When we overreact the terrorists win

[struggle4progress]

Fareed Zakaria - Washington Post Writers Group

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 depends on the response of the onlookers. If we are not terrorized, then the attack didn't work. Alas, this one worked very well.

The attempted bombing says more about al-Qaida's weakened state than its strength. In the eight years before 9-11, al-Qaida was able to launch large-scale terrorist attacks on several continents. It targeted important symbols of American power, the operations were complex and every attack succeeded — embassies in Africa; a naval destroyer, the USS Cole; and, of course, the World Trade Center. The operations were complex — simultaneous bombing of two embassies in different countries and involved dozens of people of different nationalities who trained around the world, moved significant sums of money around, and coordinated their efforts over months, sometimes years. And every attack succeeded.

On Christmas an al-Qaida affiliate launched an operation using one person, with no special target and a failed technique tried eight years ago by “shoe bomber” Richard Reid. The plot seems to have been an opportunity that the group seized rather than the result of a well-considered strategic plan. A Nigerian fanatic with (what appeared to be) a clean background volunteered for service. He was wired up with a makeshift explosive and put on a plane. His mission failed entirely, killing not a single person. The suicide bomber was not even able to commit suicide. But al-Qaida succeeded in its real aim, which was to throw the American system into turmoil. That's why the terror group boasted about the success of its mission ...

http://www.mysanantonio.com/opinion/81268357.html

[FrenchieCat]

1. If only most of the Media and the GOP understood this!

That's what makes them as dangerous as the Terrorists.

[Enthusiast]

3. The M$M and the GOP

have no intention of reporting anything accurate. Fear of terrorism justifies war and MIC spending. It was the same during the cold war.

[necso]

2. I was watching a football game

the other day, and some "idiot" (to quote an announcer... and I agree) ran onto the field. And in the event, the network refused to show this "idiot" and his antics -- and discussion of this idiocy was more-or-less limited to explaining the delay.

Yet we let the "terrorists" play us like a drum that keeps reverberating long after the stroke. Now, of course, there's potentially political advantage to be gained in this case. (And many of the talking heads do seem to be easily frightened; great spokespersons for the nation they aren't.)