Shortly before 130 were
killed in the tragic attacks in Paris, 43 people also died in Beirut in a
similar attack. Innocent human lives were taken in both instances for which ISIS
claimed responsibility. There was hardly any international reaction to the attacks
in Beirut, compared to the reactions to Paris. Ironically, Muslims, who also
make up approximately 54 percent of Lebanon’s population and are generally
among the victims of ISIS attacks, became the scapegoats, as has apparently
become customary around the world since 9/11.
When a man or a woman
blows him/herself up, kills and injures hundreds of innocent people, what
happens afterwards is what is most noteworthy: money starts to flow, projects
get funded, people get hired, security apparatuses get expanded, weapons get
sold. The more fear that can be instilled in taxpayers during such times, the
less objectionable they become, the fewer questions they ask and the less they
hold their representatives accountable—certainly, a dream come true for any
opportunist who is more than willing to exploit the situation to the fullest. However,
who can hold it against them that they do what is right for their careers?
War
profiteers do what is right for them. However, the rest of us need to deal with
the truth that “jihadist terrorism” is the (undesired) outcome of an historical
“Western” strategy of playing groups in the “Middle East” against each other,
destabilizing the region and capitalizing on it—naturally, supported by the many
Middle Eastern by-standers, because greed does not discriminate based on
religion, ethnicity, or national allegiance. That may also explain why the
terrorism narrative lacks logic—we have to fear dangerous terrorists who hate
us so much that they are willing to pay the ultimate price, who choose to kill
130, 43, or 14 innocent people even though they would be able create damages at
much higher rates by using many other methods of modern warfare. The majority
of their victims are Muslims, while we continue marginalizing Muslims, and our media is providing these killers
with the most powerful platform to reach their goal, allowing them to terrorize
us by repeating the same “sensational”
images over and over, 24/7, and the list goes on. The narrative does not make
sense.
Similar to other forms
of politics, the terrorist narrative, too, is about economics and power. It is
a crucial catalyst for the 21st century military industrial complex.
Makers of the war on terror, in fact, don’t have a problem with Islam or
Muslims per se, as their close relationships with one of the most repressive
Islamic regimes in the world who support these terrorists, shows. Except, at
some point, they start believing their own dehumanizing messages, regardless of
the truth factor. In the war on terror, Muslims happen to be the convenient
group to build the narrative around. It could have been anyone.
However, in the 21st
century, people all around the world are becoming more and more aware that they
have more in common than differences. They are inter-connected, exposing and
exchanging information with each other. Isolating and marginalizing certain
groups to justify wars is not as effective a tool as they used to be. Too much
information is out there. People can more easily see behind the inaccuracies that
they are told, even though technology is also a powerful tool to create
artificial realities as the irrational fear of terror attacks in the USA shows.
Wars are generally not
democratic, they never have been. They represent the interest of the few at the
cost of many. Democracy limited to the voting booth has not done justice to the
many who elect the officials but have little to no say in what the officials do
later on their behalf. However, technology may turn out to be the tool that
enables the emphasis of democracy to shift from voting booths to a more effective
platform, especially after the votes have taken place—a tool that may be
particularly useful for the voters in the dominant “West” as they elect the key
players and are more likely to be heard; the higher their numbers, the louder
their voices.
Only time will tell if technology
is indeed a catalyst to more democracy and subsequently, for fewer wars, or rather,
another tool for the continuing dominance of the few.
Original Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alev-dudek/power-economics-and-terrorism_b_8949456.html
Original Link: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alev-dudek/power-economics-and-terrorism_b_8949456.html
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