An Irrational Enemy

In Iran, Afghanistan, Egypt, and many other nations through out the Middle East and Africa, there are agents of violence, hatred, and fear. These men will stop at nothing to accomplish their goals, they cannot be negotiated with, and they are willing to take not only their own lives, but also those of their neighbors in their efforts to destroy the infidels and unbelievers.

These terrorists are convinced that the West is a corrupt and evil society and that for our disobedience of God's laws, we must all perish. They consider us materialistic, godless, and sexually immoral. Though not entirely inaccurate, these qualities are not nearly as absolute as terrorists claim and they certainly do not justify the atrocities committed against the US and other nations. The radicals that live by these beliefs enforce their laws mercilessly in their own nations and would like nothing less than to bring their violent brand of justice to the whole world. They destroy themselves and those around them in bloody acts of terrorism meant to drive us out of the Middle East and gain political control over their nations.

Though these terrorists are not all-powerful, they are certainly a force to be reckoned with. They do not need to have millions of followers in the West, only enough to kill the right people or destroy the right building. There were only a handful of hijackers on the 9/11 flights, and yet they murdered thousands. Terrorist cells have been arrested all over the US and there are still more out there. The Muslim Brotherhood provides a disturbing glimpse into the reach of terrorist organizations. In an interview, the Muslim Brotherhood said that when they recruited a new member, the one who recruited him would instruct him for years before even telling him he had become a member of the Muslim Brotherhood. Although the Brotherhood claims to have given up terrorism, it still sees the US in the same way that the al-Qaeda and other such groups do and even if their denial of the use of terrorism is true, it would not be a surprise if they had a sudden change of heart.

Perhaps the most dangerous thing about terrorists such as Osama bin-Laden is the respect and influence that their followers offer them. Authority is as nothing compared to influence, and it is influence that bin-Laden and his loathsome ilk rule by. Bin-Laden inspires his followers took take action by stirring up zeal against the infidels and unbelievers. He does not even need to survive because his death would only leave room for a new leader. The attitude he creates makes it almost easy for potential terrorist leaders to come to power and if there is one thing that there has never been a shortage of, it is dangerous, ambitious people.

Yet this apparent unification against Western society is an illusion, for if the West ever did fall they would turn on each other in an instant. In Afghanistan, this could not be any more obvious. Despite their appearance of being a purely religious organization, the Taliban are formed primarily out of ethnic Pashtuns and cling so deeply to their roots that there are some who see them as a movement for Pashtun independence. Interestingly enough, the Northern Alliance, the greatest native enemy of the Taliban, is made up of the Tajiks, the Uzbeks, and the Hazaras, three other Afghan tribes. As long as the Northern Alliance was safe and powerful, it was troubled by dissension and inner struggles but while it fought the Taliban, it was united. What drove these tribes to unite? Was it tribal pride and competition against the Pashtuns? Or perhaps it was because the Taliban persecuted these tribes just as violently as they now attack US troops.

For the Muslim nations of the Middle East and the surrounding area, war is part of the culture. When Mohammed died, he left no clear successor and thus his Muslim empire became divided almost from the beginning. Although only the First Crusade was successful, Christians launched crusade after crusade for approximately 250 years. The Muslims successfully drove the Europeans out of Jerusalem in 1187 but the Crusaders weren't the only threat. In 1219, Genghis Khan and his Mongol armies marched against the Khwarazmian Empire. For generations, the Mongols led raids deep into the Middle East and Eastern Europe. When European nations turned to the "barbarians" for new empires, many of the Muslim nations came under European domination. After driving out the European conquerors, many Middle Eastern nations found themselves fending off Communism in the Cold War. It should also be noted that until new technology and policies made the desert more easily survivable, many nomads relied partially on raids for food and water.

But beyond beliefs, dangers, and history, there are the despicable, loathsome tactics of terrorist organizations such as the al-Qaeda and the Taliban. Like the Viet Cong of the Vietnam War, their goal is not only to kill the soldiers but also to demoralize the civilians of America. When a soldier sees a native on his nightly patrols he does not know if he is looking at a terrorist, an allied soldier, or a civilian who, for some reason of their own, is outside their village. A US soldier chases an insurgent into a mosque and must try to identify a man whose face he barely caught a glimpse of from a crowd of bearded, robed, turban-wearing civilians. If you still do not understand the difficulty of these situations, I hope this next example may provide you with a bit more insight. A helicopter is making a routine patrol when an anti-aircraft missile is launched at it from an unidentified building. The helicopter avoids the missile and opens fire on the building... which turns out to be an elementary school. With suicide bombings and manipulation such as this, the terrorists of the Middle East exploit our greatest weakness-we care more about their own people than they do.

And so here we are, faced with an irrational enemy. An enemy that is so driven that they will kill anyone who gets in their way, be they foreigner, friend, or neighbor. An enemy that has been raised in the ways of the sword. An enemy that will continue to seek out enemies even when they have slain all that they once declared the enemies of God. An enemy that forces us to choose the lesser of two evils. What will we do? What can we do? We could leave their lands, if not to end the war then to stop ourselves from committing abominations. But I say to you, if one can strike down a terrible evil in another land but in doing so must commit evil himself, then it is not righteous to abstain from such necessary evils. Rather, the one who does abstain from such evils has more blood on his hands than anyone else.