Panel focuses on war, terrorism
“War on Terrorism,” a topic of the nation, was the subject of a forum held Monday in the Taggart Student Center. The forum, monitored by Randy Simmons, head of the political science department, consisted of a panel of four experts on the subject of war and terrorism.
Panel members discussed the aftermath of Sept. 11’s attack based on President Bush’s statement of retaliation and his declaration of war against terrorism.
“The most basic definition of terrorism is a group who is willing to use political violence against civilians,” said Jeannie Johnson, a former intelligence officer with the CIA.
Johnson, a member of the panel, is also an instructor for the department of political science.
Johnson touched on the steps this country has been making to fight terrorism. She said the United States is freezing the assets of a list of organizations in this country as well as urging its allies to do the same in their countries. And if they refuse to cooperate, the United States. will freeze their assets in the country instead.
First of all, we have to see what the terrorists were after, said Robert Wendzel, a visit professor from the University of Maine.
“It was designed to show the world … maybe America is not so preeminent after all,” Wendzel said. “It was designed to humiliate the U.S. by attacking its key symbols, to spread fear within the U.S. to force changes on its policies and to reduce our overall position throughout the world.”
Wendzel also said Americans must know who they are fighting against in the first place. They have to know what victory means before they start fighting, he said.
“These terrorists are dedicated to a cause. They are willing to die for it as they have proven,” Wendzel said. “Terrorism is a multi-headed monster.”
Wendzel said Americans need to build as wide of a coalition as possible in order to achieve what they are fighting for.
“But in doing so, let’s not be naive. Nations will only give us more than lip service to the extent that it serves their interests, that they will want something in return,” Wendzel said.
The other countries which have voiced their support have a list of terrorists they would love to get rid of, Johnson said.
“China has gone so far as to cast the Taiwanese as potential terrorists,” Johnson said. “You can see the difficulties we are getting into.”
“We cannot give other nations a veto over our decision to protect ourselves,” Wendzel said.
Veronica Ward, an associate professor in international relations, related religion with terrorism. She said these terrorists view themselves as crusaders being engaged in a holy cause. Americans see this war as a fight between good and evil, she said. The difference is that these terrorists see the U.S. as the evil one.
“Timothy McVeigh defines himself as a Christian. To him, no one in the building was innocent. They were all guilty,” Ward said. “There is this mix of religion politics that exists in history.”
Ward said it is critical the United State’s coalition with other countries is based on a shared purpose and a common goal. The issuing of ultimatum, Ward said, is not wise in the building of a long-term coalition.
“Yet ultimatums have been issued,” Ward said. “We need to show sensitivity to the positions of the leaders we are trying to get on our side. We need to be aware of their problem and situation.”
If Americans fail to address these issues, there will be no coalition, Ward said.
Touching on the subject of terrorists, Larry Boothe, a retired Senior Intelligence officer at the CIA, said Americans have been terrorists.
“Our founding fathers on the most part were hunted men by the British,” Boothe said. “They were looked upon by the British as terrorists.”
Boothe said the war Americans are fighting today is a different war. Although still powerful, he said, the nation is not fully prepared to fight this war.
“Osama bin Laden’s goal is to unify and bring the Islamic world under one leadership and one goal, and then use that instrument to dominate the world,” Boothe said.
Boothe posed the question of whether or not we should plead people guilty before they have the chance to defend themselves. He said, in this war people will get hurt and killed but Americans must be patient.
“Our ability to tolerate while we maintain our value structure will be what determines the outcome of this war,” Boothe said. “Terrorism is nothing more than a first step to conventional war.”
“War is serious business,” Wendzel said. “People die.”
When asked if Americans should resume their daily lives or act up, Ward said the reason politicians urge them to go back to normal lives is to reduce the fear within the nation, since fear is one of the terrorists’ primary goals.
When questions were raised concerning when the actual bombing would take place and how Americans would respond, the panel all agreed to one thing: Who are we going to bomb? A student suggested Afghanistan.
“This is not a matter of attack or counterattack,” Boothe said. “This is a matter of will.”