Thugs of our time

Former prime minister Brian Mulroney remarked after 9/11: “The root cause of terrorism is the terrorist.” He is absolutely right. Terrorism is an act of violence perpetrated by some individuals or groups and their victims are usually ordinary people. They rarely attack police and military because they cannot terrorize them and lack the capability.

Their goals are equally convoluted. Individual terrorists are motivated by their fantasy over killing people for the sake of killing. Organized terrorist groups like alQaida and their acolytes are motivated by their vision of an atavistic Islam where women and girls would be barred from education and where all western ideas like democracy and freedom of expression would be banned. Recently, the Pakistani Taliban tried to kill 15-year-old Malala Yousafzai because she spoke about women’s right to education.

The only way to counter terrorism is by systematic police, intelligence and military operations. Terrorist networks must be infiltrated and the perpetrators must be rounded up.

A look at history may be in order. When Lord William Bentinck arrived as the governor general of India in 1828, the country was in the grip of terror perpetrated by a group of religious cultists and robbers known as Thugs (the word “thug” is derived from them). Faced with the terrorist menace, Lord Bentinck created an intelligence organization called Central Intelligence Department (CID) and authorized Col. Nicholson to eliminate the Thugs. Col. Nicholson, with the help of local officials, infiltrated the Thugs and in a series of policemilitary operations, he wiped them out. The 19th century British justice was swift, the scourge of Thugs was completely wiped out.

Terrorists are thugs of our time and they must be met with resolute security and military counter-measures. Both Robert Sibley and Terry Glavin have written excellent articles which must be essential readings for Trudeau the Younger.

MAHMOOD ELAHI, Ottawa