Identifying the Enemy in a War Against Terrorism :: September 11 Terrorism Essays

Identifying the Enemy in a War Against Terrorism Abstract: In the good old days, it seemed like such an easy task to identify and give a face to who were your friends and foes at time of war, even at the risk of racial and cultural stereotyping. We are finding that it is very difficult to be at war with a concept like "international terrorism" because we also must give it a face. During World War II an article was published in the December 22, 1941 issue of Life magazine titled "A Handbook for Americans." A section of the handbook detailed ways that Americans could "tell a Jap from a Chinese." I found these stereotypes to be quite ridiculous – but the article underscores that there are some problems of mobilizing a society for war, whether it is against Japan in 1941 or against international terrorism in 2001. One problem that would seem the easiest to solve is: "How do you identify friend from foe?" Another problem is: "How not to lose friends and alienate bystanders who might get caught in the middle in the process of waging war on one's foes?" The nature of terrorism makes both tasks difficult. In a recent book on 21st century terrorism, Cindy Combs notes that terrorism is a synthesis of war and theatre: a dramatization of violence which is perpetrated on innocent victims and played before an audience in the hope of creating a mood of fear without apology or remorse for political purposes. Terrorism is therefore by its nature a clandestine activity carried out by actors operating in the shadows of societies. Who are the individuals and groups who practice this tactic? What would a profile look like of today's "typical" terrorist? We know that they are young - having in some cases been recruited in secondary schools. They are both men and women who have less formal education and family wealth than their counterparts in the 1960s. More importantly, in confronting them we know that they engage in dehumanizing their victims - victims do not have an individual face, nor are they parents or husbands or wives - they are simply the "enemy." Coupled with this tendency to engage in w hat one noted social psychologist calls "black and white thinking," today's terrorist commits to the abandonment of all restraints on the use of violence.