The world was shocked by the most recent terror attacks in Paris. It is reported that at least 128 have died from multiple attacks all over the city. ISIS has claimed responsibility declaring ominously they “were the first of the storm”.
This tragedy has produced an outpouring of national and international support. Parisians opened their homes, instituting a citywide #porteouverte policy to give refuge to victims. Outside of France people took to social media to show their solidarity – covering their facebook profile photos with the flag of France, to give just one notable example.
In the wake of these attacks there has also emerged a new global commitment to battling terrorism worldwide. The effectiveness the “War on Terror” has become increasingly under attack following a disastrous Iraqi invasion and the “quagmire in a quagmire” that currently characterizes most of the Middle East. After Paris, this commitment to eliminate extremism has been – at least temporarily – reengaged. The Western world — including the UK, France, Russia, and the US — has renewed its bombing campaign against ISIS in Syria.
Yet it is a march of folly to continue down the ineffective and destructive path we are presently taking to fight terror. Its imminent threat calls for new understandings and fresh strategies for successfully preventing future violence and finally ending the global danger of terrorism.
The Fear of More Security
In addition to worries of more terrorism are fears that there that these events will lead to increased authoritarianism, racism and repression in the name of "protecting our freedom." These concerns are seemingly borne out by the declaration of the French President Hollande that “France will be merciless towards these barbarians from Daesh”
Conservatives across the world have used the attacks to justify their hardline and not so subtly racist perspectives. UK Prime Minister David Cameron warned the country that another attack is “highly likely”, adding for good measure that “Today the British and French peoples stand together as we have so often before in our history when confronted by evil.” In the US Rightwing commentators filled the twitterverse with reactionary rhetoric condemning student protestors, President Obama and all those deemed “soft” on the Muslim threat.
This is despite the fact that France already has one of the most “draconian” anti-terrorism security regimes in the Western world and that aggressive actions like military invasions as well as the use of torture have done little to stem the tide of terrorism. By contrast, they have appeared to reinvigorate Islamic fundamentalism, bringing new recruits to their ranks and extending their global reach.
At stake is not only how this tragedy will reenergize the commitment to fighting 21st century terrorism. Just as important is to break free from this cycle of misguided militarism and xenophobia that emboldens the “enemies of freedom” thus putting us all in deeper danger in the name of “saving us”.
Expanding Terrorism
The need for security is real. As the murders of innocents in France show with stark clarity – terrorism can neither be ignored nor taken lightly. However, the best way to fight it, ironically, may be to expand it. Expand how it is understood and fought against.
Indeed, it is crucial to extend our sympathies beyond the borders of France to all those affected by terror. The day before the deadly attacks in Paris, terrorists killed 43 people in the Southern Beirut suburb of Bourj el-Barajneh. Only months earlier in April of this year, 147 students at a college in Kenya were killed by Islamic gunmen specifically targeting Christians.
Fundamentally, it means changing how we label those affected by these events. To often both perpetrators and victims of extremism are primarily discussed in terms of their race, ethnicity or religion. It is “Islamists” who killed “Westerners” or other “Arabs”. Instead only two categories are required – “the terrorist” and the “terrorized”.
Most significantly, it demands expanding the definition of who is a “terrorist” and who is “terrorized”. It is no longer acceptable or safe to assume that only Islamic fundamentalists are extremist. We must call out all those who would use terror to advance their political or ideological agenda. This means Western politicians who advocate further militarism and exclusion as well as the corporations who profit from these policies. It entails fighting Western leaders who intentionally bomb civilian targets with the same vigour and passion as ISIS. If we are to truly achieve victory in the struggle against terrorism, we must begin waging a war on all terrorist for sake of all those who are terrorized.
Refighting the War on Terror
A popular definition of insanity is “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results”. It is time to end the insanity of terrorism. To stop following in lockstep the same understandings and policies responsible for perpetuating extremism. The pathological embrace of military solutions and appeal to racism is a social illness that must be cured if we are to effectively combat the ills of terrorism.
Needed is a fresh approach emphasizing values of just economic development, social inclusion and a willingness to criticize contemporary terrorism in all its forms - whether it be ISIS or Western neo-conservatism, the Charlie Hebdo attacks or drone attacks on civilians. Similarly, the very understanding of terrorism must be broadened to include deeper factors contributing to extremist violence internationally including growing global inequality, profitable mass incarceration and the rising power of corporate imperialism.
Currently, the war on terror is little more than rhetoric for furthering the cause of political and economic elites in the West and beyond. Likewise, values of liberal freedom and human rights are trotted out as a moral cover for profiteering and the forces of conservative reaction. It is imperative that citizens and politicians alike struggle for more than an “empty liberalism”. Instead seeking a world where the very ground from which terrorism grows is reseeded with principles of equality, fraternity and liberty.
It is commonly proclaimed that the war on terrorism is “a clash of civilizations”. According to former US President Bush “This struggle has been called a clash of civilizations. In truth, it is a struggle for civilization” Indeed he is right - it is a struggle for civilization. The battle against all those who savagely use economic and political terror. Who hide behind religion or nationalism for their own devastating profit.
After Paris it is time to refight the war on terrorism to save global civilization from itself.