MARCH 11: Ten simultaneous bombs rip through trains and train stations in Madrid at the height of morning rush hour, killing nearly 200 and wounding 1,200 more. Global condemnation rains down, accompanied by renewed vows of solidarity and resolve. The Washington Post sums up the worldwide reaction by declaring, "The horror of Madrid only confirms that a broad and determined alliance is the only answer to terrorism." Yet, just like after Sept. 11 and every other terrorist attack thereafter, the global community is too blinded by shock and anger to consider the most effective response. Fighting with a broad and determined alliance is not the only answer -- it is only half the answer. The other oft-ignored half is ensuring that new terrorists aren't signing up at camps in Pakistan and Kenya as we speak. The war on terrorism will never be won by ignoring the root causes.
Raising the specter of treating terrorists as humans isn't a very popular thesis; it's much more comfortable to think of them all as fanatical madmen. Truth be told, a couple of them probably are. But it is simply foolish to think that every person involved in coordinating or carrying out an attack is crazy and irrational. There are causes terrorists believe in, and like it or not, it's not just a sadistic love of killing.
Terrorism is everywhere and is always unacceptable. The broad and determined alliance should muster as much force as possible to pursue the terrorists. It plays an integral role in the eventual diffusion of terrorism as a widely used weapon. However, when we refuse to entertain the notion that there is a reason a 19-year-old boy is willing to strap dynamite to his chest and walk onto a crowded bus, we simply set the stage for more eruptions of violence. It doesn't matter how many terrorists we pick off if an entire new generation are waiting in line.
To those who would argue that the threat of massive force and the constant vigilance and pressure applied by the international community has prevented another attack the magnitude of Sept. 11: Yes, it has. Yes, the war on terror has succeeded in putting al Qaeda to flight, and the terrorists no longer have security and peace for long enough to plan an attack as large as Sept. 11. Yet, at the same time, even if no event like Sept. 11 can occur ever again, there will be no end to the Balis, the Riyadhs and the Istanbuls. There will be no end to the Madrids.
The war on terror must be a two-pronged assault, both targeting the terrorists and the causes of terrorism. Unfortunately, the emotion and rhetoric surrounding terrorism makes it almost impossible for nations to address the latter.
What are the root causes? They are not static, and they are not singular -- two facets which make it imperative that the broad and determined alliance fights on this front together. Basque separatists have different goals and motives than Palestinian suicide bombers or al Qaeda operatives. Luckily, the world has a brain trust of experts who have devoted their lives to studying the subject of terrorism. Now it is up to our leaders to listen to them.
If anything, the tragic events of March 11 should show the world that our current efforts are insufficient. The most frightening aspect of the train bombings was how disturbingly simple and effective they were. While strategies aimed at intelligence gathering, prevention and the elimination of terrorist cells must be redoubled, it is hard to imagine a state capable of stopping such low-tech attacks without becoming dangerously Orwellian.
To see the long-term results of combating terrorism without addressing its core, one need look no further than Israel. Over the past decade, Israel has (justifiably) responded to each Palestinian bombing with increasing force, but at the same time it has made a minimal push to redress the Palestinian complaints -- economic hardship, for one. Partially as a result of this, the Intifada remains alive and well; just Sunday, 11 people were killed in a horrific double suicide attack on the Israeli port city of Ashdod. This example only serves to illustrate a broader point, namely the failure of anti-terrorism efforts not coupled with a parallel effort to reach at the root of the issue.
In the end, the world is faced with two choices: follow the rhetoric of President Bush and marginalize terrorists as madmen while shocking and awing any country suspected of harboring them, or take a reasoned approach involving both the pursuit and destruction of current terrorists and nipping the new generation of would-be bombers in the bud. One path leads to more March 11s, the other to the eventual end of this horrid age of terrorism. Hopefully it will not take any more deaths before the right course is chosen.
Elliot Haspel is a Cavalier Daily associate editor. He can be reached at ehaspel@cavalierdaily.com.
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