Terrorism is a trendy buzzword. So trendy in fact that some people are even willing to ban Muslims from seven countries even though no Muslim from those countries has killed an American! The threat is real, and the paranoia even more so!
Of course terrorism, or rather asymmetrical warfare is as old as conflict. The weak have always fought the strong with whatever means they have at their disposal, and while those means have become scarier and deadlier - bombs and guns, not knives and poison - the act of terrorism is no new trend. Today's digest is dedicated to the topic.
As always, happy Wednesday and happy reading.
This Day in History
1898 - The USS Maine explodes in Havana Harbor killing 260 American sailors, and leading the US to enter the Spanish-American War. An inquiry at the time found that the Maine was destroyed by a mine. Though the report did not blame Spain, the assumption was made, and war was declared shortly thereafter. In 1976 a US Navy Investigation found that the likely cause of the explosion was an accident in the ship's ammunition hold. Oops...
What, No Who, No Why, is a Terrorist?
When I say terrorist, in your mind's eye you see a Muslim man (probably an Arab man). In the American context of foreign affairs such a description makes sense (although less sense than imagining a white man with multiple weapons). But this highlights the important rhetorical issue of terrorism: what or who is a terrorists, and why do these people embrace violence (from Strategy Bridge).
Republicans are fond of saying that we can't defeat terrorism until we call it what it is. For them this means identifying terrorists as "radical Islamic," or something along those lines. In a sense, this is true, but it is a very narrow definition of terrorists. White men with guns walk into movie theaters, schools, even Planned Parenthood clinics and take lives just as young Muslim men with bombs on their chests walk into markets and take lives.
To end "terrorism," we must put an end to the underlying socio-economic conditions that breed terror worldwide regardless of the perpetrators' skin color or religious beliefs. So then to answer my own question - who is a terrorist - the answer is necessarily as broad as the foundational conditions, which are global problems.
Identifying the Threat
If we sought real answers - rather than paranoid ones - to the question of "who is a terrorist," we might react with even more alarm than we already do. For in fact the greatest terrorist threat Americans face comes from other Americans, notably far-right white men (from Newsweek).
Accepting that a terrorist is someone who uses violence to achieve political ends, it is easy to quantify the threat to Americans posed by different types of terrorists. And while it is the "other guy" sowing death abroad, the story here on the home front is quite different; we have much less to fear from Mullahs than we do from Midwesterners. The white man is our greatest threat.
This is an unpleasant conclusion, but it is also true. And if we truly want to be safe we will let facts, not fear, dictate our policies. Alas, we are living in a world where the solution to violence is to ban people from seven countries none of which have produced a terror threat to the US rather than to question the rationality of letting small children play with firearms.
Clash of Cultures
What does a millennia old Greek poem have to do with ISIL? Nothing, I thought, when I first read the headline. But I read the piece anyhow, and there are some compelling parallels between the ancient world of yesteryear and today's conflict (from Strategy Bridge). Is America like stately Priam and proud Hector, and is ISIL like barbarous Achilles and cunning Odysseus? Perhaps those are only fun questions to a history nerd like me, but if you're interested in how the tale of Troy compares to America's War on Terror this is an insightful read.
Sun's Out, Tongues' Out
Like big brother, like little brother, and definitely like Mike. Just as His Airness always had his tongue out during signature dunks, so too do these brothers while doing what they do best. Foster dogs who live temporarily with Rachel in Minnesota. Rachel is a wonderful foster mom, and the founder of the adoption agency Secondhand Hounds, an excellent organization helping find homes for abused and homeless dogs. Are you looking for a new friend? Because if so, check out SHH, and big thanks to Rachel for sharing some of her many friends!
Will's Weekly Trivia - Spread the Word!
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Last Week:
1. Which mobster's vault did "journalist" Geraldo Rivera famously open only to find absolutely nothing of value inside? ONE POINT
2. Which famous American prison was known as The Rock? ONE POINT
3. Which country imprisons the highest percentage of its population? ONE POINT
Answers:
1. Rivera opened Al Capone's empty vault.
2. Alcatraz Prison was known as the Rock.
3. The United States imprisons a higher percentage of our population than any other nation.
This Week:
1. What type of ship was the USS Maine? ONE POINT
2. Osama bin Laden's terrorist group is called al Qaeda. What does al Qaeda translate to in English? ONE POINT
3. Many scholars speculate that Judas Iscariot was a member of an ancient Jewish assassination squad called the Sicarii. What does Sicarii mean? TWO POINTS LEADER BOARD Check out the Leader Board! Is your name on it!?
