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After the horror of World War II, the establishment of the United Nations was the best thing we did to move towards global peace. Today, this organization suffers in the hands of quick-fix politicians, and ultimately us because we put them there. We continuously ask them to provide us with complete safety. This demand is absolutely without grounds and unrealistic. How can we expect a safe world when we invest very little in peace?

Let’s not ignore the fact that the terrorist organizations were not created yesterday and will not disappear tomorrow. Today, military and political groups are facing immense challenges against terrorism. In a 2001 report, the CIA admitted that Osama Bin Laden’s assets were difficult to track and they simply did not know the level of financial support he drew from donors sympathetic to his cause. Still too much emphasis is given to destroying terrorist networks. Ultimately, this will not work because even if we can put our finger on the main pulse of terrorism—finances, intelligence, communication, cultural affiliation, training, and other supporting infrastructure, we still need to address what’s in their hearts.

You have heard of numerous strategies from political or military groups on how to stop or eliminate these people from the face of the earth. Terrorists are not weeds on the ground that you uproot and then everything would be all right. We are dealing with something far more complex than politicians make us believe to be. Politicians and military leaders are only able to satisfy our immediate safety demands and they continuously ask for more time and more resources. More time and resources may buy them a chance for the coming elections but it will never ever provide us the security that we ask for. Five hundred thousand troops will not bring permanent peace in Iraq. One hundred troops at Port Authority will not secure our subway ride. Bombs and guns cannot deter a fanatic who is ready to die for his cause. We can, however, focus and study the underlying reasons. These terrorists are filled with hatred and religious fervor. We will not break this ideology in one presidential term, but we may be able to reduce it significantly in the coming generations. In the case of Islamic Jihad, we now know that these people are exposed to religious fanaticism starting at a very early age in Iran, Pakistan, Iraq, and elsewhere for years. There are millions of peaceful Muslims. Islamic Jihad is just a minority. What separates peaceful Muslims from Jihadists? We never studied such questions diligently. The US government invested billions of dollars in warfare but we never paid enough attention to that part of the world. Why should we? We should, because we no longer live in the Pearl Harbor era. We should, because it is no more the fleet in the war zone; it is the heart of New York.

We cannot perceive the world clearly solely through CNN, Fox, or The New York Times. A very clear recent example is that alternative sources were often attacked, disparaged, or quite simply dismissed by mainstream news sources before the Iraq war. This may help to explain why we invaded Iraq on the basis of dubious evidence of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). The most knowledgeable sources—Scott Rider, chief UN weapons inspector in Iraq, and Egyptian Mohammad al-Baradei, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency—were consistently derided by American government officials and virtually dismissed by the popular media because they contended that no such evidence of WMDs existed².

Religious or cultural intolerance are not biological traits. They are learned and can be unlearned. It might take tremendous efforts, bravery, and resources to undo deeply embedded ideologies. But we know it can be done because we have seen it through the work of Gandhi and Martin Luther King. It is through them and many other extraordinary individuals that we can still believe in humanity. We must study them. We must invest in them. We must find innovative ways to teach our children the value of tolerance, reverence, and brotherhood of men around the globe.

I believe we are not hearing enough from the majority of nations, especially from those law-abiding and peaceful countries. This is not the time to be silent and fearful. It is true that it will be very hard to undo the harm that has been done, but sitting and doing nothing is not an option. We must not and should not let anybody make us believe that peace is not possible. It is possible as much as we believe and invest in it. We must take the path to peace.

References:

¹ http://faculty.ncwc.edu/toconnor/429/429lect11.htm

² Ripton, John, The Courier News, Speaking Out Forum, June 3, 2007 issue