On Sunday, October 26, American special forces flew from Iraq, 8 miles into Syria. They attacked a farm, killing 8 people. The US claims those killed were fighters who were planning to go into Iraq. Syria claims they were all civilians, including a woman and three children. Personally, I’m inclined to believe Syria, simply because America has proved time and again that almost nothing it claims surrounding the military in Iraq is true. However, let’s give America the benefit of the doubt on this one. Even if all 8 of those people were suicide-bombers-in-training, how does one excuse this attack? America’s answer is this, “if you harbor terrorists, you are just as guilty as the terrorists; you’re an enemy of the United States, and you will be held to account”.
That answer is great. At least until you: A) think about it or B) take it to its logical conclusion.
There is no country in the world that does not produce and harbor terrorists. Even America itself does. Terrorism is certainly an evil thing. What America has done with its “war on terror”, however, is treat terrorism as if it is 10 times worse than any other kind of evil. There has been no reasoning behind this, just emotional speeches and trumped up fear. Since this “ultimate evil” has been established, America has given itself (as if it had the right to do so…) the right to supercede and undermine any law (foreign or domestic) that stands in its way. Ergo, America has legalized domestic wire-tapping and even torture - all under the guise of “fighting terror”. Now, the US has begun to blatantly disregard international borders and law (as if the invasion of Iraq wasn’t enough). It has repeadetly sent land and air attacks across the border from Afghanistan into Pakistan and has now sent this recent attack into Syrian territory.
A few thoughts:
What is the official definition of “terrorism”? Does it mean using violence to cause fear? Does it mean disrupting “normal society”? Does it mean Islamic Fundamentalism? What is it about “terrorism” that is so much worse than any other kind of evil? America acts as if terrorism is 10 times worse than any other kind of evil, yet uses 10 other forms of evil to combat it. You do the math. What kind of ethic dictates fighting one kind of evil with another slightly-modified form of that same evil? A crappy one.
America’s “war on terror” is self-defeating. The tactics the US is using are the very reasons why people hate America in the first place. By fighting this “war” we are only giving more people more reason to hate us, and while I don’t want them to, I can’t say I blame them for it.
I leave you with this quote from the amazing book Three Cups of Tea:
“As he studied the screen, Bashir’s bullish shoulders slumped. “People like me are America’s best friends in the region,” Bashir said at last, shaking his head ruefully. “I’m a moderate Muslim, an educated man. But watching this, even I could become a jihadi. How can Americans say they are making themselves safer?” Bashir asked, struggling not to direct his anger toward the large American target on the other side of his desk. “Your President Bush has done a wonderful job of uniting one billion Muslims against America for the next two hundred years.”
