A Few Thoughts on Terror as a Political Tool

Much has been written about the current war on Terrorism.  Terror is the tactic used today primarily by militant Islamic organizations against both non-Islamic and moderate-Islamic cultures to break down the standards of society they are attempting to destroy.

With yesterday’s (10-31-2017) incident in New York City we see another example of how effective this tool is for bringing their cause to the news cycle.  It also illustrates the delusion of politicians, who believe they can stand before the cameras and claim that a “lone-wolf” incident will not affect the city and that city residents will not let this affect them, while at the same time telling everyone that they are dramatically increasing police presence “out of an abundance of caution.” 

The fact the government institutes new protective measures after the attack means the terrorist has achieved their objective.  Terror is the tool of the weak, used against a much stronger foe.  Its sole purpose is to destroy the status quo of society.  It does this through undermining faith in the existing government’s ability to protect its people, altering the nature of that government, or separating the average citizen from those who protect them. 

If you think of terrorism as a political tool, a good simile would be the movie “The Shawshank Redemption” where the hero, Andy Dufresne, tunnels his way out of prison using only a little rock hammer.  It appears to be an impossible task, but each chip in the wall brings him just a little closer to his goal.  So, it is with terror. 

Take just a moment to consider the changes in western society since the first public attack by Islamic terrorists.  Can you remember when that even was?  I think it was in the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich when Palestinians killed 11 Israeli athletes and a German policeman.  It has continued unabated since then, growing to the point of the destruction of the World Trade Center on 9/11/2001.

Terror has historically been a criminal activity rather than a military one, but as our court systems seem unable to deal effectively with them we have created a separate secret process.  As the press is now fond of saying “Democracy Dies in Darkness” but they have only taken that approach with the current administration.  They were okay with Darkness when someone they liked was in charge.  Since 9/11 our democracy has been affected by terror to a scale few can understand or appreciate.

That will continue, unabated, until we are honest about the source of the terror and its cost.  It will continue until we, as a culture, decide we have had enough and agree on a unified course of action to kill it.  Anything else is akin to playing “WackaMole.”