Reconstruction needed to counter terror
Bombs alone won’t be enough to address the issue of terrorism; what is needed is promotion of shared values and deeply-rooted national beliefs
As the rich and famous from all over the political world gathered in Paris for a historical summit on climate change (COP21), the ambience there is marked by a kind of indifference. Rightly or wrongly, the French have other immediate thoughts (including the highest ever registered unemployment rate in October). Following the Paris attacks of November 13, the main question remains: What ‘fighting terrorism’ means.
Many politicians have claimed “we are at war with terrorism”; but it is nonsense. How could one be at war with a concept or a way of thought? Everyone knows the dead-end to where the absurd concept of ‘global war against terrorism’ led. Actually, we are at war with whoever uses terrorism and knowing our enemy is a preliminary step. Then, one should fight that which made the enemy a terrorist.
The Paris attacks were orchestrated by Daesh (the self-proclaimed Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant) extremists. How did that happen? There is no clear answer to that. A first clue is the international crisis in the Middle East — more precisely, the situation in Iraq and in Syria. Daesh is obviously emerging as the culprit. It is why France is at war with the terror group and those who help and finance it. It explains why French President Francois Hollande decided last week to form a “coalition”, which was soon scaled down to a “coordination”, which would gather all those who wanted to join the anti-terror forces. But the matter quickly proved difficult. The enemies of our enemies are not necessarily our friends — see Turkey firing down a Russian fighter jet.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is focused on the Kurds, whom he won’t help if and when attacked by Daesh. Lastly, the Iranian issue and the role of Hezbollah appear on top of all that.
France can insist with its European partners on a reassessment of the Schengen open-frontiers policy. It is clear the present freedom of movement cannot be maintained if the external frontiers of Europe are controlled the way they are currently.
The immediate fight against terrorism, therefore, gradually moves in the direction of what actions France could undertake on its own territory. The first responsibility of any government is to strengthen home security. What should actually begin now is a long and fastidious reconstruction: Improving overall intelligence; making French counter-espionage and national security agencies work together; applying the law with respect to likely terrorists and inventing new ways to monitor them; expelling fundamentalist foreign preachers and insisting that some of France’s foreign ‘friends’ should stop financing them.
Last but not least, another type of reconstruction that must immediately begin is the one that will take longer to implement: Bringing a forgotten section of the population back to society, notably through a complete overhaul of the national education system and smashing suburban ghettos, where police have little influence. This starts with wrecking all kinds of existing systems and eradicating the worst external aspects of communitarianism, but simultaneously promoting shared values and common history and deeply-rooted national beliefs, which should not be torn apart in the name of a masonic-inspired fake laicity.
Should communities live side by side, nobody can keep quiet. Those who defend human values should know why — and be proud of it. Those who condemn barbarity should say it and assume their position.