U.S. media outlets investigate what terrorism is…and is not.

Terror and terrorism are all the rage today in online magazines.  Lets start with Time online.  Today’s article entitled Amid the Hysteria, A Look at What al-Qaeda Can’t Do sets the tone for our research into terrorism as it exists today.

Essentially we see that our continued over-reaction to 9/11 gives these people incredible power that they would not have otherwise.  That is the over-riding lesson to be learned here today.

Then we move onto Newseek online and Fareed Zakaria’s article entitled Don’t Panic: How our frenzied response to terrorism only feeds it.  It is good advice from someone who has lived through it.

Here is the opening paragraph from his sage advice:

"In responding to the attempted bombing of an airliner on Christmas Day, Sen. Dianne Feinstein voiced the feelings of many when she said that to prevent such situations, "I’d rather…overreact than underreact." This now appears to be the consensus view in Washington, but it is quite wrong. In fact, precisely the opposite is true. The purpose of terrorism is to provoke an overreaction. Its real aim is not to kill the hundreds of people directly targeted but to sow fear in the rest of the population. Terrorism is an unusual military tactic in that it depends on the response of the onlookers. If we are not terrorized, then the attack didn’t work. Alas, this one worked very well."

And again from Newsweek online we read a piece entitled Anatomy of a Double-Cross: How a Jordanian jihadist turned CIA operative—and back again.  We are unfortunately learning that things are never quite simple in the often misty and foggy world of international terror.

From CBS News online we read a piece entitled CIA Bomber in Video With Taliban Leader: Tape Surfaces Showing Jordanian Who Killed CIA Operatives in Afghanistan Vowing Revenge for Killing of Taliban Figure .

Now we have taped evidence that this man was a double agent with intent to kill Western intelligence people.  I wonder if we knew this before he killed seven American and one Jordanian operative?

And from CNN World News online we read a piece entitled 30 injured in Hong Kong acid attack in what may or may not be an act of terrorism.  We don’t know yet.

One thing is for sure from even a cursory reading of today’s news.  Terrorism and terrorist-like actions are here to stay.  Can we afford to militarize our response to all of it?  Or does it make more sense to send responsibility for handling it back to the international police and intelligence communities where it belongs?

Just asking.

CWO3 Tom Barnes, USCG (Ret.)