Book
Review
Fighting
Terrorism: The
International Terrorist Network
By
Merri Rosenberg
First
published in 1995, this relatively slim volume was reissued this
year in the aftermath of the events of September 11. While the
only new material is a foreword comprising the remarks that Benjamin
Netanyahu made to the US Congress on September 20, it’s still
an important book for anyone interested in understanding how September
11 happened–and, how we can prevent such destruction in the future.
Netanyahu—a former Israeli prime minister and head of the Jonathan
Institute, which was created in memory of his slain brother who
perished during the raid at Entebbe to free hostages, to study
and combat terrorism—has some definite biases that make some of
his analyses and remedies slightly unsettling. The author views
the conflict against terrorism primarily (and understandably)
through the lens of an Israeli who has had to deal with the daily
fall-out of terrorism for years.
Still, as Netanyahu writes, “September 11, 2001 was a day that
future historians will call a hinge of history...On that day,
a lethal blow was struck in the heart of freedom.” One of his
most fervent arguments, which he reiterates throughout the narrative,
is that terrorism and terrorists have to be fought by every civilized
nation, that no one can be neutral in this critical battle. He
is especially adamant that there be no apologists for terrorists,
and has little patience for those who say that American policy
is responsible for why the terrorists acted as they did. Far from
it, says Netanyahu. During the late 1970s and early 1980s, he
points out, many people—mistakenly, in his view— thought that
“terrorism was the result of political and social oppression,
the inescapable conclusion was that terror could not be eliminated
without first bringing these conditions to an end.”
Hardly. Netanyahu argues that because these terrorists, unlike
earlier generations of terrorists who were similarly motivated,
have no qualms about losing their lives in the fight, they are
especially dangerous and anti-terrorist tactics have to recognize
that reality.
He also argues that Israel is not the reason that the militant
Islamic groups hate the West and specifically seek the destruction
of the United States and what it represents. One of the most fascinating
contributions is his explanation of why so many Islamicists resent
the West. According to Netanyahu, many in the Islamic world have
long memories—and feel deeply the humiliation of the Arab world
at the hands of the West.
Netanyahu explains that because Islam is, at its very conception,
a “fighting religion,” whose followers believe that it is part
of their faith to make the entire world Islamic, hostility to
the West is ingrained. Had the original push to make the world
follow Islam succeed, says Netanyahu, all of Europe—not just Spain—would
have been under Arab dominion. The Islamic conquest of much of
the world during the middle ages is remembered with triumph by
many modern Muslims, who chafe at the memory of the Islamic empire
effectively dismantled during World War I.
For Netanyahu, debates about civil liberties and rights in the
face of this threat are mere indulgences that Americans can ill
afford. He writes, “The United States Constitution, said Justice
Robert Jackson, is not a suicide pact.” And, he points out the
paradox that the freedoms which America affords everyone are precisely
those freedoms that have allowed terrorists to operate in our
midst, and grow strong against us in ways that would not have
been tolerated in their home countries. There is a chilling challenge
that Netanyahu hurls: “We have received a wake up call from hell.
Do we rally to defeat this evil, while there is still time, or
do we press a collective snooze button and go back to business
as usual.”Let’s hope that the “new normal” recognizes the importance
of continued vigilance and watchfulness, lest we be caught napping
again.#
Merri
Rosenberg is a freelance writer who specializes in educational
issues
Education Update, Inc., P.O. Box 20005, New York, NY 10001. Tel:
(212) 481-5519. Fax: (212) 481-3919. Email: ednews1@aol.com.
All material is copyrighted and may not be printed without express consent of
the publisher. © 2001.
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