September 11

One year later
The struggle against terrorism must begin at its roots

by Dr. Gordon Smith

In the Centre for Global Studies, we work on the growing interdependence in the world, and in particular how future events can be shaped to enhance our well-being, security and sustainability. In thinking about the attacks on the U.S. a year ago, it’s important to consider the impact of these terrorist acts on global security in the years ahead.

It’s now absolutely clear that al Qaeda is a global terrorist movement with a breadth, capacity and deadliness that far exceeds anything we’ve seen before. The U.S. perceives itself (correctly) as being the principal target. This leads to Americans feeling they must be prepared to defend themselves with whatever it takes.

But there is no agreement within the U.S., much less amongst America’s allies, about whether a pre-emptive strike against Iraq is the best course of action. Apart from the near isolation in which the U.S. finds itself on this question, there are real doubts about the likelihood of such an attack succeeding.

The U.S. is too focused on the direct manifestations of the threat and not sufficiently on its roots. Without dealing with the roots of the current terror, it will be impossible to deal successfully with its manifestation in al Qaeda.

The world is paying a huge price for the failure to find peace, security and prosperity in the Middle East. Dependence on oil from that region has enormously influenced U.S. and, in different ways, European policies. The democratic deficit is nowhere greater than in the Arab countries of the Middle East, with dramatic consequences.
The U.S. single-mindedness has become part of the problem. It is significant that some of the first President Bush’s principal advisers have cautioned against an attack on Iraq (James Baker and Brent Scowcroft, to name two).

Canada needs to play a stronger role in promoting peace through diplomatic means and, potentially, through the deployment of peacekeepers. It also needs to create employment through development assistance to help stabilize those countries where the only alternative to economic and political dissatisfaction appears to be terrorism. This may seem far-fetched with no apparent end in sight to the violence in Palestine and Israel, but there is no alternative.

Gordon Smith is director of UVic’s Centre for Global Studies.