Know Your Enemy

Tuesday, September 2, 2003
By: Tashbih Sayyed

The jubilation expressed at the ouster of Taleban from Afghanistan and removal of Saddam Hussein from Iraq and the optimism with which road map for peace in the Middle East was launched, confirmed once again, that the civilized world, has yet to learn a great deal about the Islamist world. Lack of knowledge about Islamist ethos resulted in the overconfidence that once Taleban were gone and the Baathist Baghdad was fallen, the opposition in Iraq would simply evaporate and every Afghani and Iraqi will live happily ever after. Not knowing the real nature of the enemy, we conveniently believed that the capitulation of a tyrant in the land of Nebuchadnezzar will facilitate the implementation of the road map and conflict in the holy lands will be replaced by peace and chaos with stability.
But what followed our military victories proved us all wrong. Not only that today our coalition forces are facing a very determined resistance, but the much trumpeted road map and the truce in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict have also been proved to be a bubble in the water. As a consequence of these "unexpected" developments, there is a growing anxiety on the street. There is a fear that the much needed public backing will wane and international support for the war against terrorism will be doubtful in coming forth. The informed circles know that these setbacks are not going to weaken our resolve. The policy makers are convinced that this war against terrorism is a noble war and therefore our efforts to bring peace and stability in the region must continue.

But the problem is that the man on the street does not know anything beyond rhetoric. There is a big communication gap between the administration and the country. If we want to keep the country aboard, a rethinking of our strategy and a re-evaluation of our understanding of the men and material, we are dealing with, is in order.

No administration can succeed if it lacks public support. And the popular backing for any plan depends on public's understanding of plan's merit and it's chances of success. They need to be convinced that their government knows what it is doing. They need to know as to how long they are expected to endure hardships. They should be taken into confidence as to what kind of sacrifices their country needs them to offer. Only a transparent approach can connect the administration with the street. And this connection will help people in retaining their confidence.

Recent statements coming from the White House suggest that administration is concerned about keeping the country on board. It has begun to explain that the Iraq war was a noble cause and the rebuilding will be lengthy, costly and complicated. People are beginning to understand that despite escalating violence and the mounting death toll, administration's resolve to stay the course in Iraq will not weaken.

At this stage, it is vital for our success in combating terrorism that we understand and know our enemy. It will save many lives. We should know that what is happening in the world today is not what Samuel P. Huntington describes as "a clash of civilizations." It is a clash between a civilization and a culture of violence. Radical Islam does not represent a civilization. It is a culture of violence. Our ignorance about its threat in the past has allowed it to spread and establish itself every where including the USA. We inadvertently helped this demon to become more powerful. It has grown into an international mind. Now, we will have to fight it not only in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Indonesia, and Philippines but also in our own home. Public should be educated to appreciate the degree of threat. Every day that passes, this threat becomes more formidable.

Radical Islam is unlike anything that we have known in the past. It is Fascism, Nazism and Communism combined in one and much more. It is more organized, more funded and its cadres are convinced that they are fighting a God's war. There can be no enemy more lethal than the one who thinks that by killing others he is carrying out God's will.

What makes radical Islam more difficult to contain, is its modus operandi. It is centralized but works as a de-centralized organization. We cannot defeat it by taking out one leader. On the surface, the scourge of Wahhabism and radical Islam works in a de-centralized form. But it is only an illusion. In reality All its units, cells and cadres operating in different regions and different neighborhoods are connected with each other through a very elaborate system of institutions and events.

Radical Islam uses the network of its mosques, Islamic centers and annual and semi annual gatherings to formulate policy, share planning and future strategies. The informal and unassuming faces of its messengers make it almost impossible to challenge them. These cells drive their strength and energy from each other. That's why it is essential that they should be attacked simultaneously. If we destroy their strongholds in Iraq and leave their centers here in the US and elsewhere untouched, they will spring up again in no time. September 11 has made it abundantly clear that the present war is not like any other war in the past. Present enemy is ethereal like a serpent's hiss in a dark jungle corner. It is like a virus that pollutes the environment. You can hear the hiss, feel its venomous breath but cannot reach the source. It is like a shadow, which cannot be erased without eliminating the body casting it. And the body is Wahhabism.

Before we go any farther, it will be prudent to familiarize ourselves with the definitions of culture and civilization. There is no doubt that if we learn to recognize the enemy, we will surely overcome it. The reason that we should be confident of our ultimate victory is the fact that we have been here before. We have dealt with similar enemies in the past and we have been successful in eliminating it. History has taught us that a culture of violence, however powerful it might appear to be, can never defeat a civilization.

We have just won the third world war against a similar culture of violence - Communism. The Soviet Union is no more. Islamists just like the Communists, believe that the world is divided into two camps, Dar UL Islam (House of peace), consisting of a state that is ruled by Islamists only, and Dar UL Harb (house of war), consisting of everyone who is non-Islamist. And Dar UL Islam has to subjugate Dar UL Harb.

For Communists, the world was divided into a camp occupied by imperialists and capitalists and the other consisting of Communists and progressives. Communists too were obsessed with the idea of subjugating non-Communists. President Harry Truman recognized the threat and said in 1947 that the world is divided in two diametrically opposed systems: one free, and the other bent on subjugating other nations. In today's context, the US represents the free camp and Islamists represent a culture that wants to subjugate us all who love freedoms.
To be continued....