Terrorism - Articles

Al Qaedaism: An Anarchic Philosophy?

The terrorist bomb attacks on London which killed at least 53 people and injured 700 again highlighted the unpleasant fact that, despite two wars, an international crackdown on its network, and arrests of hundreds of its cadre and high ranking leaders, the Al Qaeda terror group and its affiliates are not out of business.

Robert A Pape, professor of political science at the University of Chicago, has argued in his Straits Times article, "Al Qaeda's strategic objective" set by Osama bin Laden, are to target the close allies that supported the United States in the Iraq War. That may well be true. But what exactly is the purpose of Al Qaeda? What does it hope to achieve by staging bomb attacks across the globe?

Unbelievable as it sounds, Osama bin Laden's strategy of employing terrorism in opposing the free world has the only logic of playing a rich men's game. Do not forget that Osama comes from a rich Saudi family with royal connections. The world wide problem posed by the Al Qaeda has the uncanny hallmarks of the misguided idealism of a millionaire's dream to establish a better world.

During the first half of the 20th century, another famous revolutionary, Mao Tse Tung, had adapted Marxism to suit the social and political conditions of China during the first half of the 20th century. Mao sought to create, what was in his eyes, a better, revolutionary China from the corrupt, semi-feudal world in which he lived. In a same way, Osama bin Laden seeks to impose "Al Qaedaism" upon the Muslim world, in which strict adherence to the Islamic Sharia law is paramount. Money is the main weapon Al Qaeda terrorists use to achieve their long term goal.

In a bid to demonstrate wealth, what better way than to spend money on one's pet projects? In the case of Osama, his philosophy derives from hatred of what he perceives to be a world that is un-Islamic in nature, and which shuns him in return. Osama bin Laden and his close associates are wanted criminals, who would be arrested and brought to trial whenever they are apprehend, like Saddam Hussein.

Bombings aimed at targeting civilians, especially using suicide bombers, have proven most effective against states and governments. For a fistful of dollars, Osama's organization has been able to sponsor terror attacks prompting states to react by pouring millions of dollars into strengthening security measures, obtaining high technology surveillance equipment, and placing security forces on war footing. There is no lack of willing recruits for terrorist acts because the current policy of counter-terrorism pursued by the USA and other countries, are seen as increasingly oppressive reprisals against Muslims with no definite goal in sight.

It may turn out that the goal of terrorists could be just to cause mayhem. Terrorism is an opportunistic strategy. The terror network constantly watches out for weakness and opportunity to strike with any means on hand in terms of sleeper cells, home-made bombs or smuggled weapons. A state that is ill-prepared to enforce security - as in Iraq, Chechnya and the Palestine - will be more likely to be a target of terrorist acts. The war against terror or "Al Qaedaism" has now become a race to see who has more money and resources to spend on security efforts to prevent terrorist attacks. Wastage of lives, economic resources and productivity is occurring like in any conventional war.

Unlike Maoism or Nazism, it is doubtful whether "Al Qaedaism" has any political programme to implement even if it grabs power in any Muslim state. For the rest of the 21st century, it remains to be seen if "Al Qaedaism" would eventually be regarded as a false philosophy as Muslims worldwide realize the naivety and self destructive philosophy its rhetoric espouses. States must not fall into this trap. Al Qaeda and similar terrorist groups seek to engage in economic warfare with state governments. Military reprisal against civil populations must be controlled by careful employment of intelligence. Arrested terrorists must be brought to justice, not just locked away and forgotten. Lastly, the political and social issues giving rise to terrorism must be addressed and acted upon.

The views expressed here solely belong to the author. He can be reached at erickoopk@yahoo.com