John Whitehead's Commentary
It's Time for Informed Decision Making, Not Knee-Jerk Reactions
President Bush has called the recent terrorist attacks on New York and Washington, DC, the first war of the 21st century. But in fact it is much more than that. These horrible acts signify a turning point for our nation in the value we place on our freedom and our peace.
Already our very freedoms within the country are in peril. Certain politicians have declared that because of these attacks we will have to curtail or even sacrifice some of our civil and constitutional liberties. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said, "When you're in this type of conflict, when you're at war, civil liberties are treated differently." On the heels of this statement, the Senate approved legislation that would make it easier for the FBI to obtain warrants for electronic surveillance of computer transmissions.
Adding to the mayhem, the media frenzy that has followed in the wake of the attacks on New York and Washington has whipped up an amazing war cry from the American people. A CNN poll of several days ago indicated that 86 percent of Americans are ready for war. And some of our more visible leaders, such as Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), are already talking about the spilling of American blood on foreign soil.
Yet one thing is certain: if we do leap forward into a war, those calling for and engineering it will not be fighting in it. It will be our children-our young men and women-who will be spilling their blood on foreign soil. With this in mind, let us be wise enough to realize that those behind these despicable acts may be cowardly in one sense, but they are far from stupid. Thus, in our fury and grief, let us not react hastily.
After all, terrorism is not, as some have said, illogical. The logic behind terrorism is to create panic and disorientation and, by use of the media, to attain a certain goal. We must ask ourselves what that goal is. For example, several commentators have compared the recent terrorist attacks to the Japanese attack on the American base in Pearl Harbor. But we must remember that the Japanese did not attack Pearl Harbor because they believed that one act could defeat the United States. They attacked to draw the U.S. into World War II, where we would face enemies on various fronts. The Japanese strategy worked.
Could those who so carefully planned the recent terrorist attacks, especially on the Pentagon, have had similar motives? Could this be an attempt to draw the United States into a Middle Eastern conflict, a holy war of their own making that could eventually lead to World War III? And are we really ready to engage an enemy in a major conflict before we even know who is responsible for the terrorist attacks? Although Secretary of State Colin Powell has named Osama bin Laden as a prime suspect, are there more entities involved? And if our government officials know-and certainly they have a good idea-then why are they not telling the American public? Surely we deserve to be informed before we engage in mass warfare.
The damage that was done to the World Trade Center in New York and to the Pentagon in Washington, DC, will pale in comparison to what could happen in this country if we engage these fanatics in a full-scale war. The weapons that are at the disposal of not only the terrorists, but Middle Eastern leaders, are capable of creating mass destruction on a huge scale. These include nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. According to Walter Laqueur, one of the world's foremost experts on terrorism, we could be venturing into the war of no return: "For the first time in history, weapons of enormous destructive power are both readily acquired and harder to track. In this new age, even the cost of hundreds of lives may appear small in retrospect."
Whether we engage in full-scale war or not, the terrorist acts will have a lasting impact on our democracy and on our lives. Yet as the smoke clears and we begin to mourn and rebuild, we must be patient and wise, contemplating both the issues our leaders choose to address with us and the questions they refuse to answer. We, the American public, need to be fully informed about what is going on and what has really transpired over the last several weeks. And we need those in the media to ask insightful questions into this tragedy, rather than contributing to the chaos by simply replaying the footage of the attacks and providing these terrorists with maximum exposure.
We must also demand answers from our government leaders without fear that we will be considered anti-patriotic or unsupportive for questioning their motives and strategy. After all, those were our mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters and friends killed and injured in the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. And it will be our husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and friends who would be called up to fight this pending war.
We must also be careful to guard our liberties well as we strive to protect our national security, even from our own well-intentioned leaders. And finally, rather than rashly involving ourselves in war, perhaps it is time to attempt a more seasoned approach in which our government, in cooperation with our allies, would develop a highly-trained international task force to eradicate global terrorism. This would not involve mass warfare and could achieve the goal of eliminating those who would perpetuate mayhem against innocent people.
We are confronted with possibly some of the biggest issues ever faced by any generation. And we certainly should not make any hasty or quick decisions. Indeed, too much is at stake.
Already our very freedoms within the country are in peril. Certain politicians have declared that because of these attacks we will have to curtail or even sacrifice some of our civil and constitutional liberties. Trent Lott (R-Miss.) said, "When you're in this type of conflict, when you're at war, civil liberties are treated differently." On the heels of this statement, the Senate approved legislation that would make it easier for the FBI to obtain warrants for electronic surveillance of computer transmissions.
Adding to the mayhem, the media frenzy that has followed in the wake of the attacks on New York and Washington has whipped up an amazing war cry from the American people. A CNN poll of several days ago indicated that 86 percent of Americans are ready for war. And some of our more visible leaders, such as Senator John McCain (R-Ariz.), are already talking about the spilling of American blood on foreign soil.
Yet one thing is certain: if we do leap forward into a war, those calling for and engineering it will not be fighting in it. It will be our children-our young men and women-who will be spilling their blood on foreign soil. With this in mind, let us be wise enough to realize that those behind these despicable acts may be cowardly in one sense, but they are far from stupid. Thus, in our fury and grief, let us not react hastily.
After all, terrorism is not, as some have said, illogical. The logic behind terrorism is to create panic and disorientation and, by use of the media, to attain a certain goal. We must ask ourselves what that goal is. For example, several commentators have compared the recent terrorist attacks to the Japanese attack on the American base in Pearl Harbor. But we must remember that the Japanese did not attack Pearl Harbor because they believed that one act could defeat the United States. They attacked to draw the U.S. into World War II, where we would face enemies on various fronts. The Japanese strategy worked.
Could those who so carefully planned the recent terrorist attacks, especially on the Pentagon, have had similar motives? Could this be an attempt to draw the United States into a Middle Eastern conflict, a holy war of their own making that could eventually lead to World War III? And are we really ready to engage an enemy in a major conflict before we even know who is responsible for the terrorist attacks? Although Secretary of State Colin Powell has named Osama bin Laden as a prime suspect, are there more entities involved? And if our government officials know-and certainly they have a good idea-then why are they not telling the American public? Surely we deserve to be informed before we engage in mass warfare.
The damage that was done to the World Trade Center in New York and to the Pentagon in Washington, DC, will pale in comparison to what could happen in this country if we engage these fanatics in a full-scale war. The weapons that are at the disposal of not only the terrorists, but Middle Eastern leaders, are capable of creating mass destruction on a huge scale. These include nuclear, chemical and biological weapons. According to Walter Laqueur, one of the world's foremost experts on terrorism, we could be venturing into the war of no return: "For the first time in history, weapons of enormous destructive power are both readily acquired and harder to track. In this new age, even the cost of hundreds of lives may appear small in retrospect."
Whether we engage in full-scale war or not, the terrorist acts will have a lasting impact on our democracy and on our lives. Yet as the smoke clears and we begin to mourn and rebuild, we must be patient and wise, contemplating both the issues our leaders choose to address with us and the questions they refuse to answer. We, the American public, need to be fully informed about what is going on and what has really transpired over the last several weeks. And we need those in the media to ask insightful questions into this tragedy, rather than contributing to the chaos by simply replaying the footage of the attacks and providing these terrorists with maximum exposure.
We must also demand answers from our government leaders without fear that we will be considered anti-patriotic or unsupportive for questioning their motives and strategy. After all, those were our mothers, fathers, husbands, wives, brothers, sisters and friends killed and injured in the attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon. And it will be our husbands, wives, sons, daughters, brothers, sisters and friends who would be called up to fight this pending war.
We must also be careful to guard our liberties well as we strive to protect our national security, even from our own well-intentioned leaders. And finally, rather than rashly involving ourselves in war, perhaps it is time to attempt a more seasoned approach in which our government, in cooperation with our allies, would develop a highly-trained international task force to eradicate global terrorism. This would not involve mass warfare and could achieve the goal of eliminating those who would perpetuate mayhem against innocent people.
We are confronted with possibly some of the biggest issues ever faced by any generation. And we certainly should not make any hasty or quick decisions. Indeed, too much is at stake.
ABOUT JOHN W. WHITEHEAD
Constitutional attorney and author John W. Whitehead is founder and president of The Rutherford Institute. His most recent books are the best-selling Battlefield America: The War on the American People, the award-winning A Government of Wolves: The Emerging American Police State, and a debut dystopian fiction novel, The Erik Blair Diaries. Whitehead can be contacted at staff@rutherford.org. Nisha Whitehead is the Executive Director of The Rutherford Institute. Information about The Rutherford Institute is available at www.rutherford.org.
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