The Shocking Attacks from September 11^th and the Lessons to be Drawn from Them

Kemal BURKAY

The terrorist attacks, through the use of hijacked aircraft, in the USA did not only shock the USA but also the whole world. The famous twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York were razed to the ground. There are estimates of tens of thousands of deaths. A section of the Pentagon, the grandiose war apparatus of the USA, has collapsed in on itself with talk of there being 800 dead. The prestige of the USA, the world’s only super-power following the collapse of the Soviet Union, has suffered severely.

Forty-eight hours have passed since the attack. The groups who carried out the strikes, and their backers, have not yet been clearly identified. Current suspicions and evidence point towards the Saudi Arabian business man Osama bin Laden. He currently resides in Afghanistan and has already perpetrated a series of attacks on US embassies in a number of states.

Even though terror attacks from fanatical Islamic groups had been anticipated, abroad, as well as in the USA, nobody had envisaged a strike of these proportions. What happened in reality had only until then be known in science fiction films. The USA’s unpreparedness made the destruction so much more the worse.

Reactions against the attacks are also currently strong. State leaders from virtually every country, except Iraq, have condemned the attacks. NATO have for the first time employed Article 5 and have deemed the strike to have been an attack against all member states. The USA are preparing themselves to carry out severe retribution on those groups and supporters who perpetrated the attacks. As in the Gulf War, they are attempting to build up a large coalition. The US leadership have even indicated that they will use nuclear weapons if necessary.

The days and months before us will be significant. Many commentators speak of September 11^th as the beginning of a new era, resulting in major changes.

What can happen? The USA and her allies could begin military operations to “wipe out terrorism”. That could result in some countries declaring war. This could involve, in particular, the Middle East, Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine and even Iran and Syria. Israel have already used the occasion to enter into autonomous Palestinian regions with tanks and artillery, and have continued their destruction and murder of the population.

US and NATO defence strategies are being reassessed. The belief that terrorism is a “global enemy” has become stronger with corresponding co-operative measures being taken. Russia and China could also provide support in this respect. Everybody has their own wound, their own “terrorist enemy”. Previously, they had used them against each other; now they have come to a consensus and intend to destroy them cooperatively.

It is very likely that expenditure on arms and security will drastically rise in western countries, above all in the USA. A “terrorist hunt” is evident or, at the least, concentrated measures against “potential terrorists”. This could lead to increased monitoring, suspicion, paranoia and a type of McCarthyism.

But is this the solution to the problems? Will this all be enough to eradicate the fears of the West (leaving to one side the rest of the world for now) with their economic and military power and affluence?

Clearly not! Let’s ignore for now countries such as Turkey, whose mentally and physically handicapped governing regime persistently attempt to sustain a tradition of barbarism, and know no methods other than violence to deal with problems. But the USA, and above all the governments of the European countries, should be intelligent and experienced enough to realise that such problems can not be resolved by violence.

With terrorism, as with any other problem, consideration must be given to the conditions under which it has arisen–  what are its causes. As long as the causes are not eradicated, as long as the conditions are not altered, terrorism will not be prevented.

Terrorist attacks, which cost the lives of civilians and innocent people or cause them great fear, are certainly repugnant. Whoever carries out such acts is to be condemned. They certainly do not achieve any “honourable” aims. But it is superficial and deceptive to blame only the terrorist for terrorism.

In many instances the causes of terrorism is the misery and the injustice of the powerful who complain about terrorism. As long as injustice and oppression is not prevented in the world, at national and international levels, as long as violence is used as a tool by the powerful, it is inevitable that there will be counter violence.

The causes which kindled the terrorist attacks in the USA most probably arose from the fires in Palestine and Afghanistan. These fires, however, were not started by the oppressed, poor people of Afghanistan or Palestine, but they are rather the products of major international conflicts.

For example, is the radical and fanatical Islamism which the West complains about, not a product “green belt” policies, which the USA, above all, followed during the Cold War against the Soviet Union. The USA and the dictatorial regimes of certain regions, used Islam as an antidote against communism and implemented it, nurtured it and used it against left wing and democratic forces. This means that they now reap what they have sown.

It is necessary to rid our world of such warring and conflicting groups. But this is not possible with tanks, artillery, fighter aircraft and nuclear weapons. It is only possible through conscientious policies. Problems must be resolved on the basis of dialogue, reconciliation and a just peace. And the solutions reached must be reasonable and just and accepted by all sides of the dispute.

If the recent attacks are to teach the USA and the whole of mankind anything, then they did say the following: military might cannot guarantee security. It cannot be avoided that even the largest military complex, with the most sophisticated of measures, still has weaknesses. Technological superiority cannot be relied upon alone because anyone, who has the resources, can use such technology whether they are a super power, such as the USA, or a small group.

No country can consider itself secure as long as there are warring parties in the world, and as long as there is injustice and oppression. As long as there is exploitation and poverty, as long as one part of the world lives in selfish luxury while another part suffers from poverty and hunger, there will be no peace in the world and nobody will be able to sleep safely.

Therefore, it is necessary to achieve justice for everyone in the world, for all nations and for all groups, to respect the rights of all people and all nations, and to overcome the problems of poverty.

A permanent and universal peace in the world can only be achieved in this way. Security will not be effective if it is only sustained by weapons and threats, only when it is based on peace.

Following the shocking attacks with which the USA has been confronted, the physically and mentally handicapped government of Turkey has also attempted to make gains for itself. They proclaimed as if in chorus, ”Turkey has suffered badly under terrorism. Now you can see for yourselves, we were right! This should be a lesson to the Europeans!”. In this way they attempt to justify their policies of denial and terror which they have pursued for decades against the Kurdish people.

This is a repugnant and disgraceful contortion of the facts – it is demagogic. Turkey have not been right. Turkey have not been fighting against terrorism. This regime, who have been known since the Ottoman period for genocide, barbarism and policies of torture, have not been fighting against terrorism but for the oppression of the Kurdish people (who campaign for their legitimate rights) and against the left and the forces within the country who support freedom and democracy. What they describe as terrorism is the product of their oppression. They have even contributed to the terrorist organisations to obtain justification for their policies of aggression. If the Kurds were to have their rights acknowledged and their human rights respected, there would be no terrorism in Turkey.

Is then terrorism by individuals or groups bad and the oppression and terrorism by states lawful?

The attitude of people, who organize genocide, torture and barbarism and parade themselves as an example of the civilised world, is not just strange, but also repellent.

No problems can be resolved with such logic. On the contrary, they will only become more difficult and more extensive. The Turkish state has failed to resolve the conflict even after having turned Kurdistan on its head, destroying 4,000 Kurdish villages, many towns, displacing 4-5 million Kurdish people from their country and slaughtering 30,000 of them.

The Turkish government should be the first to draw lessons from the attacks in New York and Washington. It has again been shown that it is not enough to be powerful and to live in safety. Even the most modern of war machines are sometimes useless. Violence just breeds an endless spiral of counter violence.

The Turkish government should above all become aware of these facts. They have to learn that the problems of the Turkish and Kurdish people have to be resolved reasonably, through dialogue and by using peaceful methods, before even worse catastrophes take place. They should acknowledge democracy for the Turkish people and freedom for the Kurdish people. In their foreign policies, they should refrain from persistently demonstrating their power.

Only in this way can “Peace in the Country, Peace in the World” be achieved.