Eshin Direct

Okay, it’s a year on from the WTC attacks. I’m not going to spew my usual Anti-War and paranoia opinions at you. But I do think you have a right to know where I stand on this issue.

Where have we got to in this past year? Nowhere, fast. I would say, in retrospect, that the terrorists have achieved exactly what they set out to do and the Americans are helping them out with this. John Q. Public is just as eager to eradicate the threat of “Islamic” fundamentalism as the Arabs extremists are to eradicate them. If you’ve taken a look at some of the message boards, it’s a constant battle of ideology between Americanism and Fundamentalism. They are both just as fanatical about this as the other. I see no difference. The reason why I say this is that they are both major player in this world. We didn’t know about Al-Qaida until a year ago…well, not the general mass of people, those who followed some current affairs knew they were around. But they are the next superpower. I, thankfully, didn’t have to grow up during the Cold War at its most intense but I feel that we are entering into such an era now.

Here’s my rationale. Whether or not anyone likes it, Al-Qaida has changed our way of life. It’s easy to say that it hasn’t if you’re not American. American’s think about it probably more than anything. They are scared. They haven’t had to deal with this kind of terrorist attack on their soil. They dropped their bombs and even they know that it’s a hollow victory. The real war remains to be fought. Lurking in the shadows, working intelligence, winning silent victories, that is where the war is being fought. Just as in the Cold War. In fact, this war promises to be more bloody. The Cold War, the maneovring and the politicing between two open states maintained one sense of civility. There were tangible targets to take out and also potentially nuke. The Americans don’t have a target, but nor do they have a nuke pointed at them to hold back. They don’t really even have a nation state that is visible to protest. No open dialogue, frosty as it might be, exists. Al-Qaida is the menace that no-one really wants in their own turf and so it will be hard to back them.

But Al-Qaida isn’t weak either. They have shown that they have no qualms about taking out civilian targets. World-wide condemnation? They have no nation state to blockade, they have no visible interests that strike at. They have no civilians to protect. They are the nation state of war. Each citizen is a soldier. They have no elections to hold, no constituents to appease and hence, they can go to war when and where they want. They are free from restrictions that a legitimate nation state might have. The Taliban were visible but to be honest, they are not Al-Qaida. Al-Qaida is a belief. It cannot die easily.

The Americans do have a responsibility to seek justice. I would hold with little respect any nation that does not protect its own interests. But what I fear for the Americans, is that they haven’t healed and gone on to live their lives. It’s an oppressive fear of terrorism and what was done to them that still haunts them. Or could be done to them. The Cold War proved the lengths to which people went to protect themselves out of fear and the McCarthy witch-hunts were evidence of this. We walk again in such times. Was America the bastion of democracy and freedom then?

Americans need to realise that the world has been dealing with these attacks for years. Civil wars are fought, separatists and loyalists kill each other, and religion remains a rally cry for war still. To be honest, the WTC is a wake up call. But not for war and mobilization of armed forces. It is a wake up call for something to be done to make this world a better place. We need to address the problems of the world…not bomb them. Osama bin Laden is fighting for a reason….find this reason. It is not religion. Islam doesn’t promote violence, people do. What is the real reason that Osama is fighting? They believe that their actions will make the world a better place…albeit in the terms. Under Islam, the world will be a better place. That is what they believe.

The Americans too believe this. Under their ideology, the world is a better place.

But I digress. The point is that America needs to come to terms with the attacks. I know. I grew up in England at a time when bombs on trains were not out of the ordinary. The British government has been fighting a secret war against the IRA through MI5/MI6 and the SAS. There were no parades…no banner flying. For both sides in that war, the best that each “winner” could do was have a drink in down in the local pub. SAS men would have a drink after a successful operation and so too would IRA operatives come home to probably not more than a pub full of well wishers. But in the end, both sides realised the futulity of it and a tangible, if shaky, peace agreement was made. The SAS could take out the ring leaders and strategic resources of the IRA at any time. Why did they not? Because the government knew that it was too easy to for a civilian to become an IRA soldier and continue the fight. To fight an idea is not that easy. To fight a nation state, where you have borders to push, civilians to capture, and eventually governments to topple, is easier. But if Britain were invaded tomorrow, you would still have people who were British and subscribed to that idea. Anybody want to know what it would cost to defeat the idea of being English?

Likewise too, the IRA could never hope to topple that idea. Sure a change of governments was the best they could hope to accomplish. But full withdraw from Northern Ireland? Not likely given the divisions that exists in that community.

Al-Qaida however operates differently. Sure they want to advance their purpose. But to be honest, I feel that Al-Qaida’s motives behind the attack were to teach America a lesson. Topple America and wholesale invasion of US soil? I doubt even Osama dreams of that at night. To make Americans and other complacent nations feel the fear and terror of being at war, that the Afghan people for one, have been feeling for decades? That is an objective which they have quite successfully achieved. September 11 is a confusing day for Americans. How do you mark it? The answer is that the Americans don’t know. But it is a source for reflection and a source of fear. Al-Qaida, even if America capture Osama, has already won this battle. Much of the free world is in fear….and special arrangements are made by many Western governments to combat the threat of terrorism. The enemy has already controlled your behaviour.

The American response worries me. In Asia, we feel the memories of September 11 less on a day to day basis. But in America’s quest to deal with the bad Islamic militants in a traditional “war” approach, I fear that Asia will be the battle ground for the war against terror. The foothold of Islam is just as strong as the idealogy of communism was. And equally, many governments and people subscribe to the democratic ideals of the West. “You are either with us, or against us.”. Reminds me of the Domino theory, where the US governments belief that if one nation falls to communism, then others will fall in a domino effect. Only this time, the threat comes from a theological rather than an ideological base. The Middle East will always be a traditional battleground as there are too many Islamic nations and peoples. The Americans have lost this battle before they even fight it. It will be folly for the Americans to attack Iraq, even if they are hell-bent on doing so. The backlash will be catastrophic.

The battleground will be Asia. Islamic separatists and extremists can breed quite nicely in Asia but they are too small and enough of a problem for legitimate governments to revile them, to make them a tangible target to take out. US military intelligence is now moving in to protect America’s interests. Troops have been stationed in the region since WW2 but the most action they will see is getting to a state of high readiness. But combined with American’s distaste for getting dirty (the spectre of Vietnam still haunts them) and the lack of a nation state to attack (where are the borders?), I doubt that Billy Bob from Arkansas, Texas will see much action. This should be worrying for many of you.

Billy Bob doesn’t have an enemy that comes out and fights. Billy Bob only knows two things. The enemy is there and that he is fighting an ideology – Islamic extremism. The problem with ideology is that it isn’t visible. The Vietnam War told them that. So then the enemy becomes the collective race/nation that the ideology comes from. In a war where one is hidden, civilians become potential threats. If Billy Bob is ordered into military action but can’t identify the enemy, his task is to eliminate any threat to himself, his unit, his nation, his ideology. The atrocities commited in Vietnam are testament to this. Mogadishu, more recently, is testament to this as well. Tribal fighters used civilians as shields. Civilians became legitimate targets as they contributed to the threat to Billy Bob’s comrades in that conflict. I don’t deny that this is bad but I can understand that. In war, there is no longer any Geneva Convention. No Human Rights Declaration. Just raw pure animal instinct to survive and protect the community you belong to. Tribunals and trials are something that is done after the fighting has stopped.

In the case of Asia, the capacity that Americans have to play are observers. Really? Vietnam wasn’t a war. It was a police action. They were invited in. Just like now. The US government has two choices, commit entirely to wage war or to purely observe. Then we have the same problem of the Dutch troops in Yugoslavia. They did nothing. Governments in Asia can throw civil liberties out of the window in the name of combatting the menace of terrorism. America is hardly going to object anymore. Not while the War on Terrorism still has to and is being fought. One evil is greater…and that is terrorism. Just like in the Cold War. Civil liberties were at stake in the American homeland and abroad, but it was a good thing as it exposed some genuine communist threats. Americans and other nations were quite happy to live with this arrangement even if innocents died or suffered.

My point is this – on September 11, the US government needs to reflect. Mr. Bush has to take the opportunity to show that he is a world leader and not an elected official of the American people. Unfortunately, the US has an Empire. Just like the Romans, just like the Turks and just like the English. When Rome shook, so did the Roman world although the interests of only a minority was really taken into consideration as they were the ones that voted or that really mattered. When American moves, so too does the world. What’s best for America might not be the best for the world. We are at a stage in Human civilisation where we are progressing above what we have done in the past. Slavery is no longer acceptable. Nations waging war on one another is no longer acceptable. Mr. Bush, please progress the title of world leader to a new level. Osama, you’ve done what you set out to accomplish. The Americans know suffering and fear. Be the spiritual leader you claim to be and rise above it. Turn yourself in. Christ, who I believe you hold as one of your profits, did so.

I will not mark September 11 with a minutes silence like my compatriots in England will. The minutes silence was to remember the mass of people killed during the two world wars. A much larger loss was felt and the scale of the human loss was less. The impact and suffering is what Osama and Bush are creating. I mourn each loss of human life. But to warrant the type of mourning that millions more died for, is disproportionate. Many more will die and many more have died. When the dust settles…then we can mourn.

For those of you that question my loyalty and sense as human being. Please note this. If called upon to do my duty by my nation I will do so. Those who know me, know that I have a fighting spirit and I’ve been fascinated with the military and war for a long time. And while I do my duty, I also know the cost, and that is why I am loathe to fight. But I will if called on to do so. And while I live and hold citizenship in a nation that values free speech and democracy, I will excercise that right.

Tags: Political Rants