However this decade is remembered, it will always be scarred, while living memory lasts, by a single day in 2001. This day not only defined the decade, it marked the global emergence of extremist Islam, a virulent menace prepared to go to any lengths to achieve its goals even as it cruelly circumscribed human life in service to an arid, hidebound ideology.
A decade which should have been devoted to peaceful pursuits has instead been spent in unconventional wars against unconventional foes, still unbeaten after eight years of suffering and strife with no end in sight. Nor is there likely to be one, not until the terrorists' co-religionists and countrymen resolve to take back their faith and stand up to the criminals they have tolerated in their midst for so long.
For Western nations, the first decade of the 21st century should have been, if not a golden idyll, at least a time of peace and reflection after the 20th century's decades of struggle with the competing ideologies of fascism and communism. When the Soviet Union peacefully unravelled in 1991 and the threat of mutually assured destruction receded, there seemed little chance of a rival to liberal democracy emerging any time soon. The few conflicts which captured sustained international attention, notably in the Persian Gulf and the Balkans, were brought to an end by negotiation or short, intense campaigns and it seemed as though future interventions would require little more than peacekeeping or the threat of force. Outright warfare was outdated. George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, now known for his so-called imperial presidency, came to office in 2001 promising a time of greater American disengagement from the world. All such certainties came up empty on Sept. 11, 2001
Suddenly, Western nations were mobilizing for war against a foe unlike any previously encountered, a loosely organized, hydra-headed enemy which knows no borders, lacks any respect for international norms of conduct and delights in striking far beyond the battlefield to inflict casualties on civilians.
Change came quickly. It had long been believed, especially by Western governments, that their citizens, accustomed to peace and plenty, simply would not accept a steady flow of returning body bags. Unquestionably, the likes of al-Qaeda were motivated by the thought that the decadent West lacked the stomach for a fight. They were wrong.
Sadly, all the blood and treasure the West has expended in the fight against terrorism has not been enough to bring victory, because the inhabitants of the Middle East have largely refused to stand up to the extremists in their midst.
To this day, and despite the carnage they have wrought on their home turf, Islamist terrorist outfits enjoy a rebel glamour which draws a continuous stream of recruits to their banners.
Some of the blame lies with the region's rulers. Most of the Middle East gained independence immediately after the Second World War, but freedom has been slow to sprout even after 60 years. Muslim governments remain plodding, kleptocratic autocracies. Many such governments (especially that of Saudi Arabia, ruler of the two holy places of Mecca and Medina) consider themselves immune to the terrorist threat post-9/11 and it required the rise of groups such as al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, the al-Qaeda Organization in the Islamic Maghreb, and the resurgence of the Taliban in South Asia, along with innumerable atrocities, to convince governments to crack down.
Middle Eastern governments also contributed to the problem through neglect of their people. Failure to provide much-needed social services, political freedoms and the economic growth necessary for jobs to keep pace with population growth all provided terrorist outfits with opportunities to capture public sympathy, and they have made the most of it.
However, official incompetence is only part of the story. Ordinary Muslims have extended considerable support to terrorists on their own, often driven by a combination of anti-American and anti-Israel sentiments, a long-standing belief in their own victimhood, resistance to social changes brought about by globalization and a regressive interpretation of Islam. The last characteristic is crucial. Terrorists have had little difficulty in twisting Islamic doctrines to support their extreme interpretations because their fellow Muslims have mostly stood idly by and let them, rather than broadly condemning the terrorists' distorted justifications for slaughter. So far, the latter has only happened piecemeal.
This reluctance only highlights how urgently reform in Islam is needed. Without a liberalization of theology and a relaxation of religiously inspired social mores, the terrorists will always have a leg to stand on. Freedoms and the scorn of Muslim society will be far more potent weapons than all the military might the world's governments can muster. But reform is not inevitable. Ordinary Muslims must make it happen -- indeed, they are the only ones who can.
As thousands of soldiers saluted and a lone piper played a sad lament on New Year's Day, the flag-draped caskets of journalist Michelle Lang and four ...
Read Full Article »