In 1961 the President of the United States, John F. Kennedy told the nations of the world:
Terror is not a new weapon. Throughout history it has been used by those who could not prevail, either by persuasion or example. But inevitably they fail, either because men are not afraid to die for a life worth living, or because the terrorists themselves came to realize that free men cannot be frightened by threats and that aggression would meet its own response. And it is in the light of that history that every nation today should know, be he friend or foe, that the United States has both the will and the weapons to join free men in standing up to their responsibilities. (Kennedy)
If one is to study this single quote by the president one would find several small truths in the midst of one large error. The President was right with two of the things he said, that terrorism was nothing new, and that the United States has the weapons and the will to fight terrorism. However where JFK erred was in his belief that it is inevitable that terrorism will fail. History has taught us that terrorism and peace have been on the earth for the same amount of time, since the beginning of history. Some forty years and hundreds of terrorist attacks after John F. Kennedy’s speech, yet another president makes a similar speech. On August 31, 2006 former President George W Bush proclaimed, “They are successors to fascists, to Nazis, to communists and other totalitarians of the 20th century. And history shows what the outcome will be. This war will be difficult, this war will be long, and this war will end in the defeat of the terrorists and totalitarians and a victory for the cause of freedom and liberty…” (Kelly and Kehnemui 30) Both Presidents saw the war on terrorism as a battle between good and evil, one in which the good will prevail because it is their destiny. Presidents give us optimism in the face of despair. Believing that the terrorist will inevitably fail is only painting colorful paint, on top of dark ink. History clearly teaches that the evils of the world will prevail, despite the noblest of efforts of the most righteous men. Regardless of the wars fought, security measures implemented, and diminished freedoms, terrorism will continue. History teaches us that despite our greatest efforts terrorism will never be defeated, and that man will continue his epic battle for centuries to come.
According to the History Channel, terrorism started “as long ago as the 14th century…” (Origins of Terrorism 5), which involved the Tartars throwing dead; plague ridden bodies over the fortress walls of the Caffa to give their enemies the plague. Even the Bible talks about the son of the first human on earth involved in terrorism by killing his brother. Acts of violence and terror started with the first humans on earth and has continued through every century up to today. Terrorism is nothing new. Good people have seen bad things happen and have tried everything to prevent further acts of violence, and further acts of terror. What did the people being terrorized by the Tartars do? They abandoned their cities and fled to Europe, unknowingly carrying with them the plague, starting perhaps the most terrifying period in Europe the Black Death Period. Today, fleeing terrorism is not an option, as the Genoese learned terrorism will catch up to you. Pages and pages could be written on the history of terrorism, terrorist attacks and the measures taken to prevent terrorism, however as the saying goes, history repeats itself, which is why we only need to look at the most recent terrorist attacks to truly get a clear understanding of why terrorism can never be defeated.
History repeats itself is a true statement when it comes to looking at terrorism. If we looked back at the past 40 years of terrorism a pattern is clearly visible. With the advent of new technologies terrorist are becoming more and more lethal. The First World War saw a remarkable jump in the way humans were able to kill each other. If World War One served as an appetizer for weapons of war, World War Two was the main course, second course and dessert. Machine Guns, artillery, grenades, tanks, chemicals, and planes were all on display during the First World War and twenty years later, bigger guns, bigger tanks and faster planes were all killing more people and on a scale never before seen. When the wars had ended the bad guys had been defeated, but the weapons of war still remained, anxiously awaiting to be bought by the next bad guys. Those post-World War “bad guys” would look for new ways of implementing their terrorist plans. One of the greatest technological achievements of man would ironically be considered one of the greatest tools for future terrorist.
Flight is one of man’s greatest achievements. Amazingly a huge hunk of metal filled to the brim with fuel is able to leave the ground and fly anywhere in the world. Planes after World War Two would become one of the greatest tools in the terrorist’s arsenal. In the 1940’s to the 1960’s airports had little or no security at all. Anyone could walk into the airport and anyone could walk on to the runway. You could take whatever you wanted on to a plane and no one would ever ask you what you had in your bag. Terrorist knew that they had a fast, powerful means of transportation right at their fingertips. In May of 1961 the first US airliner was hijacked and diverted to Cuba. After that “President John F. Kennedy signed legislation that prescribed the death penalty or at least 20 years’ imprisonment for air piracy.” (Rumerman 4) Yet the “air piracy” and hijackings of airliners would continue to increase for the next 20 years. “In 1966 five attacks on commercial aviation occurred. In 1967 six attacks were recorded. In 1968, however, there were twenty-nine attacks and in 1969 there were 94.” (Aero-Terrorism 4) As the number of hijackings on airplanes continued to increase the United States looked for ways they could prevent these terrorist acts. In the early 1960’s it was suggested to the airlines that they screen each passenger and deny entry to anyone who refused to be screened. This was seen by the airlines as a nuisance and was ignored. Then in 1964 the first counter-terrorism plans were put into effect when the FAA made it mandatory for cockpit doors to be locked at all times during the flight. (Easteal and Wilson 5) In 1968 despite the new FAA rules the first Arab-Israeli plane was hijacked, setting yet another example to future terrorist just how easy it was to hijack a plane, and capture the world’s attention. In 1969 the FAA finally began to deploy physical searches at airports, looking for weapons. However the 1970’s would prove that nothing the FAA did would prevent terrorist from hijacking planes, as skyjacking peaked in the late 1960’s and early 70’s with 94 hijackings in 1969 and 83 in 1970. (Easteal and Wilson 5) From the mid 1970’s to the start of the 21st century there have been at least 25 major skyjackings. The FAA continued to implement new security measures such as air marshals, metal detectors, and x-ray machines to keep weapons and explosives off of airplanes.
A noble effort was given to thwart future terrorist hijackings of airplanes. However as if we had not learned anything from the past, 19 men were able to board four planes and hijack them. Despite all the efforts of the past 40 years to keep planes safe, the terrorist had succeeded. September 11th, 2001 opened the world’s eyes once again to the unavoidable dangers of terrorism. Nothing had changed. Men wanting their enemies to fear them had successfully carried out their plans. Changes that were needed forty years ago finally began to happen after the large scale terrorist attacks of September 11th. However as history has shown us, even the most drastic of changes will do nothing to curb the influence of bad men on the world of good men.
After September 11th, several significant changes were made at airports. Airport security seemed to finally have our full attention. No longer were airport security and a decrease in personal freedoms, at airports, considered nuisances. No longer were non flying personal allowed past security, only ticketed passengers were allowed into the terminals. Congress passed and President Bush signed the Homeland Security Act of 2002, creating the Department of Homeland Security, representing the largest restructuring of the U.S. government in contemporary history.” (“September 11, 2001 attacks”) The Department of Homeland Security would take over airport security, and ultimately be in charge of securing the United States from terrorist attacks.
The United States, after all the changes of September 11th seemed to be ready to deal with terrorism. Former president Bush declared that the world was now at war with terrorism, as if he had forgotten that the world has been at war with terrorism since Cain and Abel. Something more drastic, and something more historic was needed to defeat terrorism. Bush made his famous “axis of evil” speech on January 29, 2002. Referring to the countries of Iran, Iraq, and North Korea, President Bush said:
States like these, and their terrorist allies, constitute an axis of evil, arming to threaten the peace of the world. By seeking weapons of mass destruction, these regimes pose a grave and growing danger. They could provide these arms to terrorists, giving them the means to match their hatred. They could attack our allies or attempt to blackmail the United States. In any of these cases, the price of indifference would be catastrophic. (2002 State of the Union Address)
On March 23 the United States entered Iraq with the aim of ending terrorism and making the world a safer place. It was clear after the disasters of 2001 that terrorism was still winning. The efforts made by the FAA, and other government agencies were not working.
The United States would go on the offensive, searching worldwide for terrorist and their friends. By using the might of the United States Military, the Western world was ready to end terrorism. The reasoning behind starting wars in foreign lands has been that by fighting the terrorist abroad will prevent having to fight them here at home, where innocent Americans would be at risk of being killed. Former President Bush has said, “We are committed to defending the nation. Yet wars are not won on the defensive. The best way to keep America safe from terrorism is to go after terrorists where they plan and hide.” (Winning the War on Terrorism 1) Frank Lucas, a Democratic Senator, also shares President Bush’s vision of going on the offensive, “Of course, you know about President Bush’s plan to take the fight to the terrorists. Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom have done just that. One by one, the swamps are being drained and the safe harbors are being denied.” (Lucas 2) Taking the war to the terrorist is supposedly doing enough to end terrorism. However several recent terrorist attacks are proving that the policy of going on the offensive to prevent terrorist attacks is not working. “In 2002 there were 199 terrorist attacks, and 725 people killed, in 2003, 208 terrorist attacks and 625 killed. In 2005 according to the Country Reports on Terrorism, done by the National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC), there was 11,111 acts of terrorism worldwide and 14,602 killed by terrorism.In 2010 more than 11,500 terrorist attacks occurred in 72 countries, resulting in more than 13,200 deaths. Although the number of attacks rose by almost 5 percent from the previous year, the number of deaths declined for a third consecutive year, dropping 12 percent from 2009. For the second consecutive year, the largest number of reported attacks occurred in South Asia and the Near East, with more than 75 percent of the world’s attacks and deaths occurring in these regions. ” (“Country Reports on Terrorism, Statistical Annex”). It is quite clear that the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the added security in the airports have not been enough to prevent terrorism.
Perhaps the hardest thing to swallow is the fact that the measures intended to limit and destroy terrorism are in fact only serving to increase possible terrorist attacks on the USA and other countries. “Richard A. Clarke, former chief counterterrorism adviser on the U.S. National Security Council under Presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, and now chairman of Good Harbor Consulting, has said, “Of course, nothing about our being ‘over there’ in any way prevents terrorists from coming here. Quite the opposite, the evidence is overwhelming that our presence provides motivation for people throughout the Arab world to become anti-American terrorists.” (Taking the fight to the terrorists 11) Several major terrorist attacks in the post Iraqi invasion have served as reminders that, the “fight over there, nothing happens here” policy has its flaws. Arianna Huffington of the Huffington post adds, “Odds are we probably won’t be hearing for a while the Bush mantra that the reason we’re fighting them over in Iraq is so we don’t have to fight them here at home. For the last few months, this ludicrous shibboleth has been the president’s go-to line — his latest rationale for slogging on in Iraq…. The attacks in London proved how absurd this either/or logic is when fighting this kind of hydra-headed enemy.” (Huffington 1) Terrorist attacks in London as well as Madrid are proving that what we are doing has not prevented terrorist to finding new methods to attack us. As the security in the airports increased, the terrorist turned to the trains. Both the Madrid and London bombings happened on busy metro lines. As the United States and other nations go on the offense to rid the world of terrorism, the terrorist are doing what they do best, blending in and waiting for the right moment to strike.
If the terrorist are going to succeed, and nothing we do will prevent terrorist attacks, why then are we fighting wars, increasing security, and hunting terrorist worldwide? The answer is, what possibly, makes this whole argument irrelevant, hope. Hope is perhaps the greatest antiterrorism measure the people of the world can employ. Wars are fought, security is increased and terrorist are hunted worldwide to fill these would be terrorized civilians with hope and peace of mind. Hope is the last thing a hate filled terrorist wants to instill in the people of the world. The war against terrorism cannot be won, but the world does not have to live everyday fearing terrorism. This is what fighting terrorism gives humanity. Terrorism can be slowed by spreading the opposite of terror, joy and hope, to every child and would be terrorist around the world. Governments need to help their people, and people of other nations. By setting up schools, hospitals and giving humanitarian aid to underdeveloped nations, people of the world can see that there is still hope. Children need to grow up believing that the world can be a better place. Fighting terrorism with guns and bombs should be the last resort to fighting terrorism. In the words of John Lennon, “all you need is love.” If the world finds a way to spread love, then conceivably terrorism and this argument can be defeated.
However until then, it is clear, that even with all the measures the government has put into place, terrorist will still find a way to terrorize mankind. Taking the life of another human has been a common theme throughout history. History has taught us that bad men will kill good men, and good men will kill bad men. As long as there are men on the planet people will be killed. Defeating terrorism will only happen when both good men and evil men decide to upset the natural balance of the rules of nature. As nature sees it fit to have a balance between good and evil, one can only assume that by removing one from the world will destroy the other. Therefore to keep what the world sees as good, men must expect to keep what is bad as well. The valiant struggle will continue. Terrorist will succeed in their dastardly plans, and good men will retaliate with new counter-measures and new crusades. In the end we will see that the efforts of good men as noble and as intelligent as they seem, will never defeat terrorism.
