Terrorism

I should know better than to comment on something so politically and emotionally charged as the London bombings. The worst part of this mess we're in is that although specific attacks always seem to come as a shock, the one thing we know for sure is that there will be attacks. And if the previous strategies have taught us any lessons, we also know that most of the attacks will be like the ones in London and Madrid and Israel and Baghdad, not like those on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon. Terrorists have limited resources but nearly limitless opportunities. Trained security forces can't guard everything or everyone, and so the terrorists go where the security is weak.

As our experts have brilliantly observed, the terrorists have the advantage; they only have to be successful once in a while. That's why terrorism has been around for such a long time. It is the preferred weapon of the weak against the strong. By attacking the strong where they are weakest, the terrorist hopes both to expose the weakness and provoke the kind of overreaction that will make the strong seem even weaker when they fail to stop the terrorists. Part of that overreaction, of course, is the ever increasing demand for greater security. Soon we find ourselves living not so much in a state of heightened alert, but heightened anxiety, and we accept, even demand greater security precautions, more metal detectors, more identity checks, more armed police, more explosive sniffing dogs. Soon we find ourselves living in the kind of world that accepts the fact of terrorism and accommodates it. We stop carrying our pocket knives and nail scissors when we fly on airplanes or visit museums. We wear shoes we can easily slip off and on at the airport. We carry less pocket change so as not to set off the metal detectors. We keep our official photo ID cards at the ready.

Living near and working in Washington, DC, for about the last twenty years, I've seen the remarkable changes that the terrorists have wrought. I've seen the security screenings set up not only at all government offices, but at the Smithsonian museums and all of the tourist sites. Americans now find very little open access to their government, neither the buildings nor the public servants. There are walls everywhere, impeding traffic and free movement. When there is an event like the inauguration or the 4th of July, there are security fences and check points to remind us that the terrorists are out there ready to strike. Of course, as they have done in London and Madrid, they will simply strike were the security is weak, and their success will have the desired effect. Our government officials will retreat behind walls and barricades and bodyguards and security checks, and the rest of us will hope the terrorists don't strike while we're on our way to work or to the ballgame.

Where will it end? Well, I suspect it will not end, not exactly. Some of those who have written about the London attacks have pointed out that the recent bombings have simply picked up where the IRA left off, even using the same potential targets and employing the same techniques. Where there are political divides between the strong and the weak worth killing and dying for, there will likely be terrorists willing to use their weapon of choice. What can we do? I am not sure, but I seriously doubt that a flurry of more security will change things very much, although perhaps some will be comforted to see the effort. It might help to recognize that this war we're in, like all wars, has political causes. It might help to confront those causes honestly and directly. It doesn't really matter whether the terrorists are right or wrong. We can all agree that terrorism is morally wrong, but that will not alter the fact that it is also a very effective political strategy for the weak to use against the strong.

If you really want to defeat an enemy you have to try to understand them. The terrorists know that very well. That is why they are so successful. That is why they have the advantage over us. They know our weaknesses as well as our strengths. When we can say the same of our knowledge of these terrorists, we will have taken the first genuine step toward finding some way back to a world with greater freedom of movement and access, and without so many walls, and metal detectors, and identity checks. Meanwhile, the future looks good for all kinds of work in the security business, especially for breeders of bomb-sniffing dogs.