The Black Flag Of Anarchy
Rational, sober, logical citizens wonder what exactly the
terrorists want. What purpose does it serve to fly planes into
buildings, kill and maim police recruits by the hundreds, or
blow up innocent commuters on mass transit? Such a question
carries the assumption that there is a goal hidden beneath the
madness.
Historically, terrorism has often been used to bring about a
desired conclusion. The Irgun in Palestine pursued terrorist
acts to achieve the state of Israel. The activists of the IRA
sought a free Ireland without British garrisons or influence.
The Russian Bolsheviks fought for food, money, and some
semblance of personal power. In isolated pockets all over the
globe, terrorist acts are being committed right now to give
birth to political change, define a new national state, relieve
the oppression of tyranny, or to economically and spiritually
transform a society.
The current terrorists, the loosely organized confederation of
Al Qaeda and its multiple offshoots, seem to have a different
agenda. Their guiding philosophy appears to be anarchy: the
absence of any structure or order at all. If they are merely
anti-western, why blow up so many of their own people? If they
want a fundamental Islamic society, why boycott the voting
booth? If they want the United States out of Iraq, why attack
the very security forces which are the only forces that can
trigger an early withdrawal?
When we wonder what side they are one, we are led to the
inevitable conclusion that they don't have a side. They are
fanatics without a cause, soldiers without a country, commandos
without a mission. They have no underlying goals except
disruption. They are ideological nihilists: nothing is
worthwhile, nothing has any value, nothing counts.
Spawned out of a deep hatred fostered by utter powerlessness,
lack of direction, and a total loss of belief in themselves or
anyone else, they live only to act out their hatred in actions
designed to convince themselves that they somehow count for
something. With no goals but widespread destruction, how can
they win? They can wound the world to assuage their own pain but
it can't get them anywhere because they have nowhere to go.
At the end of a war, soldiers return home with more, or less,
successful adjustment to real life. The terrorists can never go
home again. Their battle will never be over because fighting is
all they have.
We use the phrase "The war on terror." To call it a war suggests
that there are opposing views in conflict and that one view will
eventually prevail. Since the terrorists have no view, they can
never win unless the entire world is destroyed. Failing their
ability to get their hands on immense stocks of nuclear or
biological weapons, that is unlikely.
So what is the world to do? Stand idly by while the laughter of
innocents continues and disrupted economies lead to mass
desperation?
No, we continue to use soldiers, weapons, and military tactics
to thwart their efforts and wipe out their toxic existence.
And we get back on the buses and subways, just as the great
folks of London and Madrid are, and reclaim lives and lifestyles
that do have meaning, that stand for something, that represent a
goal and a future. The soldiers can continue their mop-up sweeps
but it is the commuter who returns to work, the police recruit
who continues to train, the farmer who continues to plant, the
production worker who continues to assemble, and the doctor who
continues to heal, who are the real victors.
Standing for something, anything, will, by default, always
triumph over the empty darkness that the black flag of anarchy
represents.