Photo: AFP
Calm and resolve in the face of terror
Op-ed: Tragedy in Paris is the time for mourning, not extreme action that will lead the West into a global assault against an undefined enemy.
Tragedy is precisely the time for level-headedness. Though shocking, and quite terrifying in the scope of our lifetime, the attacks in Paris on Friday that left over 100 dead aren’t France’s, or the world’s first encounter with devastation and horror.
Israel can be used as an example yet again, looking at the complete and utter dominance of the Shin Bet, the IDF and the riot police along the nation’s borders and within the West Bank. Despite this exquisite orchestra of control, Israelis are dying and authorities are left with no options; they’ve already taken every possible security measure on the ground.
So what is the answer? How can we cope? Are we supposed to just accept the reality of attacks in our city streets and remain silent? Isn’t this defeatism? Are we truly that helpless?
The lessons learned from the Algerian War and from both World Wars may fade in the civilian psyche as the generations pass, but should be maintained within the realm of government and leadership.
A time for mourning (Photo: EPA)
Clearly, the situation calls for a drastic re-think of policy in the Middle East. But the restoration of the West’s WWII alliance, as so crudely suggested by Fox News pundit Greta Van Susteren on Twitter, intended to crusade against terrorism, sheds light on more than a few of the Western world’s weaknesses in dealing with violent extremism.
One - we’ve forgotten how to mourn, or perhaps we never collectively learned how to do it properly.
Even in Israel, where any local will tell you that people value life above all else, most would rather capture video footage of a dying and bleeding Palestinian attacker who was shot by security forces while cursing the breath that still fills his lungs, rather than taking the time to attend to the wounded or mindfully following the instructions of police on the scene.
In America, a similar surrender of morality began after the attacks in New York on September 11, 2001, leading to two unsustainable wars and feeding the mindset that leads to such tragedies.
If French President François Hollande should be remembering anything today besides the dead French citizens in the streets of Paris, is that the hurt, pain, and anger he undoubtedly feels is the same as that which allows so many to be willfully recruited and manipulated into the vengeful arms of justice by mass murder.
The ignorance displayed in comments like Van Susteren’s, comes from the same lack of nuanced understanding that convinces so many that a suicide bombing is the way to die a hero.
Two - short of recreating George Orwell’s 1984 within their own societies, Western nations have no way of defeating terrorism, or of completely defending against it.
President Hollande, clearly shaken on the evening of the deadly attacks (Photo: EPA)
So, rather than just protecting the homeland, perhaps France should reignite their history as a military power and put boots on the ground in Syria and Iraq, in Libya and the Sinai. It could even be argued that this is their responsibility as former colonial powers in these regions and partially the provokers of movements that would later become extremist groups.
But this scenario also provides little comfort. What army would France be going to fight? How would we know victory when we saw it? These were easily answerable questions during WWII. But America’s ventures into Iraq and Afghanistan taught us that terrorism is not so black and white.
Unlike the fight against fascism, a worldwide ground assault on terrorism will inspire more terrorism. The costs of such an offensive would be immense - in time, casualties and finances - while the profits would be miniscule. This is an unsustainable mix.
Flowers and candles surround bloodstains on the streets of Paris (Photo: Gettyimages)
Obviously, none of the options available to France and the world are good ones - we really are that helpless. There will be more attacks in the West before terrorism fades into the past, but level-headedness and proportionality must prevail in this case.
France should indeed go beyond its borders to try and protect its citizens by playing a greater role in fighting groups like ISIS and Hollande’s politics should reflect resolve, but calm in the face of terror. This can be done by taking a leadership role in properly handling Europe’s immigration crisis and pushing for peaceful resolutions and subsequent prosperity in conflict regions around the globe.
What terrorism and the attacks on Paris have taught us is that the struggle against terrorism is worldwide and should unite us all. In order to play their part, Europe must break free of the muzzle of guilt that has silenced the continent while maintaining the humility learned by the devastation and brutality of WWII and colonialism.
