http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?
tid=1&id=1702592005&resource=tssubscrip
Sat 30 Jul 2005
Battle of ideas crucial to win war on terror
PLATFORM
DR NORMAN BONNEY
FROM the launch of the war on terror after 9/11, the battle of ideas
has been even more important than warfare on the intelligence and
military fronts. Ideas motivate global terrorist attacks by
militant, violent Islamic extremists and enable decentralised groups
around the world to co-ordinate and justify their actions and
formulate targets and plans.
Intense beliefs in the rightness of their cause and hatred for
perceived enemies provide the glue and fuel for small cells of
operatives, surrounding pools of sympathisers and a global movement
of activist militants. Effective ideological war against al-Qaeda is
strategy if the roots of its support around the world are to be
shrivelled; that war, like those on military/intelligence fronts,
cannot be said to be going well.
The fact British people ally themselves with the global movement and
are prepared to take violent action against fellow citizens in our
capital is a measure of how much the ideology of the al-Qaeda and
simplistic supporting sentiments have penetrated the interstices of
British and other societies. There is little doubt the war in Iraq
intensified support for al-Qaeda around the world and in the UK and
may have been added motivation for the UK attacks.
Strong defence of action in Iraq is essential to staunch the
widespread view that the conflict is a war against Muslims, a
simplistic view that galvanises support for al-Qaeda and adds to the
pool of grievances in which it festers. There should be no
reservation about constantly reiterating and emphasising the
justification for coalition action in Iraq in all global spheres of
communication.
Saddam Hussein consistently refused to co-operate with the United
Nations. He had launched two wars against Muslim nations involving
the slaughter of hundreds of thousands of Kuwaitis, Iraqis and
Iranians. He oppressed and committed atrocities against the Muslim
Kurds, Shia and Marsh Arabs of Iraq and any who opposed his rule.
Those who opposed coalition action in the war, Muslim and non-Muslim
alike were prepared to be complicit in the continuation of his
dictatorship and the suffering of the Iraqi people under his rule
which led four million to emigrate.
The provisional Iraqi government is working with coalition
authorities to create a democratic constitution. The Muslim Kurds
and Shia look likely to have more influence in the state according
to the weight of their population. What alternative do those who
call for immediate withdrawal or fight against the coalition forces
have in mind for Iraq? Civil war? A repressive Islamic state? A
return to secular dictatorship?
The war in Iraq and broader fight against extremist Islamist
terrorism must be fought on the ideological front as well as on the
battlefield. The challenge for governments around the world is to
fight this battle more effectively. There is no shortage of relevant
ideas to meet the challenge.
Norman Bonney is a Senior Research Fellow at Robert Gordon
University
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