Here it is: Yet another article discussing the implications of a terrorist assault on Western culture. After the November attacks in Paris, I naively hoped that I would not have to write this type of article again — one in which I lament the ceaseless violence against innocent people and bemoan the inevitable intolerance and xenophobia to come, yet here I am. However, it is no longer enough to write obligatorily about how awful the attacks in Paris or Ankara or Brussels were. It is no longer acceptable for us to sit idly by and wait for the inevitable. While it is has become custom to fearfully watch the television screens and listen to our leaders call these terrorists thugs and cowards, it seems that in our terror, we have become complacent.
What is more frightening than these random acts of violence is that, while the attacks are sporadic and unexpected, we no longer seem to be surprised by them. We live in a world in which a constant threat of terrorism looms over us to the extent that it seems to be a natural part of existing. We treat terrorist attacks like earthquakes, hurricanes and floods — things to be properly mourned, yet unavoidable nonetheless. This is a reality I will not accept.
Our leaders, like they have before, will tell us that this threat must be eliminated. Ted Cruz proposes that we carpet bomb the Islamic State “into oblivion,” a fiery and admittedly tempting rhetorical response that, despite its immediate appeal, fails to address the heart of the problem. There is an ignorance about the IS that politicians and legislators fail to address, an ignorance that conveniently lifts culpability for this problem off America’s shoulders. The truth is that our ineffective and indecisive military strategies produced the IS as the threat it is today, and it has since grown into a virus that no amount of airstrikes or ground troops can exterminate. If the United States is to once again spend trillions of dollars to ensure global security, such funds cannot be invested in another unsuccessful military affront, but must instead focus on filling infrastructural and educational holes in the Middle East.
Perhaps there was a time when brute strength was the solution to terror. When the U.S. invaded Iraq in 2003, we could have approached terrorism with the full force of American military might. Instead, we attempted to win over the hearts and minds of the Iraqi people, a technique proven to be equally ineffective in the Vietnam War. After years of lackluster military action under President Bush, Obama pledged to withdraw all troops from Iraq, an inspiring and appealing decision that inadvertently created a power vacuum in the region that the IS has eagerly filled. After two presidents and 15 years of failed military strategy, the U.S. has spent $5 trillion on the War on Terror, and the result has been the creation of a terrorist organization more expansive and sophisticated than any we have known before. Now, more than ever, terror is at its peak.
In moments of fear, we tend to abandon our sense of comradeship and become survivalists. The luxury of compassion felt in times of peace is disregarded in favor of hatred and intolerance in times of war. Despite the default sentiments that arise amid fear and uncertainty, we must fight to seek out the practical solutions, not the easy ones. The truth of the matter is that terrorist groups such as the IS rise from the depths of very specific circumstances. Destitution, lack of education and poor infrastructure all contribute to the success of terrorist organizations. Many of these conditions are the direct result of years spent living under falling bomb shells and to continue the strategy of the past will only exacerbate the problems of the present. If America were to dedicate itself to improving these poor conditions, the improvement would be swift and transformative. While investing American funds in education and infrastructure abroad may seem unrealistic and expensive, it is a strategy the United States employed in postwar Japan and Germany, and one that proved to be an enormous success.
If the attack in Brussels has taught us one thing, it is that idleness is no longer an option. Boosted security and increased screenings are merely temporary solutions to a problem that shows no signs of going away. If this country remains stagnant, if this country does not take drastic and decisive action, another terrorist attack is inevitable.