Can Terrorists Destroy The World?

I wanted to add these words: nationalism, freedom fighter. But I find that the words don’t really fit in the definition of terrorism.

I find other words: Hollywood, Cinema, Acting, and Dreaming. And I am surprised that these words are synonymous with terrorism. How?

Suppose you were some precocious artist in Hollywood who dreamt up a last day film involving the knocking down of the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and perhaps the White House before September 11, 2000. Let me tell you what will happen to you.

First, you will be taken to a psychiatric Hospital for brain check. Then if you were found to be of sound mind, you would be taken by the FBI for questioning to determine the source of your Satanic inspiration. And as you would be unable to prove it, you will be taken to a penitentiary in Guantanamo near Cuba -- far away from the United States, so as not to influence the good guys. Of course your terrific film would be censured.

But now that your dream is real -- the Twin Towers collapsed in broad daylight taking away thousands (no thanks to the terrorists), you will be the most sought after person on earth to dream up the sequel.

So the saying goes in some quarters that these evil boys will someday destroy the world. Whether you call them nationalists, freedom fighters, terrorists or the basest creatures on earth, does not matter. You may go to the School of Semantics.

Terrorists have a lot of factors in their favor. One. They have huge sums of money. Two. They have the scientific know-how to take care of their deadly weapons. Three. They have a very large network spread across the globe. Four. Modern technology have made communication and access to information easy for their members. Five. They are inconspicuous -- very hard to find. Your friend, neighbor, or that your prodigal son, may be a terrorist. Six. They believe that they are fighting a just cause, and are prepared to die. Seven. They are prepared to use the deadliest weapons on earth to advance their cause. Eight. They are constantly changing tactics.

Herein lies the danger. And there are plenty of these terrorist groups to contend with -- Basques in Spain, Catholics in Ulster, Huks in the Philippines, Aum Shinrikyo in Japan, and the Al - Qeada network in Afghanistan. And if you want to sample more esoteric names of these killer groups, you may only have to hop around Palestine, or some Middle East lands. In fact, there are thousands of terrorist groups all over the world competing for media attention.

So if you have a mission to wipe out terrorists, you are in for a long haul. Those car bombers, suicide bombers, shoe bombers, and tower destroyers may well turn out to be the precursors of a greater catastrophe yet to come.

Terrorism has introduced a new field of study to occupy our academics and scientists for the rest of their lives. This new discipline includes topics like agroterrorism, bioterrorism, ecoterrorism, cyberterrorism, chemical terrorism, and nuclear terrorism. And more is to come.

Now suppose these terrorists break down the whole computer systems in the world. Or what would happen if they poison the air and water source with a deadly gas? Or what happens if they unleash a plague on man and beast! Or what will be our fate if they detonate a nuclear bomb? Curtains for civilization!

Let it be known that there is no power on earth to wipe out terrorism. Let us instead address the political, economic, social and religious problems which breed terrorism. This may save us from the coming untold destruction of the world by the terrorists.

“Where were you when the world stopped turning?” is the lyric of a song by a musician in remembrance of the collapsed Twin Towers. Dancers took to the dance floors, and the song went to top the music chart show. That was good.

But by the time the terrorists actually prepare for the show - down, there will be no musicians and dancers to celebrate the world’s end. That would really be the time when the world would stop turning!

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