The War on Terror Metaphor

The War on Terror has proven to be a self-defeating metaphor. The 9/11 atrocities could have been framed in two main ways -- as the crime of the century or an act of war. President Bush insisted he knew America was at war from the moment the high-jacked planes hit the towers. However, Bush’s claim was not an objective fact subject to verification, but rather a rhetorical invention suited to a political agenda.

The death and destruction unleashed on that terrible day by a band of mass murderers was real enough, but were the hijackers criminals or soldiers? The jihadists, of course, fancy themselves as warriors in Allah’s army, not petty criminals and barbarous thugs. The former view, however, is both self-serving and patently delusional. The later view, on the other hand, is congruent with depraved and lawless mind-set and character of al-Qaeda and its membership.

There will always be nutcases who dress up in combat fatigues and organize their own paramilitary exercises. Unfortunately, some of these characters will include genuine sociopaths who think they are going to war by targeting unarmed civilians. To label these misfits “soldiers” does a disservice to the brave men and women who serve in legitimate standing armies that are pledged to protect civilians.

President Bush inadvertently played into the hands of anarchic terrorists by legitimizing their delusions. Historically, terrorists groups (such as the Irish Republican Army) have taken great pains to gain recognition as real military organizations. One can argue that lawless groups, such as pirates and terrorists, deserve no such distinction or recognition. They are, in fact, common criminals who cloak their antisocial activities in the garb of liberation movements, but their violent and criminal means invariably discredit and corrupt the causes they purport to champion.

The Obama administration is right to downplay the war on terror metaphor and reframe terrorism as a law enforcement issue. In truth, terrorism represents something of a hybrid challenge. The confluence and terrorists and WMD in the 21st century, raises the prospect of civilian casualty levels one normally associates with war, not crime. One positive consequence of the war on terror metaphor is that it raised civilization’s sense of urgency. However, the war on terror metaphor undoubtedly backfired in many respects, particularly in so far as the Bush administration’s might makes right approach to national security supplanted the demands of justice.

The perpetrators of 9/11 committed one of the worst acts of mass murder in human history. Insisting that their actions were an act of war perversely legitimized their delusion that they were soldiers engaged in holy cause against an infidel power. Put simply, by ratifying the delusion that the highjackers were soldiers we inadvertently reduced their moral culpability. Further, we delegitimized ourselves by torturing them.

The Obama administration has made the decision that the alleged mastermind of 9/11 should stand trial for the crimes of which he is accused. There are risks with this approach, but there is also the opportunity that a fair and impartial trial can deliver the kind of justice that the world will respect and look up to. Ironically, justice delivered in the courtroom may be a more effective blow against terrorism than the Bush administration’s overreliance on military methods, which tended to lose us allies while creating a new cadre of enemies.