a frivolous article by an individual who had evidently gotten laid off recently and lamented how being laid off was more terrifying than Osama bin Laden and his acts (of September 11), and how this evil (of layoffs) needs to be attacked. Is this what this world is coming to? Somehow, this individual assumed that everyone in this world has a right (not privilege) to have a job regardless of their personal qualifications or ethics, regardless of whether there is any work for them to do, regardless of their country's population, regardless of their hate for their employer and regardless of whether they actually do their job well. What other rights are going to be demanded going forward?

The scourge of "terrorism" may have become unconventional, it may be low-tech (box-cutter or envelope based), and it may be spread out over the world, but the people (not just the politicians or so-called leaders) who subscribe to and evangelise its perpetrators will soon have to make up their mind, as to what they really prefer in their lives. To those people, it will not be a choice between the "US way" and the "other way", but it will be a choice between living a life and having their life lived for them (through planned martyrdom or perennial subjugation). For all the crap being thrown at the US and it being equated with the Taliban, let us not forget which of these two groups one would first turn to if one really wanted to improve the probability that democracy will ultimately prevail on this earth.

- TR/KK

PART II
» The Algebra of Infinite Illogic

PART I
» Enduring Blames: Uncle Sam & The Goddess of Big Tirades