Another way to fight Terrorism?
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Ever since 9/11, I have noticed the significant increase of security activity, paranoia and in return, even more terrorist attacks.
Let's ask ourselves this question. Has anyone seen or heard the word "terrorist" or "terrorism" on the media at least once a week during the pre-9/11 days?
I suppose not.
Ever since the day George W. Bush went up to the podium to whine about his fallen World Trade Center, the 4000+ people killed by the attack and declared his "War on Terror"(how the hell does one declare war on a noun?!), we have heard the word "terrorism" almost every day and everyone starts to get extremely paranoid.
People started cancelling flights, and even did stupid things like to fly on separate flights to avoid "having the entire family wiped out in an attack".
Flight security then starts to become oppresive. Suitcases are messed up, privacy is violated and time is wasted.
I'm not saying that flight security is a waste of time or unneccesary.. but isn't doing all that just a little too much?
Besides the security issue, the terrorist organisations start to get a whole lot of publicity. We then start hearing the word "Al-Qaeda" and the groups linked to Al-Qaeda also start getting lots of publicity.
Well, one good thing came out from this publicity. The Tamil Tigers in Sri Lanka started to wet their pants from looking at the devastation in Afghanistan and started to seek peace (they're STILL negotiating today).
But that's just ONE group out of dozens or even hundreds of these groups. This publicity thing does not harm the terrorist groups, but in turn, it helps the groups. The people whom the organisations reach out to will symphatise even more with the organisations, and the organisations will increase in strength.
All this does not look like it will solve matters, but I feel that perhaps ignoring those fundamentalists could be a better way to end all this.
What if everyone just ignores the terrorist organisations? Nobody will listen to their extremist cause, and the organisations might also lose their cause to fight. It is like dealing with the persistant bully in school. If everyone starts to be indifferent towards the bully, he'll stop seeking attention since it's useless anyway, they'll just ignore him.
I know this sounds impossible but this is just an idea that had been nagging my mind ever since the fuss over terorrism. Are we under threat of terrorism every day? Sure, the Israelis do but I think they deserve it anyway. But we certainly don't. If our lives change after the terrorist attacks, the terrorists have won by instilling fear in us. If we continue our daily lives as per normal, it means that the terrorists are unsuccessful as Lenin had once said, "The only usefulness for terrorists, is to spread terror." (did I quote wrongly? I think I did). The terrorist will lose his cause if people are unaffected by his actions.
Just a suggestion. -
There's a difference between being terrified and prepared...
All readiness to face terrorism is certainly a necessary aspect of security nowadays, but fear is not.
This threat is certainly real, as we have seen that there are individuals deranged enough to harm Singapore and Singaporeans to achieve their aims.
Prehaps you would like the govt. to inspire false courage by pretending the problem does not exist? Only to have it cause smack us in the face later? -
Forgive me for my pessimism, NEWater.
But truly from the bottom of my heart, I will rather slit my own throat than to believe that via the mere ignoring of terrorist organizations and their like, would be an effective method that can minimize or remove the threat of aggression towards innocent and unconfused civilizations.
And in particular, I disagree in full, with your above post when you mentioned that the Israelis deserved to be victims of terrorism.
The act of Terrorism and the existence of Terrorists is a Bane to Modern Civilization. And Not One drop of innocent blood deserves to be shed by either of the above two.
The threat from terrorism cannot be undermined.
It exists everyday, everywhere, and will be ready to strike the moment we let down our vigilance.
Terrorism is a diabolical civilization time bomb that cannot, and must not be ignored. And thus most unfortunately, we cannot just simply ignore this looming threat like that from an attention seeking school bully.
Interestingly, you have questioned if we are under the threat of terrorism everyday.
Well let me just share with you, a particular event which had just happened recently in my office.
About one week ago prior to the long Lunar New Year holidays, my company, a Japanese consumer electronic product MNC, received a vacuum cleaner on its service counter that a customer had sent in personally for repair.
Halfway during the equipment depositing process by which the service invoice was still in process of generating, the customer suddenly left in an abrupt and sudden manner with only a brief message saying that he would be back shortly.
The customer gave no further reasons nor waited for the counter staff to respond, and hastily walked out of the office in a hurry.
The set of vacuum cleaner that was left behind, had a brown paper bag that was neatly sealed up from all sides.
While it resembles the standard disposable dust collection bag that the equipment uses, it could have also been easy used to contain powdered anthrax or other similar agents for use in an attempted chemical or biological warfare.
And adding on to the factor of fear and panic at the moment, the suspicious customer had also brought along the long steel portion of his vacuum set accessories ( the long accompanying tube that the hands hold on to while vacuuming ), and conveniently left the portion at the service counter.
The steel tube measured about 1.3 to 1.4 metres long, and could have easily been modified into a pipe-bomb apparatus that terrorists typically use.
While the above episode ended as a false alarm, there was nonetheless a very real evacuation order that I was prepared to give but was stopped by my immediate manager.
It was fortunate for all, that my manager had approached the two suspicious objects and flipped them open to clarify the false alarm.
Likewise, it would also have been unfortunate for all, should the threat to have been real, and that my manager would had then triggered off any booby traps and either blew or poisoned all the staff in the office to Kingdom Come.
So when I rethink about your suggestion for all to ignore the threat, I shake my head sadly and say ‘Hell no’ to myself.
We cannot ignore this very real and frightening threat.
We have to eliminate the existence of both Terrorists and Terrorism fully.
Destroy its network.
Annihilate all of its sympathizers and followers.
Thoroughly breakdown and destroy its organizational structure.
Effectively Detect, Intercept, Seize and Eradicate ALL of their supporting resources and resource origins – Be them arms, monies, or communication equipment.
And to do all that, you cannot simply handle these rogues as if you would do to a mere school bully.
That is GandhiÂ’s method, and thou it did worked ultimately, the latter had had to give his life for it.
To EFFECTIVELY CRIPPLE and ANNIHILATE terrorist existence, you need –
1. Strong Legislations that allow prompt and hard-handed authorizations to enable Intelligence gathering and sharing; timely preemptive suppression operations; coordinated and synchronized cross-borders mass scale manhunt with Death or Alive Mission Objectives as results.
The Governments in certain countries might be restricted from giving full support towards the suppression and eradication of Terrorist Cells. This phenomena may either arise from the sympathizing sentiments from secular linkages, or from internal constitutional or coalition party government issues.
To avoid these obstructions, have the CT in these ‘black’ regions report directly to the Interpol or UN jurisdiction.
2. The Seizing of suspicious monetary funds deposits / trading / transfers in global financial centers and banks to cut off monetary support for terrorism related operations.
3. The USE of chemical hypnotizing agents on all captured suspects.
Forget the UN Resolutions on Human Rights on these animals. Those fellows are beasts. Brutalized em.
4. The COMPLUSORY Registration of ALL Past / Present / and Future graduates from potentially hazardous undergraduate courses open to mass civilian population such as Chemical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, Pharmaceutical, etc.
Past graduates armed with the sufficient know-how can be traced from old enrolments records available in the University Registrar.
Otherwise, existing professional bodies for the above professionals should also keep updated and accurate data on these potentially ‘dangerous’ group.
This registration will allow for a speedier and more directional search for potential tangos.
5. Other Punitative measures on the immediate family members for any capture and ascertained member / sympathizer of terrorist organizations.
Ban 3 generations of family lines from the convict / sympathizer from Public Service related vocations and positions or bankrupt them all.
If HDB can seize a flat back from a owner whom had rented it either knowingly or unknowingly to illegal immigrants, I dun see how the above would appear as a harsh rule.
6. Psychological Deprivation Punitive Sentencing for ALL convicted captures.
Face it. Those suckers want attention. Lock em up and let them rot in dark isolation cells that do not allow even sunlight in on a roach in the cell.
Burn their ids away. They do not deserve to exist in the records of civilization.
And last but not LeastÂ…
7. Grant a pardon to people who take down a potential suspect in suspicious action.
By taking a potential suspect down, I refer to civilian arrest, and not killing. Otherwise, people in the trains would most probably let a joker blow himself up with em instead of jumping onto the creep from the fear of a public fine or one count of aggravate assault charge.
End tune, These scums must Die without Honour. -
In a sense, I can see NEWater's point. Etched on the Statue of Liberty are the words "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free", and this welcoming attitude towards immigrants was a key characteristic of the American psyche, their badge of pride if you will. The measures taken towards immigrants in the wake of 9/11 contradicts Emma Lazarus' words. In effect, the 9/11 terrorists changed the fundamental nature of America, making their attack a brilliant success. However, as the other posters have already opined, to simply ignore the terrorists is not a tenable solution.
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Terrorism is an excuse to remove your rights under the belief that your government will fix the problem, when actually they want more consular powers to do their own bidding, such as drilling for oil.
You are all weak minded. -
A sweeping, simplistic conspiracy theory...Originally posted by men_@_arms:Terrorism is an excuse to remove your rights under the belief that your government will fix the problem, when actually they want more consular powers to do their own bidding, such as drilling for oil.
You are all weak minded.
There are far easier and less costy ways for a government to deny their people rights... -
Yeah, whatever helps you sleep at night.Originally posted by men_@_arms:Terrorism is an excuse to remove your rights under the belief that your government will fix the problem, when actually they want more consular powers to do their own bidding, such as drilling for oil.
You are all weak minded. -
what is drilling of oil gotta do with Singapore?Originally posted by men_@_arms:Terrorism is an excuse to remove your rights under the belief that your government will fix the problem, when actually they want more consular powers to do their own bidding, such as drilling for oil.
You are all weak minded.
NEwater is refering to the ISA..
i dun see the link in your post.. -
i have to agree partially with men_@_arms.
As mentioned in my previous thread, the ISA is somewhat like the Patriot Act that USA has today. It gives Bush and his lackeys all kinds of Emergency powers and takes away all rights of any citizen when they think that this citizen is a terrorist.
Moreover, in the US, despite all those industrial scandals like Enron (which Bush is linked to) and the suspicious evacuation of the extended bin Laden family only just days after 9/11 via a small plane, Bush has managed to stay in power because the Americans were made to believe that only Bush could protect the country and Bush, using the fear of terrorism, barged his way around with all that unilateralism.
However, men_@_arms' saying that "all of you are weak-minded" is kind of unfair to all of us. Perhaps a minority of us are weak-minded, but I guess they have their reasons too, no matter how lame the reasons are. =) -
Security is always a powerful political issue, but men_@_arms' implication seems to be that it is all a concoction of the government. Given all that has happened already, is it wise to write it off simply as a political scam?
As for Bush, his term only ends this year, and so far there has been nothing to impeach him for. His staying in power is a given thing, barring any very irregular circumstances - note that no impeachment proceedings were brought against Clinton in the Whitewatergate scandal either. I would wait to see what in this year's elections before concluding that scaremongering has served him well. -
Sorry i joined the thread a lil late.. just want to point out to newater that his notion of people ignoring the threat will be as succesful as my idea of a perfect society where everyone gives for free and doesn't ask for anything in return(therefore eliminating greed). However,... as we can see.. these two notions are impossible. But we can dream can't we? haha...
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Stop rewarding terrorism
Review by Adruin Shazaen
WHY TERRORISM WORKS
Understanding the Threat, Responding to the Challenge
By Alan M. Dershowitz
Publisher: Scribe Publications, 228 pages
THIS is another post-Sept 11 book on the growing threat of global terrorism that has shaken the world since the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York. Alan Morton Dershowitz has written many books on the subject, most of which relate to the Palestinian-Israeli conflict. He is a professor at the Harvard Law School, a noted lawyer (he has represented Claus von Bülow, O.J. Simpson, Mia Farrow and Mike Tyson, among others) and celebrated newspaper columnist.
Why Terrorism Works starts off on terrorism as it is today and how to deter it. Dershowitz reveals that the greatest dangers facing the world are the religiously inspired, state-sponsored terrorist groups in possession of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). He describes terrorism as “poor man’s warfare”, as terrorists, unlike conventional combatants of the wars of the past, do not have a “return address”. They hide amongst innocent non-combatants, making them a much more difficult menace to eradicate.
Global terrorism is a phenomenon mostly of our own making, the author states. He explains early in the book the history of terrorism and how we had tolerated it in the past, and makes his case by pointing to the brand of terrorism adopted by the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (PLO).
He details all the terrorist acts committed by the PLO and its affiliates since 1968 and how European governments were relatively “soft” on the perpetrators. As a result of this “silent condoning” of their terrorist acts, the PLO became more brazen. It had started from nothing in 1967; by 1998, it had achieved “observer” status in the United Nations, with many of the rights of member states.
Terrorism has worked for the Palestinians. They have managed to get the world to sit up and take notice of their plight viz the occupation of their land by Israel. Many terrorist/separatist movements around the world have not tasted the kind of success the PLO has, brought about mainly by religion (Jews vs Muslims) and the subject of Jihad (holy war), after the occupation of historic Palestine by the Zionists.
The PLOÂ’s successful use of terrorism to gain political mileage for their cause has influenced a lot of groups around the world, like Al-Qaeda, to follow suit.
Dershowitz states that the world rewards terrorism – as shown by our tolerance of the PLO and their acts – and that is why it works. If we stop rewarding terrorism, it will become ineffective and those who use it will resort to other (hopefully, peaceful) methods.
He attributes considerable blame to the United Nations and the international community for politicising the phrase “one man’s terrorist is another man’s freedom fighter” and selectively applying it to causes that serve the purpose of the day.
The book then examines how terrorism should and can be fought, if not constrained, by moral, legal and humanitarian considerations. As an authority on American law, the author refers a lot to the Constitution of the United States and the liberties that Americans cherish so much which, inadvertently, led to 9/11. It is these liberties – an Achilles heel – that the terrorists who perpetrated the attack on the WTC capitalised on.
In a chapter titled “Should the ticking bomb terrorist be tortured?” he describes a case study on how a democracy should make tragic choices to avoid the tragedy of terrorism. His strongest argument on the “ticking bomb terrorist” concerns the detention of Zacharias Moussaoui by the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) after flight instructors reported suspicious statements he had made while taking flying lessons, and that he had paid for them with large amounts of cash.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) did not even seek a warrant to search his laptop because agents believed that no judge would issue one based on the kind of vague information they had at the time. Had they done so, they would have found out that he was part of a plan to destroy large occupied buildings.
Dershowitz uses this example many times throughout his book to argue that the US Constitution makes it harder to prevent terrorism than it would be if the country were entirely free to employ every means available. He cites tyrannical regimes around the world which have successfully quashed terrorism/separatism with a free hand, as they are not bound by the law.
Surprisingly, he advocates resorting to “barbaric” punishments like torture as a deterrent to terrorism. This, he explains, is widely used effectively in countries like Jordan and Saudi Arabia. The author convincingly justifies his view that we have rewarded terrorism for too long, and now, only drastic measures, like torture (to gain information) can prevent it from being used further.
However, he believes that it is better to have the use of torture legalised and subject to the discretion of a representative of the legal establishment than to have it carried out in secret, as some countries do.
In closing his arguments on how to deter terrorism, he states that we have to start making hard and difficult choices to balance security with liberty as the world has changed and is increasingly dangerous to live in.
Dershowitz believes that we have to learn to tolerate the added security checks at the airport as well as other drastic measures that may irk every liberty-loving citizen, to ensure a safer future.
On the whole this book is an eye-opener. It analyses the subject well and is based on facts. Though it focuses on a “serious” subject and is written by a law professor, it is surprisingly easy to read and understand.
A book worth reading for those new to the debate on terrorism, and those who are well read in it. Dershowitz does a good job by structurally describing the topic of terrorism and, most importantly, “why it works”.
Extracted from The Star, 25 January 2004 - Sunday
http://www.thestar.com.my/news/archives/story.asp?ppath=\2004\1\25&file=/2004/1/25/features/6956837&sec=features -
Can we seriously fight 'Terrorism' simply by ignoring it ?
Something can be learnt in the affirmative actions taken by New York City Council in ridding itself of crime, drugs, and hoodlums.
From the Straits Times: 27 January 2004, Tuesday Edition
One broken window leads to another
Disorder breeds more disorder and petty criminals will turn into hardcore offenders if the police fail to rein them in
By Brendan Pereira
KUALA LUMPUR - The thing about the current outrage over the crimefest here is that everyone wants an instant fix.
People want the country's estimated 300,000 drug addicts to be shipped off to some faraway place.
They want rapists castrated or flogged in public. They want to close off the tourist belt and central business district to motorcyclists.
They want the garbage of society incinerated today. But there is only one problem: the here today, gone tomorrow scenario rarely applies to real- life situations.
It takes real hard work to retake the streets from criminals, curb anti-social behaviour and raise the quality of life index.
Some of the best ideas in curbing crime borrow heavily from the principles of epidemic theory, wrote Mr Malcolm Gladwell in his book, The Tipping Point.
The 'broken window' hypothesis has been used as a justification for cracking down on quality of life crimes like vandalism in the United States. Leave a broken window unrepaired and soon the rest of the windows will be broken.
Leave all the windows broken and the building becomes a signal to offenders that this is a place where disorder is accepted, or at least tolerated.
Leave petty crimes unchecked and soon there will be a cascade of crimes.
The hypothesis suggests that disorder invites even more disorder.
The broken window hypothesis was the inspiration for the clean-up of the subway system conducted by the New York Transit Authority in the late 1980s and 1990s.
The authority was so intent on removing graffiti from every car and cracking down on people who leapt over turnstiles without paying because those 'two trivial' problems were seen as the tipping points that invited more serious crimes.
The strategy worked.
The broken window hypothesis has relevance to what is happening in Kuala Lumpur today.
The lack of enforcement and the widespread perception that the authorities have a cavalier attitude towards petty crimes are encouraging criminal elements to continuously push the line further.
Many people have offered reasons for the rise in such crimes: the shocking 90 per cent relapse rate among drug addicts and the even more shocking number of illegal immigrants here.
How about another reason: the almost non-existent sight of police personnel in housing estates.
Criminals who move around unmolested will not only be tempted to keep on returning to their hunting grounds to rob, they will also graduate to more serious crimes.
This is a natural progression. It is an open secret that the police force is undermanned and ill-equipped - short of 23,000 personnel and in need of at least 500 more patrol cars.
Until they come up to speed in both areas and make aggressive policing a daily activity, there is every chance that petty criminals would be emboldened and potential rapists, robbers and burglars would be tempted to go down the road of crime again and again.
That is why one of the best pieces of news over the last few days was a proposal by the police to seize the vehicles of those who beat the red lights.
It may be a recognition by the authorities that disorder breeds more disorder.
Following site will be archived and no longer accessible by
31-01-04
http://straitstimes.asia1.com.sg/asia/story/0,4386,231980,00.html? -
no body deserves to live in fear.. isrealites or not.
the 10 year old malaysian girl did not deserve to live in fear, or to under go such horrible treatment.
but i agree with the fact. we should not change our lives for pushy little muslim zealots throwing their weight at us, all 500 pounds of it.
same to go with lil hardcore gangsters wannabe who aren't even old enough to touch a pool table. but dumb enough to make empty death threats.
its like what PM Goh said abt sars. just continue with our normal activity. just be more careful and stuff..
i think its not going to help the situation when everyone hides at home. carrying on our daily lives is impt.. just be more alert and do our part. let the army do theirs
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Goodness.
How could I have forgotten about those god damned Ah Longs, murderers, rapists, armed burgalars and kidnappers?
Scums of the Earth that fall under the catagory of domestic terrorists?
And yes.
Death To Them Too.
PS : Thanks for the reminder Atobe.