Terrorism 2.0: Can We Fight It With Obama In Charge?

Maybe Mumbia isn't Terrorism 2.0, perhaps it's 3.0 or some such derivation. We've gone from taking hostages at an Olympics, to Entebbe and hi-jackings, to large-scale bombings, 9/11 and now this. The torture is said to have been unspeakable.

David Altman at Ynet says we need to learn some lessons from it. But can we?

Today, we see the emergence of a dark, new, and different army, with new branches that include all the components of a military, yet still utilize the terror doctrine. The advantage of terrorist armies is first and foremost the fact they are not subjected to any law or international convention. They do not face any pressure and they are not accountable to anyone.

 They tie the hands of the responding force, which is the only side subjected to conventions pertaining to human rights, war captives, and the targeting of civilians.

We have a craven media that is said to have put people at risk with the same reckless abandon that the NY Times employed in exposing the latest counter-intelligence secret of the Bush administration. It's not yet clear if they'll do the same thing to Obama.

But will they need to? Based upon Obama's remarks regarding 9/11, he seems to think we can defeat terrorism by speading the wealth.

We must also engage, however, in the more difficult task of understanding the sources of such madness. The essence of this tragedy, it seems to me, derives from a fundamental absence of empathy on the part of the attackers: an inability to imagine, or connect with, the humanity and suffering of others. Such a failure of empathy, such numbness to the pain of a child or the desperation of a parent, is not innate; nor, history tells us, is it unique to a particular culture, religion, or ethnicity. It may find expression in a particular brand of violence, and may be channeled by particular demagogues or fanatics. Most often, though, it grows out of a climate of poverty and ignorance, helplessness and despair.

 – Barack Obama, Hyde Park Herald, Sept. 19, 2001.

I'm unsure as to whether or not they could pull off this kind of attack in America. But I do know they would like to and there are reasons for concern. Compounds linked to radical Islam have made the news and there's always Canada for training them. We know that's been done. And certainly there are enough mosques for the radical sort to establish themselves. Heck, one group is notorious for trampling the flag in NYC and taunting passersby.

All that is lacking is the will and we know they have that.

I can't predict whether we ever see an attack of this type in America one day. But I doubt our police forces will respond much better than they did in Mumbai. Hopefully our SWAT and quick deploying special ops types would fair a little better. Still, the damage to the American psyche would be great.

And if it did happen, particularly from a sort of homegrown terrorism, even in part, I will predict a fairly harsh response against the government and perhaps even moderate Muslims in our midst from many Americans.

That community seems to have problems calling for change.

NEW DELHI: Muslims protesting online against violence and fundamentalism find themselves cornered by radical elements in their community.

An online post says that the only way to avoid bigotry "is for the Muslims in India to police their own. All too often, it's an 'open secret' in our communities as to which elements among us support such things, and unless we clamp down on our own extremists, I think it's awfully hard to cry foul when the backlash begins."

If nothing else, watch for gun sales to continue to grow. 

Comments

[qwfwq]

'Poverty and ignorance', eh?

When the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Marxists can't evaluate a single issue other than through the lens of class warfare. You should all sue your college professors for malpractice.

Odd as it may seem--and I know it's unfathomable to you, I know--poverty and ignorance are is not always the answer to life's little problems. The only poverty and ignorance involved here is your own: poverty of imagination and ignorance of the facts.

This is religious warfare. People were fighting wars of religion before Marx was a fond gleam in his father's eye.

Fundamentalist Muslims hate you because you're not a fundamentalist Muslim--not for any other reason. Not because George Bush once looked at them funny. If Bush never existed, they would still hate you. If Gore had won, they would still hate you. If you had never been born, but had been beaten out by the sperm right next to you, they would hate your brother--or sister--instead.

And as far as Barry Hopey McChangerson Obama is concerned, you've been punked--roughly and without vaseline. It hurts. Admit it.

[WAHOO WILLIE]

"The 911 attacks we were warned about."

Harpie, that's as silly as it is inaccurate. "The terrs are planning to do something, somewhere, sometime" is hardly a warning that they are going to fly planes into buildings on Sept 11th. Now, "CINCPAC, I've got a shit pot load of unidentified aircraft flying towards Pearl" THAT'S a warning.