A Small Doomsday

To simultaneously hijack four planes full of passengers and to direct them with the help of suicide pilots to New York and Washington and to be so deadly precise, is something we believed to be absolutely impossible. Whoever had thus far dealt with any kind of terrorism managed at the most to plant a bomb inside a certain building or to down a civilian airplane. Therefore, to organize a catastrophe of such proportions, a huge suicidal network was necessary, a lot of people had to have been fanatically convinced that the WTC had to be destroyed, that for some reason it was worth killing thousands of civilians, and on top of that someone had to have planned and conducted an operation of unseen proportions, and that in a country with the most stringent control, radars and cameras, which spends loads of money on secret services and all sorts of security measures.

What are we to think when something unconceivable happens? The certainty on which yesterday's world was based is brought into question. That means that the headline news coming out of New York and Washington aren't on the numbers of casualties and those wounded, nor on the scope of destruction. What the most important consequences of this largest attack on US territory since Pearl Harbor  are need yet to be seen. What can be continued at all, which of the thus far rules still hold, what will happen on Wall Street which was already showing clear signs of a deep recession? What will Washington's reaction be? The army will definitely want to throw some bombs somewhere, but where and targeting whom?

Osama bin Laden? I don't wish to make hasty conclusions, maybe he truly is the main culprit, although all of this seems a bit too much even for him. Beside that, the speed with which accusations from America are channeled towards Islam and the Arab world is rather disgusting. But, if it is terrorism, one doesn't see how America can adequately answer an attack of such proportions. None of the existing defense plans and strategies seem applicable, especially not the horrendously expensive missile shield project which is supposed to defend the US from a nuclear attack from some countries prone to terrorism. Theories saying that in America itself no fanatical suicidal terrorists can be found, but that instead they have to be implanted from outside, can easily strengthen an already stringent regime of entrance for all foreigners. Secret services will definitely demand a huge budget increase, and all measures of security and control could acquire unbearable proportions. It seemed to me as though there was already too much fear in America, control and cameras, and if the terrorists have just demonstrated that all of it isn't even worth a dime, I don't see how airports and air travel will function at all. One could expect the police to be delegated with new authority, that new prohibitions and restrictions will be introduced, and all of that seems to resemble a nightmare-like future of that great, once gloriously free country.  

Will anyone in America seriously demand answers to some difficult questions on whether American foreign policies are causing and inciting such desperate attacks? Who or what had produced those suicidal avengers? Why has such an amount of maliciousness accumulated against America in practically the whole world? Isn't all of that proof that the sole super power has gone over the top in its arrogant ambition to shape the planet according to its own image? I'm afraid horror, panic and anger won't be good allies to those who would like to reflect on how America can present a kinder face to the world. The initial reactions will certainly be in the direction of powerful retaliation and it seems as though there won't be a lot of time for a careful investigation, which means that nothing good lies in store for Afghanistan, since Osama usually resides there. As Taliban's guest, who had once been educated and trained by Americans to wage war against the former Soviet Union.

But, once the initial shock passes, America would have to conclude that its internal vulnerability really isn't a problem which can be solved technically, with some new device. There will never be any true protection from such attacks in which someone consciously sacrifices his or her life. And Osama is probably the greatest, but certainly not the only nor last sworn enemy of America. Such desperate people can never win, but, also, they never give up, and they can't lose since they've already lost everything. That is their starting position. Therefore, someone in Washington would do a great thing if he were to reflect on how to reduce the production of desperation in certain parts of the world. Or at least, how to take the "made in USA" tag off of such products.