{"id":3971,"date":"2015-11-29T19:26:17","date_gmt":"2015-11-29T19:26:17","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/?p=3971"},"modified":"2015-11-29T19:26:17","modified_gmt":"2015-11-29T19:26:17","slug":"uri-avnery-the-reign-of-absurdiocy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/?p=3971","title":{"rendered":"Uri Avnery: The Reign of Absurdiocy"},"content":{"rendered":"

November 28, 2015<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is no such thing as „international terrorism“.<\/strong>
\nTo declare war on „international terrorism“ is nonsense.
\nPoliticians who do so are either fools or cynics, and
\nprobably both.<\/p>\n

Terrorism is a weapon. Like cannon. We would laugh at
\nsomebody who declares war on „international artillery“. A
\ncannon belongs to an army, and serves the aims of that
\narmy. The cannon of one side fire against the cannon of the
\nother.<\/p>\n

Terrorism is a method of operation. It is often used by
\noppressed peoples, including the French Resistance to the
\nNazis in WW II. We would laugh at anyone who declared war
\non \u201cinternational resistance\u201d.<\/p>\n

Carl von Clausewitz, the Prussian military thinker,
\nfamously said that „war is the continuation of politics by
\nother means“. If he had lived with us today, he might have
\nsaid: „Terrorism is a continuation of policy by other
\nmeans.“<\/p>\n

Terrorism means, literally, to frighten the victims into
\nsurrendering to the will of the terrorist.<\/p>\n

Terrorism is a weapon. Generally it is the weapon of the
\nweak. Of those who have no atom bombs, like the ones which
\nwere dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which terrorized
\nthe Japanese into surrender. Or the aircraft which
\ndestroyed Dresden in the (vain) attempt to frighten the
\nGermans into giving up.<\/p>\n

Since most of the groups and countries using terrorism have
\ndifferent aims, often contradicting each other, there is
\nnothing „international“ about it. Each terrorist campaign
\nhas a character of its own. Not to mention the fact that
\nnobody considers himself (or herself) a terrorist, but
\nrather a fighter for God, Freedom or Whatever.<\/p>\n

(I cannot restrain myself from boasting that long ago I
\ninvented the formula: „One man’s terrorist is the other
\nman’s freedom fighter“.)<\/p>\n

MANY ORDINARY Israelis felt deep satisfaction after the
\nParis events. „Now those bloody Europeans feel for once
\nwhat we feel all the time!“<\/p>\n

Binyamin Netanyahu, a diminutive thinker but a brilliant
\nsalesman, has hit on the idea of inventing a direct link
\nbetween jihadist terrorism in Europe and Palestinian
\nterrorism in Israel and the occupied territories.<\/p>\n

It is a stroke of genius: if they are one and the same,
\nknife-wielding Palestinian teenagers and Belgian devotees
\nof ISIS, then there is no Israeli-Palestinian problem, no
\noccupation, no settlements. Just Muslim fanaticism.
\n(Ignoring, by the way, the many Christian Arabs in the
\nsecular Palestinian „terrorist“ organizations.)<\/p>\n

This has nothing to do with reality. Palestinians who want
\nto fight and die for Allah go to Syria. Palestinians \u2013 both
\nreligious and secular \u2013 who shoot, knife or run over
\nIsraeli soldiers and civilians these days want freedom from
\nthe occupation and a state of their own.<\/p>\n

This is such an obvious fact that even a person with the
\nlimited IQ of our present cabinet ministers could grasp it.
\nBut if they did, they would have to face very unpleasant
\nchoices concerning the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.<\/p>\n

So let’s stick to the comfortable conclusion: they kill us
\nbecause they are born terrorists, because they want to meet
\nthe promised 72 virgins in paradise, because they are
\nanti-Semites. So, as Netanyahu happily forecasts, we shall
\n„live forever by our sword“.<\/p>\n

TRAGIC AS the results of each terrorist event may be, there
\nis something absurd about the European reaction to recent
\nevents.<\/p>\n

The height of absurdiocy was reached in Brussels, when a
\nlone terrorist on the run paralyzed an entire capital city
\nfor days without a single shot being fired. It was the
\nultimate success of terrorism in the most literal sense:
\nusing fear as a weapon.<\/p>\n

But the reaction in Paris was not much better. The number
\nof victims of the atrocity was large, but similar to the
\nnumber killed on the roads in France every couple of weeks.
\nIt was certainly far smaller than the number of victims of
\none hour of World War II. But rational thought does not
\ncount. Terrorism works on the perception of the victims.<\/p>\n

It seems incredible that ten mediocre individuals, with a
\nfew primitive weapons, could cause world-wide panic. But it
\nis a fact. Bolstered by the mass media, which thrive on
\nsuch events, local terrorist acts turn themselves nowadays
\ninto world-wide threats. The modern media, by their very
\nnature, are the terrorist’s best friend. Terror could not
\nflourish without them.<\/p>\n

The next best friend of the terrorist is the politician. It
\nis almost impossible for a politician to resist the
\ntemptation to ride on the wave of panic. Panic creates
\n„national unity“, the dream of every ruler. Panic creates
\nthe longing for a „strong leader“. This is a basic human
\ninstinct.<\/p>\n

Francois Hollande is a typical example. A mediocre yet
\nshrewd politician, he seized the opportunity to pose as a
\nleader. „C’est la guerre!“ he declared, and whipped up a
\nnational frenzy. Of course this is no „guerre“. Not World
\nWar III. Just a terrorist attack by a hidden enemy.
\nIndeed, one of the facts disclosed by these events is the
\nincredible foolishness of the political leaders all around.
\nThey do not understand the challenge. They react to
\nimagined threats and ignore the real ones. They do not know
\nwhat to do. So they do what comes naturally: make speeches,
\nconvene meetings and bomb somebody (no matter who and what
\nfor).<\/p>\n

Not understanding the malady, their remedy is worse than
\nthe disease itself. Bombing causes destruction, destruction
\ncreates new enemies who thirst for revenge. It is a direct
\ncollaboration with the terrorists.<\/p>\n

It was a sad spectacle to see all these world leaders, the
\ncommanders of powerful nations, running around like mice in
\na maze, meeting, speechifying, uttering nonsensical
\nstatements, totally unable to deal with the crisis.<\/p>\n

THE PROBLEM is indeed far more complicated than simple
\nminds would believe, because of an unusual fact: the enemy
\nthis time is not a nation, not a state, not even a real
\nterritory, but an undefined entity: an idea, a state of
\nmind, a movement that does have a territorial base of sorts
\nbut is not a real state.<\/p>\n

This is not a completely unprecedented phenomenon: more
\nthan a hundred years ago, the anarchist movement committed
\nterrorist acts all over the place without having a
\nterritorial base at all. And 900 years ago a religious sect
\nwithout a country, the Assassins (a corruption of the
\nArabic word for „hashish users“), terrorized the Muslim
\nworld.<\/p>\n

I don’t know how to fight the Islamic State (or rather
\nNon-State) effectively. I strongly believe that nobody
\nknows. Certainly not the nincompoops who man (and woman)
\nthe various governments.<\/p>\n

I am not sure that even a territorial invasion would
\ndestroy this phenomenon. But even such an invasion seems
\nunlikely. The Coalition of the Unwilling put together by
\nthe US seems disinclined to put „boots on the ground“. The
\nonly forces who could try \u2013 the Iranians and the Syrian
\ngovernment army \u2013 are hated by the US and its local allies.<\/p>\n

Indeed, if one is looking for an example of total
\ndisorientation, bordering on lunacy, it is the inability of
\nthe US and the European powers to choose between the
\nAssad-Iran-Russia axis and the IS-Saudi-Sunni camp. Add the
\nTurkish-Kurdish problem, the Russian-Turkish animosity and
\nthe Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and the picture is still
\nfar from complete.<\/p>\n

(For history-lovers, there is something fascinating about
\nthe reemergence of the centuries-old struggle between
\nRussia and Turkey in this new setting. Geography trumps
\neverything else, after all.)<\/p>\n

It has been said that war is far too important to leave to
\nthe generals. The present situation is far too complicated
\nto leave to the politicians. But who else is there?<\/p>\n

ISRAELIS BELIEVE (as usual) that we can teach the world. We
\nknow terrorism. We know what to do.<\/p>\n

But do we?<\/p>\n

For weeks now, Israelis have lived in a panic. For lack of
\na better name, it is called „the wave of terror“. Every day
\nnow, two, three, four youngsters, including 13-year old
\nchildren, attack Israelis with knives or run them over with
\ncars, and are generally shot dead on the spot. Our renowned
\narmy tries everything, including draconian reprisals
\nagainst the families and collective punishment of villages,
\nwithout avail.<\/p>\n

These are individual acts, often quite spontaneous, and
\ntherefore it is well-nigh impossible to prevent them. It is
\nnot a military problem. The problem is political,
\npsychological.<\/p>\n

Netanyahu tries to ride this wave like Hollande and
\ncompany. He cites the Holocaust (likening a 16-year old boy
\nfrom Hebron to a hardened SS officer at Auschwitz) and
\ntalks endlessly about anti-Semitism.<\/p>\n

All in order to obliterate one glaring fact: the occupation
\nwith its daily, indeed hourly and minutely, chicanery of
\nthe Palestinian population. Some government ministers don’t
\neven hide anymore that the aim is to annex the West Bank
\nand eventually drive out the Palestinian people from their
\nhomeland.<\/p>\n

There is no direct connection between IS terrorism around
\nthe world and the Palestinian national struggle for
\nstatehood. But if they are not solved, in the end the
\nproblems will merge \u2013 and a far more powerful IS will unite
\nthe Muslim world, as Saladin once did, to confront us, the
\nnew Crusaders.<\/p>\n

If I were a believer, I would whisper: God forbid.<\/p>\n

N.B.: My articles can be read
\nonline at:
\nhttp:\/\/zope.gush-shalom.org\/home\/en\/channels\/avnery<\/a>
\nThe current article will be available within hours of this email being
\nsent out.<\/p>\n

Also my books are now online http:\/\/uriavnery.com\/en\/<\/a><\/p>\n

—
\nFalls Sie kein Interesse an weiteren E-mail-Aussendungen
\nhaben, senden Sie uns ein E-mail –
\nan: info@begegnungszentrum.at
\nmit dem Vermerk: stoppt Aussendung. Wir l\u00f6schen Ihre
\nAdresse aus unserem Verteiler.<\/p>\n

—<\/p>\n

Matthias Reichl, Pressesprecher\/ press speaker,
\nBegegnungszentrum fuer aktive Gewaltlosigkeit
\nCenter for Encounter and active Non-Violence
\nWolfgangerstr. 26, 4820 Bad Ischl, Austria,
\nfon: +43 6132 24590, Informationen\/ informations,
\nImpressum in: http:\/\/www.begegnungszentrum.at<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

November 28, 2015 There is no such thing as „international terrorism“. To declare war on „international terrorism“ is nonsense. Politicians who do so are either fools or cynics, and probably both.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3971","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-allgemein"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3971","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3971"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3971\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3972,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3971\/revisions\/3972"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3971"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3971"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.friedensplattform.at\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3971"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}