Homeland Security

Terrorist Attacks: Is the world really helpless?
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Issue Courtesy: South Asia Monitor | Date : 27 Nov , 2015

The massacre of more than 120 innocent people in Paris is not the first incident of horror in recent times. The massacre of school children in Pakistan, the September 11 attack in 2001 when thousands of innocent people lost their lives in the US, the 2008 Mumbai terror attack and so many other terrorist attacks around the world have really created a grave crisis, which the world is not able to handle. 

The repeated incidents of such terrorist acts only highlights the fact that such condemnations do not really lead to any better secured conditions and the terrorists now appear to have a field day.

Are condemnations enough? 

It has become a routine that after every one such massacre, the leaders of government in various countries condemn the terrorist act in strong terms and take a pledge that they would wipe out terrorism at any cost. Of course, the Secretary General of the United Nations also follows them and makes his own statement of condemnation. The repeated incidents of such terrorist acts only highlights the fact that such condemnations do not really lead to any better secured conditions and the terrorists now appear to have a field day.

Why is the world so helpless? 

Now, the question is why is the world so helpless in putting down such terrorist acts? Are these terrorists and the military and intelligence powers they command stronger than of the rich and powerful countries? Is it possible that those powerful countries that declare they would wipe out the terrorists are themselves responsible for creating and strengthening the terrorists in an indirect way by their acts of omission and commission in the past? It can be often seen that a group considered as militants and terrorists have been earlier supported by one country or the other. Can we conclude that the conditions favourable for terrorists and terrorism are facilitated by the rich developed countries at one time or the other, with little concern or thought of the consequences to the world at large?

Obviously, those who carry out the terrorist attacks are the brainwashed young persons who are under the mistaken impression that they are protecting the interests of a particular religion or a particular cause and turn themselves into suicide bombers, losing their precious life in the process. They think that they sacrifice their lives for a cause, but really they are innocent people who are misused and misguided by the leadership of terrorist movements. Behind such actual terrorists on the field, there are leaders of the terrorist movement who have been rendered powerful as they have received support at one time or the other from many countries in the past due to various reasons. 

While the strong and rich nations readily condemn terrorist acts when it happens on their soil, they are often hesitant or reluctant to condemn such acts when it takes place in developing countries…

Can terrorism be wiped out at all? 

The problem is that many governments in the world themselves have indulged in promoting divisive forces in different regions at various times to serve their political and economic interests. The present turmoil in Syria, conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan and several other areas of strife, such as Kashmir in India, have been largely due to the support and encouragement given by different countries to divisive forces (terrorists/militants) to cause dissension and unrest to serve their political interests.

In such conditions, one wonders whether the acts of terrorism can be wiped out at all from the world.

Selective concerns of rich countries 

While the rich and powerful nations that have also now become vulnerable to terrorist attacks can strengthen their defences, what about the developing countries which grapple with such a problem? While the strong and rich nations readily condemn terrorist acts when it happens on their soil, they are often hesitant or reluctant to condemn such acts when it takes place in developing countries in Asia and Africa.

The immediate example is Sri Lanka, which suffered enormously due to terrorist acts and somehow managed to contain it. When Sri Lanka took strong action and fought successfully against militants, several Western countries, particularly the UK and US, condemned Sri Lanka as violating human rights and passed resolution in the UN criticising Colombo.

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Now, India is facing a grave problem due to terrorist attacks in Kashmir and India is left to itself to tackle the issue with little support from other countries.

What about the UN? 

We have the United Nations and Security Council under it.  It can potentially play an effective role in combating the conditions that create terrorism. But the UN itself depends on several countries for its own survival, and a few of such countries themselves have indulged in acts of aggression to protect their interest when it suits them, that has in turn paved way for growth of terrorist outfits in different regions.

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The views expressed are of the author and do not necessarily represent the opinions or policies of the Indian Defence Review.

About the Author

NS Venkatraman

is Trustee of Nandini: The Voice of Deprived. He can be reached at: editor@spsindia.in

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