HOW HE SEES IT Don't combat terrorism with terrorism
By JOHN C. BERSIA
ORLANDO SENTINEL
When the shadowy "Salvation Movement" appeared on al-Arabiya television recently, threatening to hand foreign terrorists in Iraq a dose of their own violence, I experienced a tinge of satisfaction.
Besides, that development -- along with the reappearance in Lebanon of supposedly kidnapped U.S. Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun -- added a fascinating layer of mystery to the ever-deepening U.S.-led intervention saga.
Then the dangerous realities of the situation reoriented my focus, and the questions poured forth.
Is it right or necessary to combat terrorism with terrorism?
Flatly, no. Terrorists deserve nothing less than harsh, aggressive, relentless pursuit. But governments, not individuals, should take that action, and they should simultaneously endeavor to address the economic, political, social and other roots of the problem.
Does vigilante justice help or complicate the situation in Iraq?
Clearly, the latter. If the interim government and its allies seriously seek to develop a stable, democratic system in Iraq, then irregular forces of any stripe have no place.
Why not cooperate with the interim government, rather than launching an independent struggle?
Why not, indeed? The interim government needs every recruit it can muster.
Plenty of questions
Could the Salvation Movement be a pawn of the interim government, as it takes advantage of new powers to pursue insurgents? Perhaps, although such an arrangement, if exposed, could prove embarrassing and counterproductive.
Might the group have emerged with the winked-at or direct encouragement of U.S. officials, even as they publicly decry such behavior? As enticing as conspiracy enthusiasts would find that one, I hope not. The United States has misstepped enough in Iraq.
Does the Salvation Movement have real backing, or is it limited to five armed men in a room who have borrowed a page from various terrorists' own strategy book? No one who knows has said.
But I would move beyond those questions and consider what the group might symbolize in the broader context of the Iraqi people and their responsibility to take charge. I suspect that the Iraqi people are beginning to draw their own lines in the sand, showing impatience with a prominent nuisance in their country and a willingness to move against it.
Too many of the doom-and-gloom assessments about Iraq seem to ignore that most people have returned to their mundane lives and want nothing to do with violence or insurgency. In some recent polls in Iraq, most respondents expressed relative optimism about the future -- particularly in terms of regaining sovereignty.
It is only natural that resentment toward foreign troublemakers would build at this stage. Before the war, when Saddam Hussein still ruled, Iraqis could do little as terrorists began drifting into their land. During the chaotic first year of the post-battle phase, when the United States dominated the scene, they were similarly powerless.
Now that Iraqis have regained a measure of control over their lives, however, they have more options. It understandably irks them that the terrorists are not simply attacking coalition and Iraqi government forces, as one might expect, but civilians.
Further, although the Salvation Movement has singled out Jordanian militant Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, its ultimatum applies to his followers and, by implication, others of their ilk. Those extremists form part of the same loose global pack that carried out 9/11 and, according to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge, plots to hit U.S. targets this summer and fall.
Terrorists, especially those who successfully defy powerful nations, can take on larger-than-life images. But they are neither untouchable nor invulnerable. In addition, they respect and fear the decisive use of force.
Again, the interim Iraqi government should carry out the necessary campaign, not self-appointed vigilantes. There should be no hesitation, though, in Iraq or elsewhere, to take the fight to the terrorists until society reclaims its security.
XBersia, who won a Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing for the Orlando Sentinel in 2000, is also the special assistant to the president for global perspectives. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Information Services.