17 February 2005
War on anxiety
War on anxiety Presumably a War on Terror aims to reduce fear. So why are we not winning? The US Department of Fatherland Security could usefully study lessons learned in London.
The 1970s saw a sustained campaign of bombing here. The IRA did it to undermine the political process in Northern Ireland. But we knew what they wanted and, despite grumbling about what we did or did not owe the people of Northern Ireland, were disinclined to cede the point.
By way of refreshing contrast, the US authorities and media paint the destroyers of the Two Towers as inexplicably evil, and brim full of unreasoning hatred for Americans. No one seems to have noticed that like the IRA they have an agenda — in this case to undermine US support for the despotic regimes that man the Middle Eastern gas pumps. (Yes, since you ask, Iraq under Hussein would have been high on that list. Quite right: bit of an own goal, that.)
The effect of this is to increase terror. Bin Laden’s men seem more terrifying than terrorists. Terrorists want something you could give. Bin Laden’s scary monsters are represented as willing nothing but our annihilation.
I know we Brits have our famous upper lips to maintain, but the Dept of Fatherland Security might just take note that during the London bombing campaign, with bombs exploding now and again in central London, our authorities were urging calm and so on. No Minister of Fear yelling CODE ORANGE. Some might think that more likely to increase terror than reduce it? Just a thought.
Or — wait a minute — the US administration and British government couldn’t be deliberately frightening us — could they?
If they thought we were not frightened enough to surrender our freedoms promptly, would they be tempted to let an attack slip through? Or — did that already happen?
Posted by SJT at February 17, 2005 01:26 AMTrackback Pings
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