Ending Terrorism Means Promoting Justice
Excerpted from an essay by Glen Stassen and Steven Brion-Meisels
On September 11, the deaths of thousands of civilians in the United States
created feelings of sadness, anger, injustice and helplessness across our
nation and the world. When political leaders turned these feelings into a
call for revenge and retribution, the cycle of violence was accelerated
rather than stopped. If we care about true peace (the kind of peace that Dr.
King called "not the absence of violence but the presence of justice"), we
must break the cycle that has led to the twin terrorisms of 9/11 and the
attacks on civilians in the United States and the desperate and starving
people in Afghanistan. In both the short and long terms, the way out of this
cycle is to focus on justice rather than retribution, law rather than war,
development rather than destruction.
I have no Country
to Fight for -
My Country
is the World
Eugene V. Debs
|
Justice demands that we prosecute those who committed murder on September
11. But it also demands that we understand and address the roots of
terrorism. Law calls on us to follow procedures designed to protect other
innocent lives, to use force to apprehend rather than destroy ‹ because, as
Representative Barbara Lee reminded us, we must not "become the evil we
deplore." Development calls on us to share our immense wealth in ways that
promote reasonable lives for the millions of people who daily face the
terror of starvation, disease, homelessness, violence and early death --- in
our own cities, in Afghanistan and around the world.
There is growing agreement among former American military leaders and among
people outside the United States that unilateral militarist actions will not
make American citizens safer and that a long-term response to terrorism
requires using available legal structures to prosecute international
criminals, while at the same time addressing the ways in which injustice
fuels terrorism.
Fortunately, those of us who oppose war and militarist strategies can draw
on a century of successful non-violent strategies that have promoted peace
and justice at home and abroad. Here are six principles and practices that
we believe can address the roots of terrorism, help make communities around
the world safer, and promote sustainable justice rather than cycles of
violence.
Address the roots not just the symptoms.
Jonathan Moore (former U.S. Ambassador to the UN and coordinator for
refugees in the Reagan and Bush senior administrations) writes that "the
increasing gap between rich and poor is both morally and politically
dangerous, and requires a new appreciation that our national interest is
increasingly defined in terms of the lives of others." Moore cites President
G. W. Bush's own speech to the World Bank: "A world where some live in
comfort and plenty, while half the human race lives on less than two dollars
a day, is neither just, nor stable."
We call on our elected leaders to stop military action and increase
humanitarian aid in Afghanistan; to seek safety, justice and freedom from
terrorism for Palestinians as well as Israelis; to turn America's talent
away from retribution and toward sustainable, democratic economic
development.
Recognize the role of all parties.
The United States will diagnose the causes, create more effective
responses, and receive more international support if we are able to
recognize our own role in the cycle of terrorism. Our government armed
Taliban leaders in a proxy war against the Soviet Union, just as we armed
Iraq against Iran. The United States did little to help rebuild Afghanistan;
post-war chaos and devastation allowed the Taliban to gain power. In Iraq,
U.S.-led sanctions have contributed to more than one million civilian
deaths. Media images of Islamic and Arabic peoples as fanatical terrorists
have led to ethnic profiling at home and a neglect in advocating for human
rights in the Middle East.
We call on our elected officials and media to recognize the role our nation
has played not only as a democratic leader but also as a contributor to
violence through our foreign policy and our weapons sales. The end of denial
is the first step toward healing and recovery.
Re-engage with international forces.
A bright spot in this tragedy has been the administration's recognition
that it needs support of many other nations if the struggle against
terrorism is to succeed. European, Arab and Muslim leaders have pressed for
avoiding harm to innocent people in the bombings, and for justice for people
in need in Afghanistan, Palestine and Iraq. From the start of his
administration, President Bush disengaged from peacemaking between Israel
and Palestine, between South and North Korea, and from international
treaties: the ABM Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and the Kyoto
Accords. Without international pressure, the desperation of Palestinians in
the face of a powerful Israeli military supports the recruitment of young
men and women willing to kill and be killed in their search for justice.
We call on our elected leaders to:
- a) implement a program to address the roots of terrorism.
- b) work collaboratively with other nations, and to hear their wisdom.
- c) press the Israeli government to curtail settlements and implement new
agreements along the lines of the Mitchell Commission plan. This is the
sustainable solution for Israel and the Arab states.
Use force only to apprehend and protect, not to destroy.
Since September 11, a growing number of voices have called for the rule of
law, not the rule of war. This commitment includes protection of civil
liberties as well as airport terminals, and respect for the rule of law not
the rules of war. In William Sloane Coffin's words, "What we need is the
force of law, not the law of force." We can look to important examples of
successful legal approaches to the killing of innocent civilians. From
Milosevic to Lockerbie, from Chile to Rwanda, successful international
prosecutions provide a model for how terrorism can be addressed without
recreating cycles of violence. It takes time, but it works.
We call on our elected officials to:
- a) press for legal rather than militarist strategies
- b) support the International Criminal Court, the International War Crimes
Tribunal, and the World Court.
Together, we can create a new kind of force for the 21st century, based on
multilateral persuasion and enforcement, rather than unilateral retribution.
Increase the capacity of multilateral, civilian-based organizations.
The fight against international terrorism must be truly multilateral ‹ based
not on "with us or against us" bullying strategies, but on collaboration and
persuasion. We call on our elected leaders to re-energize the role of the
United Nations and other Non-Governmental (NGO) organizations. These groups
have a demonstrated success record for delivering humanitarian aid; and they
have the international networks required to move beyond "us against them"
positions. The Twin Towers demonstrate the connections and interdependence
of the world's peoples. The victims included civilians of many
nationalities; the solutions must be found across national borders and
beyond traditional governments.
Foster inter-cultural understanding and reconciliation.
Another bright spot in our national response to September 11 has been the
broad commitment of ordinary people to respect the rights of Islamic and
Arabic peoples within the U.S. Early calls for retribution, along with
wanted posters of Osama Bin Laden in store windows contributed to racial
profiling and the deaths of innocent U.S. civilians who looked Arabic. War
continues the cycle of terrorism, and this kind of violence is likely to
re-appear. The grassroots citizen initiatives to reach out and in some cases
protect Islamic centers and mosques must be supported and applauded.
We call on our elected leaders to actively foster inter-cultural
understanding and reconciliation at home and abroad. This requires sustained
dialogue with Islamic leaders about their perspectives on international
issues, the end of media and government stereotypes, and better education
about Islam here in the U.S. It calls for Muslims and Arabs to support peace
and teach their peacemaking practices; and it calls for others to listen
with open minds and hearts.
These actions will not stop terrorism tomorrow or the next day, but they
will address deep roots and sustainable solutions. They do not provide
simple responses to our feelings of anger, sadness, injustice and
helplessness, but they are an alternative path toward healing and
reconstruction.
This essay is based on work developed by the authors for Peace Action, and
in a cooperative book edited by Glen Stassen (Just Peacemaking, Pilgrim
Press, 1998)
Back to Peace Talk Index, Winter, 2001-2002