Don't be afraid of terrorism

By Brian Fishman, May 7, 2010 Friday, May 7, 2010 - 10:37 AM Share

Terrorists use violence to produce fear, which in turn compels counterproductive behavior in a target society. It is unclear what Faisal Shahzad thought he was going to accomplish by setting off a bomb in Times Square, but many of his supporters on jihadi forums were heartened by his effort, even if disappointed that the bomb produced more fizzle than bang.

One poster on an English-language jihadi forum argued that the attack in New York was a success despite the bomb's failure, writing, "even now the kuffar [infidels] are scared beyond our imagination, it surely has sent a wave of terror through their evil souls.…" Some American analysts have similarly argued that jihadi tactical failure still equals strategic success.

Americans should not succumb to this logic. No doubt the Times Square attempt illustrates a continued and evolving threat to Americans. But it is also a reminder that jihadists make many mistakes. We were lucky to avoid a deadly attack, but al Qaeda and its friends have to get lucky to pull one off.

The Times Square failure says as much about jihadi incompetence as American vulnerability, yet American discourse in the wake of the attack often reinforces the narrative of fear the jihadists hope to produce. U.S. counterterrorism strategy should encourage the American body politic to respond to attempted (and successful) attacks with determination and confidence rather than fear.

Brian Fishman is a counterterrorism research fellow at the New America Foundation.

EXPLORE:AFPAK, AFPAK CHANNEL, PAKISTAN, TALIBAN, TERRORISM

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LAL QILA

3:12 PM ET

May 7, 2010

Bad advice from Fishman

Anything that causes pain must be feared and avoided.

We have to find ways to stop the pain if it involves removing American occupation armies from Iraq and Afghanistan and Israeli occupation army from Occupied Palestine.

Remember Occupation has a price; some fools may have believed the lies pedaled by the largely Jewish Neocons; but now its time to pay the Pied Piper.

Faisal Shahzad is the result for wrong-headed Neocon inspired wars against Iraq, Afghanistan and beyond.

JOHNBRAGG

7:48 PM ET

May 9, 2010

Good idea--let's think medically.

Consider jihad as a mental illness, which is endemic in Pakistan.

The answer is obvious--quarantine.

Prohibit non-US nationals who have been to Pakistan without exceptionally good reason from entering the US.

Prohibit US citizens from traveling to Pakistan except on US government or other tightly licensed business.

LAL QILA

12:26 AM ET

May 11, 2010

I have a better answer

How about prohibiting all supplies to American Occupation army to go through Pakistan and shut this illegal American occupation of Afghanistan once and for all.

And stop the charade of helping Afghanistan, whilst everyone knows that America is really after Pakistan's nuclear weapons and trying to pressure Iran into subjugation, just like what it has been doing with Iraq for the past 20 years.

SURESH SHETH

4:21 PM ET

May 7, 2010

Pakistan was, is & always will be terror center of the world

The whitewash about the real culprits behind continuing terror threat from Pakistan in Western foreign policy establishment and news media continues.

Pakistani governments have been given an intentional free pass for their role in creating this global menace.

Nobody forced Pakistani government to facilitate relocation of Osama bin Laden from Sudan to Afghanistan in 1996. Democratic government of Pakistan chose to do so of its own free will.

Ex-CIA official Bruce Riedel said in an interview on 1/29/2009 that ''In Pakistan, the jihadist Frankenstein monster that was created by the Pakistani army and the Pakistani intelligence service, is now increasingly turning on its creators. It's trying to take over the laboratory.'' Pakistani Army and Intelligence Service (ISI) chose to create this ‘jihadist Frankenstein monster’ with full blessings and financing by Pakistan’s democratic governments in 1990s.

Sandy Berger, Bill Clinton’s national security advisor told 9/11 Commission in March, 2004 that ’Pakistani Army was the midwife of Taliban’.

Declassified DIA Washington D.C., "IIR (intelligence Information Report) Pakistan Involvement in Afghanistan," dated November 7, 1996 states how "Pakistan's ISI is heavily involved in Afghanistan," and also details different roles various ISI officers play in Afghanistan. Stating that Pakistan uses sizable numbers of its Pashtun-based Frontier Corps in Taliban-run operations in Afghanistan, the document clarifies that, "these Frontier Corps elements are utilized in command and control; training; and when necessary combat“.

Declassified U.S. Department of State, Cable "Pakistan Support for Taliban" from Islamabad dated Sept. 26, 2000 states that "while Pakistani support for the Taliban has been long-standing, the magnitude of recent support is unprecedented." In response Washington orders the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad to immediately confront Pakistani officials on the issue and to advise Islamabad that the U.S. has "seen reports that Pakistan is providing the Taliban with materiel, fuel, funding, technical assistance and military advisors. [The Department] also understand[s] that large numbers of Pakistani nationals have recently moved into Afghanistan to fight for the Taliban, apparently with the tacit acquiescence of the Pakistani government." Additional reports indicate that direct Pakistani involvement in Taliban military operations has increased.

For the American and other Western apologists who claim that ‘Pakistan is also the victim of terrorism’, following are some observations by UN report on Benazir Bhutto’s killing published on April 15, 2010:

- "The jihadi organizations are Sunni groups based largely in Punjab. Members of these groups aided the Taliban effort in Afghanistan at the behest of the ISI and later cultivated ties with Al-Qaida and Pakistani Taliban groups. A common characteristic of these jihadi groups was their adherence to the Deobandi Sunni sect of Islam, their strong anti-Shia bias, and their use by the Pakistani military and intelligence agencies in Afghanistan and Kashmir".

- "The PAKISTANI MILITARY ORGANIZED AND SUPPORTED THE TALIBAN TO TAKE CONTROL OF AFGHANISTAN IN 1996. These policies resulted in active linkages between elements of the military and the Establishment with radical Islamists, at the expense of national secular forces, and the entrenchment of religious extremist and other militant groups in the tribal areas and Punjab.

- “Elements within the Pakistani Establishment ……. retain links with radical Islamists, especially the militant jihadi and Taliban groups and are sympathetic to their cause or view them as strategic assets for asserting Pakistan’s role in the region. The ISI cultivated these relationships, initially in the context of the Cold War and the anti-Soviet war in Afghanistan in the 1980’s and later in support of Kashmiri insurgents. WHILE SEVERAL PAKISTANI CURRENT AND FORMER INTELLIGENCE OFFICIALS TOLD THE COMMISSION THAT THEIR AGENCIES NO LONGER HAD SUCH TIES IN 2007, VIRTUALLY ALL INDEPENDENT ANALYSTS PROVIDED INFORMATION TO THE CONTRARY AND AFFIRMED THE ONGOING NATURE OF MANY SUCH LINKS."

LAL QILA

4:43 PM ET

May 7, 2010

SURESH SHETH - Still cutting and pasting the same article

Stop spamming.

LAL QILA

12:34 AM ET

May 11, 2010

Is America trying to encirle Iran with its permanent bases

Is America trying to encirle Iran with its permanent bases in Afghanistan; is the real purpose for American invasion and occupation of Afghanistan is to harass and terrorise Iran?

See here: http://lalqila.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/is-america-trying-to-encirle-iran-with-its-permanent-bases-in-afghanistan-is-the-real-purpose-for-american-invasion-and-occupation-of-afghanistan-is-to-harass-and-terroise-iran/