The word “terrorist” has been so overused and misused during the past several years that it has lost all definite meaning.
It has become a catch-all phrase for any person perceived as an enemy of western society. Now it is common for politicians and media commentators to say phrases like, “Ten terrorists were captured” or “We can’t let the terrorists win.”
But what exactly is a terrorist? Before 9/11, it was much easier to define a terrorist – they were a person or group who threatened civilians for political causes. But with the United States fighting wars in two different countries, how can we still continue to use the word “terrorist” to describe those who perpetrate attacks overseas?
There is no cover-all definition of the word “terrorist” that is truthful. It has been used to describe not only attackers, but planners, helpers, members, and just about anyone picked up by military police overseas. Any politician or pundit who uses the word “terrorists” to group together all of America’s enemies into this fictional army of darkness is only betraying their ignorance of the on the ground realities of this war that we are in.
The worst part of our communal numbing to the true meaning of the word ‘terrorist’ is the terrible treatment of prisoners of war by the United States. In the documentary Taxi to the Dark Side, which won the 2007 Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and is currently being shown on HBO, the story of an unlucky taxi driver is told, from his leaving his home to look for fares to his death at the extrajudicial detention center at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan.
According to the documentary, Dilawar was originally arrested by an Afghan guerilla commander who was later arrested by American forces himself. The commander was suspected of helping to perpetrate an attack and then handing over fake “suspects” in order to gain trust and dispel suspicion about himself. In the end, Dilawar, although thought to be innocent by interrogators, was beaten so many times in his legs and left to stand for so long by guards that the strain was too much for his heart, and he died in captivity in December 2002.
The next president should make it a priority to close down these extra-judicial detention centers and re-focus our war on terrorism. America should not be using torture indiscriminately on any foreign captive we choose to detain.
In order to regain the moral high ground in the world, America must discard the inhumane treatment of prisoners and the na’ve world view that still sees “terrorists” as our enemy. The real enemy is religious fundamentalism, of which we have plenty here in the United States as well.
The only strategy that will win for the USA in the long run is the embracing of diplomatic initiatives and the fostering of education in the USA and around the world.
