User:Abundela76

Italic textIts an essay on Terrorism!

The Menace of Terrorism[[Image:http://www.enchantedlearning.com/history/asia/india/gandhi/Gandhi_bw.GIF ]]

'''“Victory attained by violence is tantamount to a defeat, for it is momentary.” -Mahatma Gandhi (1869 - 1948), 'Satyagraha Leaflet No. 13,' May 3, 1Italic text919'''

Even though the world community has so far failed to come to a conformity to give a specific meaning to the term" terrorism," yet it is assumed to be a planned system of brutality and terrorization particularly for political means or religious ideologies. In laymen’s term, it is understood to indicate premeditated and organized acts of slaughter, disfigurement and menacing of innocent men, women and children in order to instigate fear and instable the society to accomplish their pseudo-secular motives.

In a derogatory context, terrorism is branded as random, targeting of civilians, executed with disregard for human life, wicked, gratuitous or unjustified. Some definitions of terrorism, often used by government agencies, add the definitional requirement that a terrorist not belong to any recognized armed forces (with few exceptions like the Hezbollah and Taliban which is a political party of Lebanon and an Ex- Government of Afghanistan). Those accused of being "terrorists" rarely identify them as such, and instead typically use terms that refer to their ideological or ethnic struggle, such as: separatist, freedom fighter, liberator, revolutionary, vigilante, militant, paramilitary, guerrilla, rebel, jihadi or mujaheddin, or fedayeen.

Terrorism is not a new phenomenon it existed in each and every civilized society since civilizations evolved. The only difference is it never caught so much attention of the subjects of the state and was never a global occurrence. There were many instances in the past which qualified enough to be badge as terrorist acts. In the 1st century, Zealots conducted a fierce and unrelenting terror campaign against the Roman Empire in the eastern Mediterranean. The Zealots enlisted sicarii to strike down rich Jewish collaborators and others who were friendly to the Romans. These terrorists were eventually defeated by the Romans in a series of conflicts (First Jewish-Roman War - Kitos War - Bar Kokhba's revolt), culminating in Hadrian edicts against Judaism and the reestablishment of Jerusalem as the Roman pagan polis of Aelia Capitolina. In the 11th century, the radical Islamic sect known as the Hashshashin employed systematic murder for a cause they believed to be righteous. For two centuries, they resisted efforts to suppress their religious beliefs and developed ritualized murder into a fine art taught through generations. Political aims were achieved through the power of intimidation. There are many such instances which have threatened the very basic right of people that is safety and peaceful existence. One such instance was assassination of Alexander I of Yugoslavia during a state visit to France in 1934 and who can forget the infamous assassination which triggered the World War I.

All these acts of terror clearly indicate that this menace is nothing new but have uncouthly become the buzzword of 21st century. This may be because of “Globalisation of Terrorism”, yes with globalisation affecting everyone in one or the other way it has undeniably affected this nuisance too. It is by now a global occurrence immediately calling for address by the world community in an effective and meaningful manner. It would also be totally unfair and reckless to arraign the members of a particular religious community indulging in more acts of vandalism and terrorism than others. A world phenomenon it has to be treated and addressed as such by the international community in the spirit and with the pragmatism that it commands.

Indians are well acquainted with the word ‘terror’ and ‘terrorism’ well before this vogue phrase became particular in almost every media. Be it 1980’s Punjab insurgency or the still continuing Pakistan sponsored infiltration and terrorism; we managed these issues indigenously and eventually will overcome it. The terrorism has got the eyes of many people as lately as September 11, 2001; the media was all ready to capture the crumbling of the two towers. It was the first time since Operation Z in Hawaii in World War II that America was attacked with such fierce force. USA being the only ‘Hyper power’ should have tackled it more patiently and effectively.

“Returning violence for violence multiplies violence, adding deeper darkness to a night already devoid of stars... Hate cannot drive out hate: only love can do that.” -Martin Luther King Jr. (1929 - 1968Italic text) Bold text

Attacking Iraq on the basis of 9/11 was a blunder which happened in the withdrawal of some of the key allies like France from the ‘Global Alliance to combat terror’! The number of people died since invasion is approximately 45,000 most of them being innocent citizens including women and infants. There are bomb blasts almost every week in Iraq claiming few lives regularly. Who to be blamed for these acts? USA would say the Islamic militants in Iraq but the question to be asked is where these militants before their unwelcome arrival were. So, if two towers are made to be shrunken by some fanatics can upshot in the killings of 45,000 persons in Iraq, then isn’t this is more outrageous terrorist act than 9/11 in which 2,973 died and another 24 remain listed as missing (CIA sources). Does the lives of the people of developed countries is far more precious than others?

These acts by the USA have raged hatred and sown the seeds of future terrorists. I will not be surprised in the years to come if Iraq would become the hub of terrorism. The similar attacks were recently carried out by Israel on Lebanon to crush Hezbollah. The reason given was the kidnapping of two Israeli soldiers. But does this act by Hezbollah compensate for a full blown invasion and bombings in Beirut. It is evident that Israel was backed by the Superpower. In the G8 summit in Russia President Bush told his Israeli colleague to “finish off this mess quickly”. The war still continues and would result in making Lebanon full of deprived and poverty stricken children who would eventually become the future Hezbollah.

So, it’s a vicious cycle of hatred accompanied by poverty and fanaticism which continues unremittingly. Terrorism should be dealt with a view of crushing the motives of terror and not the terrorists alone. The Superpowers and his allies should be unbiased and non-political in curbing this menace.

The other by-product of this vice is the paranoia that it has evolved which has engulfed the entire globe identically. The latest instance we witnessed was the captivation of 12 innocent traders from India travelling from West Indies in a Dutch bound Airlines. The only plausible incentive explicable is their race, Asian escorted by their surname and beard. So, this is even more dangerous than the sinful act of terrorism. It strictly calls for a global partnership amongst Asian and other nations to commit themselves towards combating terrorism and do not allow opulent nations to ploy with it for political and economic incentives. There could be a body like NAM or NATO with a definite aim of crushing this evil. This body should be comprised of every nation suffering from terrorism from outside and within. Nations like Pakistan, Libya, Syria, Iran, Israel, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, India, North Korea etc. should constitute a major partner in this alliance and debar any nation from attacking another country on the name of harbouring or nurturing terror. There should not be a monopoly of one country to manage this menace. So far we have seen this so called global alliance has failed to deliver concrete result and comprises of members nothing or little to do with this menace. For instance Australia, New Zealand and Canada etc. participated in Iraq war to help their big brother but as evident from the fact these countries are comparably peaceful and haven’t been on the target of terrorists. Their participation can be encouraging if they show humility to deal with it and understand this complex problem.

There is an excerpt from a thought provoking book by Mr. Fareed Zakaria called ‘The Future of Freedom’, “Government in America today is seen as a cumbersome dinosaur, trapped by its history and unable to respond to the problems of tomorrow.’ It further reads:

'“Is it any wonder that bright, young, energetic people shy from it?Italic text''” ''' By: Abhishek Bundela --Abundela76 03:11, 20 September 2006 (UTC)