There has been a lot of buzz recently with regard to global terrorism. Two bills were recently sent to Obama’s desk, both of which hope to enhance and improve global security operations. This comes in the face of another large, multinational terrorist plot to attack various large cities in Europe. As a response, London elevated its terror threat level to “Severe” and the Eiffel Tower was evacuated yesterday for fear of a potential attack. To me, this begs the question: when will we draw the line?
That is not to say that no one is doing anything. The global intelligence communities have been hard at work to locate and undermine terrorist plots where they exist. But their work seems to be insufficient. As a citizen, it gets particularly tiresome when, time after time, random militants are able to disrupt the civil daily operations of our world’s centers of culture and business.
Obviously I am no expert – and I doubt any civilian has the true inside knowledge of military and intelligence operations to speak with authority – but the research I’ve done raises some questions. For instance, in one example reported by MSNBC, the CIA decided to increase drone attacks against “known terrorist base camps” by 100% this month. This action was taken in response to increased “plotting” to do damage to a major urban area. Wait a minute – “known terrorist base camps”? I’d like for someone to give me a clear answer as to why we allow said camps to exist and carry out their daily operations with mild interruptions from unmanned drone bombings. I doubt we lack the military power, and we certainly have the resolve, so why aren’t these bases being stormed and shut down? Or, in lieu of frontal attack, why are they being bombed like a pestering insect instead of being leveled? We spend billions on counter-terrorism each year… to pester them with bombs when they act naughty?!
Perhaps things will begin to change though. One of the bills waiting to be signed will facilitate the declassification of military intelligence so that more civilian and private sector agencies can have access to information. The intention is that private analysis may result in discoveries or other useful implications that can assist the government agencies in doing their job. I certainly hope this is the case, and I like the direction that security is moving. Private industry is less hampered by international and political pressure, and is typically less bureaucratic. Utilizing combined public and private resources may give us the edge we need to be more competitive against terrorism globally.
The reason I believe all of this is so important is that terrorism is one of the few forces that can truly destabilize our world. Though it may be optimistic to say, the developed world is becoming so interconnected in terms of trade and communication that a conventional World War III situation seems unlikely. What is possible and even probable is that religious extremists will find a way to take innocent lives in some masochistic fantasy that would be laughable if it weren’t so frightening. Our global economies will recover, our corporations will grow, and over time we will all enjoy a higher standard of living as humans. What must not and cannot happen is to wake up and find a mushroom cloud over New York, Paris, or London. Let our fervor in finding and eliminating these groups exceed their dedication to destroying civilization. This is a mission we cannot afford to fail.