Reflections on an engineered tragedy – 9-11

As we approach the ten year anniversary of the human created disaster that is now known as 9/11 (that only leaves 364 good days left) it is, perhaps time to reflect.

The fall of the twin towers (and more specifically, the aftermath of the event) arguably made Osama Bin Laden the most successful asymmetrical war fighter in the history of mankind. It is time that we acknowledge this unpleasant fact, so that we can stop adding to his success.

While the 9/11 events were certainly spectacular, they were in and of themselves utterly insignificant on a strategic scale. The tragic loss of life and small loss of property (in proportion to the US GDP) in no way directly hindered the ability of the USA to continue to thrive, to grow, and to be the beacon of liberty and hope and freedom that so infuriates zealots and enemies of personal liberty.

The measured initial US response was effective and prompt, and sufficient to display that we would respond in kind to attacks on our soil.

Have we gone beyond that initial sensible response, playing into the hands of those who would deprive us of our liberties?

The goal of asymmetrical warfare (AKA terrorism) is to leverage the resources of the enemy against itself. This is done by utilizing the publicity and outrage that inevitably follows attacks on the typical target of terrorism – civilian infrastructure.

When a car suicide bomber “earns his 72” Instant global publicity is the most important secondary effect of the blast. For $500 of explosives, the well chosen attack may harvest $50,000,000 in publicity. The fact that the attack is denounced by the media is irrelevant –potential supporters will only see this as a sign of the strength of the group responsible.

As nice as a 50,000,000% return on investment might be, if the perpetrators of an attack are sufficiently brilliant in the choice of their target and managing the resulting media, that is just the beginning.

If they are especially clever, or their adversary not so, the attack might manage to lure the victimized organization into a disproportionate response. This will multiply the dividends reaped from the attack in the form of high economic losses , skyrocketing military expenditures, and reduced efficiency of the victim organization due to increased security overhead.

I think it can be safely said that the 9/11 attacks have succeeded in meeting these goals and more.

Through our reaction to the attacks, we find ourselves a changed nation. We have incrementally reduced our quality of life and our expectations of personal liberty. We have spent trillions of dollars. We have cast ourselves in the passive role of the victim, who must act, not by calculated measures, but rather in gross dramatic gesture.

I do not think that the perpetrators of 9/11 could have hoped for a better result.

Perhaps it is time to put this behind us and move towards a progressive, non reactionary policy. We must recognize that our enemy is not a government, not a religion, not a band of renegades, and not a well organized terrorist organization – it is an ideology of hatred and violence.

An ideology cannot be destroyed by violence, unless we are willing to engage in genocide against the entire culture that harbors it. This tactic has been effectively employed historically by almost every major military power in history up until recently, but we seem to have come to a consensus that we are more enlightened now, and that this type of thing is no longer acceptable.

We must continue to vigorously protect our nation and proportionally respond to attackers. We must make it exquisitely uncomfortable to be associated with an attack on the USA, with minimal visibility and effect on uninvolved people, and while not putting excessive resources or manpower in harms’ way. We must make no concession in our way of life, and give no quarter to the enemy through sacrificing excessive time, energy, liberty, or mindshare.

Security cannot be assured. We all accept that risks are unavoidable when we drive, and that the costs to eliminate these risks are too high to accept (a 15mph universal speed limit?). The same goes for security within our borders.

We must learn to combat virulent, destructive ideologies with a proportionate response both militarily and ideologicaly, reducing the asymmetry of asymmetrical warfare so that our greater resources become our strength and not our vulnerability.

Fellow Americans, let us move on, and stop paying dividends to Al Qaeda. There are only 365 days in a year – if we marked each of our tragedies as a day on the calendar of our culture, we would live a life of perpetual grief.

Each time we remember that fateful day with anything more than sadness, we make a small deposit in the mindshare bank of Osama mutual… a deposit that given the opportunity, the purveyors of hate and fear will be more than happy to cash in.