America’s impotence in the war on terror is evident today. Terror is an intangible matter, an idea that cannot be dealt with tangible means. Winning war on terror requires winning the hearts and minds of people. People are the constituency which gives thriving capacity to terrorists. If the people start labelling terrorists as freedom fighters, the war on terror can never be won.
Getting back to 9/11, the entire Muslim World (from secular to religious parties) sympathised with the United States, willing to lend their utmost support in their war against terrorism. However, the way United States conducted its war on terror changed the perception of masses in the entire Muslim world who started believing that the war on terror is a war against Islam. It all started with the bombing Afghanistan (a prior victim of the Cold War between Soviets and the US). Around 1.5 million Afghans lost their lives and the country was devastated.
Fighting Taliban was not the solution to the problem. It was like putting veil on the face and assuming the problem was being cured, where in reality it was being aggravated. Terrorism is not a physical but an emotional phenomena and the cure of it lies in dialogue, not action.
MOHAMMAD ARSALAAN BAIG
Lahore
