Global War Against Terrorism [Archives:2001/39/Focus]

Mohammed Hatem Al-Qadhi
[email protected]
The latest lunatic terror attacks against vital institutions have shown the world’s need to have an international coalition against terrorism everywhere without exception. Terrorism is a global epidemic that can operate everywhere and every time. It is without identification or morals which makes it difficult to fight or crack down. The fight against it is an open-ended battle as the enemy is not easily identified. Therefore, it is a long process that should be persistent. The mission of the fight should be identified first and then countries can form a coalition against terrorism.
To begin with, we have to define terrorism and its perpetrators. It should be put clear what makes an act terrorist. I believe this definition should be made by the UN. That is, the UN must take the lead and call for an international conference to address the epidemic. The conference must define terrorism . Once this is fixed, it would be easy to determine mechanisms of launching war against this global threat worldwide. This is because this clear-cut definition will look into reasons making people perpetrate terrorism.
It is very dangerous to associate this epidemic with a particular religion or race as this will divide the world in this fight. The American president, George W. Bush denounced attacks against US Arabs and Muslims. He said Muslims, christians, and jews should all join fight against terrorism. That is true as perpetrators of this infamy could be Muslims, christians or jews. It should be a war of civilized people against savages.
Arab and Muslim countries refuse to join such a coalition if Israel is a part of it. This is what the Arab League Secretary-General, Amr Mussa said. They believe Israel is exercising state terrorism against Palestinians who are being slaughtered by various sorts of weapons. It is terrorism against people resisting occupation of their own land.
Israel, on the other hand, considers Muslims and Palestinians terrorists. The Israeli former PM, Benjamin Netenyahu, told CNN last Thursday that there is no difference between Usama Bin Laden and Yasser Arafat except for that first wants to destroy the USA while Arafat wants to uproot Israel and establish the Palestinian state.
To drive the point home, it is very necessary that all countries should agree to a specific definition of terrorism so as to be able to crack it down worldwide. There must be differentiation between people who fight for the independence of their countries or their rights and those who perpetrate terrorist acts that have no cause behind. Otherwise, each country will have its own definition for terrorism. This is because in this case such a coalition against terrorism will not yield any fruits. It will , however, divide rather than unite international efforts to fight the global epidemic.
Moreover, such explanations of terrorism on the basis of the interests of countries will breed further problems, leading to more terrorist acts. The fight against this disease should not be take as a slogan by countries to settle their political disputes. This is how the war against terrorism should begin.

USA: Land of Tolerance
The latest infamy that hit the USA invited counter offensives against Muslims and Arabs in the USA. Thousands of crimes have been reported against these people because of nothing except for having Islamic or Arab background. These hostile attacks are not justified at all. They are also a very dangerous omen that will drive people into the turmoil of violence of religious or ethnic motivations.
The USA has been for a long of time a beacon of tolerance, freedom and democracy. It has been a promised land and paradise on earth for all people. We still remember when the protestants were oppressed by the catholics in England, they fled to America where they found tolerance and freedom to practice their religious rituals.

The zionist media in the USA is very influential. It has been successful in creating a very bad image for Arabs and Muslims, portraying them as terrorists and enemies of the West. I believe Arab media shares the responsibility of this misconception the Westerners have on Muslims and Arabs. However, this stereotyped attitude should not break hell loose against these people. In fact, America should not turn into a battlefield to settle down historic hostility and prejudice between Muslims and Jews or any other people. The USA should always remain land of tolerance, peace and democracy; a land for all people.

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