Mengting Jiang Final Draft Three

Mengting Jiang

Kristen McNair

ENC 1101

13 June 2010

Fight or Help?

Today, we have already entered the economic globalization era. As the degree of economic globalization increases, more and more countries all over the world are benefiting from it and are enhancing global cooperation in order to create an environment that is more suitable for long-term development. On the other hand, there are terrorist organizations that have been using all kinds of technology, including the internet and other media, to transmit their terror and launch a worldwide campaign of fear. The global wave of terrorism has posed a major threat to world peace and security and has become a serious international scourge. Although the international community are fighting against all forms of terrorism and have tried many ways to crack down on it, including force, supervising the internet, security checks, and so on, terrorist actions still happen and never seem to stop. There are too many complex factors that cause terrorism, but one thing is certain that terrorism involves a great hatred towards the asymmetric and unequal economic development and the hegemonistic and coercive aspect of globalization. The unbalanced economic development between developed countries and developing countries leads to inequality and hostility that breeds a large part of terrorism such as terrorist groups in Afghanistan and Yemen who target the United States and the United Kingdom. Therefore, as a potential strategy to resolve terrorism, the international community should make efforts to help these countries and regions develop their

economy, ensure a better life and narrow the widening economic gap to decrease their hatred against the developed countries.

The current global wave of terrorism, in many ways, originated from and was fueled by events in the Middle East. Muslim fundamentalists are against the wealthy western countries, in particular, the US. They use the most extreme way to abreact their resentment, so where does this radical militant element in Islam come from? Why do they hate the US so much even in order to kill the Americans regardless of their lives?

“In medieval times Islamic countries were centers of creativity, learning and wealth. This

intellectual tradition in Islam began to decline after the defeat of Islam by Christian

knights during the several medieval Crusades to seize Palestine from Muslim

control. Beginning with the Protestant Reformation, Western nations began their

ascendancy in science, technology and economic development, while Islamic areas

remained isolated under a series of tyrants and despots and eventually came under the

control of Western colonial powers. Muslims feel humiliation, pain and anger at the

perceived unfairness of their diminished status in the world. Instead of blaming their

leaders, or themselves, or the exigencies of life for their situation, their despotic leaders

encourage Muslims to blame their diminished status on foreign nations in general and the

Christian west in particular, for continuing the Christian Crusade against Islam. In recent

days Islamic frustration and anger has been increasingly directed toward the United

States for what it perceives as economic and cultural decadence (Arthur G Broadhurst).”Therefore, most people generally believe religion is the primary cause of terrorism. However, the Suicide Terrorism Database in Flinders University in Australia, the most comprehensive in the world analyzes the information on 90 per cent of all suicide attacks between 1981 and 2006 and shows that although religion can play an important role in the terrorism as religion is a powerful force and it can inspire people to do all kinds of

things without question, the deep motivations of terrorist attacks are a mixture of a variety of motives, including political, economic, humiliation, revenge, and so on. Although most people can agree that using violence as a means of coercion is wrong, somehow the terrorist is able to rationalize a violent acts against innocent people to make social, economic, or political change in order to gain what they are pursuing.

Terrorism is the product of intense conflict at home and abroad. With the deterioration of developed and developing countries relations, the intensification of poverty in developing countries, vulnerable countries and nations are incapable of rivaling developed countries in economy, and meanwhile they perceive that their culture and ideology are also increasingly marginalized. Many countries are enjoying the benefits brought on by globalization, while a considerable number of nations have gained less from the economic globalization process are in danger of being marginalized thus lead them to become poorer such as Iraq, south Lebanon, and Iran. Terrorism organizations use various kinds of media to transmit that their present state is due to advanced countries plundering their resources for expanding. In addition, long-term collective suffering, humiliation and helplessness cause many people believe to a great extent that the developed countries, especially some Western countries, are threatening their survival and developments.

The poor conditions of the regions and countries are more likely to breed terrorism such as Afghanistan and Pakistan. People who live there are suffering from starvation and endless war without hope. Desperation, discontentment and indignation pervade their societies. However, they still strive for a better life as well as a bright future. As a result, terrorism organizations tend to instill hatred to ordinary people, stir them to

violence and make them believe they are fighting for free, justice, and a bright future, and so that terrorists believe that they are justified in their violent acts in order to accomplish a more important religious, social, or politically motivated reform. People are easily lured to use the extreme to fight for their survival since it seems that there is no other way to attain it. If the international community give them more humanitarian assistance, help them develop their economy and achieve the goal what they are pursuing, do they still need to fight for them? In “The Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention”, Friedman states that “once people get a taste for whatever you want to call it—economic independence, a better lifestyle, and a better life for their child or children—they grab on to that and don’t want to give it up (63).”

So how can the international community work together to help these regions and countries develop economy, thus ensuring a better life? The volatile security situation is the first challenge that most of these countries are facing. The United Nations should take its responsibility to dispatch peacekeeping forces and police officers to maintain the order in the developing countries. Meanwhile, helping mediate the national and international conflicts and restore peace and stability in these regions is also in need. In addition, international community should organize the manpower, money, equipments and technology to help them develop the economy and ultimately guide them to a self-governing economics. For example, we can provide them with free equipment and technology to help the local citizens create economic opportunities and job opportunities to promote their living standards and ensure everyone a safer and more stable life.

Helping them develop the economy is not the final goal. What can bring about behind the development of economy and benefit their communities is the most important

thing that international community should keep in mind. One such thing is education. Now in Pakistan, most poor children attend religious schools because they provide free education and books. However, many of these schools propagandize the "jihad" ideology. As a result, it is sad to see schools where the students should learn the knowledge and morals become a place that preaches terrorism. With the economy development, it is essential to promote education and to broaden their outlook of the entire world. Therefore, if we pay more attention to them and help them develop their economy, as well as promote their living standards rather than just be concerned for our own development, they will gradually realize that their survival and interests are not threatened by the west. This will more or less decrease their hostility towards us so that tension between both sides can be reconciled.

In conclusion, eradicating terrorism is an extremely challenging job and has long way to go since there are too many complex factors involved in it. We need to find the root causes of terrorism instead of merely using force against them. Meanwhile, we should strengthen international cooperation to narrow the gap in wealth, fairly use the resources and establish a rational new international economic order. Through helping these impoverished developing countries to provide a democratic, fair, and friendly environment and ensure them a better life, the situation can be appeased thus probably eliminated in the future.

Work cited

1. Esposito, John L. (1999). The Islamic Threat: Myth or Reality. 3rd edition. New

York: Oxford University Press.

2. Thomas Friedman. “The Dell Theory of Conflict Prevention.” Emerging, A Reader.

3rd edition (2009): 63

3. Arthur G Broadhurst. “The Christian Humanist.” 2006-2010