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OpEdNews Op Eds    H3'ed 11/25/15

Blowback, Payback; The War on Terror is Backfiring

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Message Michael Payne


The acts of terrorism recently witnessed in Paris, together with the alarms going off in Brussels and some other parts of the world, are a precursor of more terror yet to come. We are living in very troubled times in which there is absolutely no meeting of the minds between certain entities who possess radically different political and religious ideologies.

The ISIS terrorists that launched those Paris attacks and are causing havoc in Syria are, without question, well-organized, well-funded and are a much larger organization than we might think. They follow a strategy by which they know exactly how to strike great fear and paralysis into nations and their citizens. They don't need an army and great firepower but strike from the shadows when it is least expected. They are taking the "art" of terrorism to a new, higher level.

Blowback or payback can be defined as "an unforeseen and unwanted effect, result, or set of repercussions carried out by those who feel that they have been the victims of someone else's violent actions." That's what these terrorists are doing as they launch attacks against those that they believe grievously wronged them in the past.

Now, why is this War on Terror backfiring? It's because as it is pursued and escalated the greater blowback it generates when more and more new recruits from numerous countries join the ranks of the jihadists in order to seek revenge.

When the president of France reacted to this terrorism by stating that "France is at war" the anger that he and the people of France feel is entirely understandable. He has sworn to eradicate ISIS for its brutal, inhuman attacks. But it's not good enough to react to terrorist acts simply by the use of force to retaliate and seek revenge.

We need to better understand terrorism and what's behind it; its origins and how and why it is spreading its venom in the world. Why exactly are these acts of barbarism taking place, what is the motivation behind them and how can we find the ways to try to end this modern day Reign of Terror?

Terrorism in many forms and varieties has existed in this world for centuries. Terrorism, or the use of violent acts to intimidate and strike fear into the hearts of people, is a way of trying to achieve a specific goal, most often a political one."

Here is a link to a website, the Crime Museum, which informs us that "The root of the word terrorism is taken from a Latin term that means "to frighten". It became part of the phrase terror cimbricus, which was used by ancient Romans in 105BC to describe the panic that ensued as they prepared for an attack by a fierce warrior tribe."

Many years later during the French Revolution that kind of turmoil and chaos was described by the French word terrorisme.

We could spend a lot of time discussing acts of terror that have taken place down through history but that's beyond the scope of this article. Here we will concentrate on the period of time between the year 2000 and the present; and the main object of discussion will be the War on Terror.

The "WOT" has been a failure for the U.S. and, actually, for the entire world since, instead of having the effect of controlling or largely eliminating acts of terror, it has created more and more terrorists that are now banding together to seek revenge on those who they consider to be their enemies. Let's review the various phases of the War on Terror and the aftereffects of each:

Phase 1 -- After the 9/11 attacks the Bush/Cheney attack, invasion and occupation of Afghanistan lasted for many years and has not been successful in combating terrorism.

Phase 2 -- Bush/Cheney attacked and occupied Iraq when there was no justifiable reason, caused great destruction, and created countless thousands of new enemies including today's ISIS terrorists.

Phase 3 -- President Obama's ongoing launching of drones in Pakistan, Yemen and Somalia has resulted in thousands of new recruits for Al-Qaeda and ISIS. In this article former drone pilots say "the US drone program is one of the most devastating driving forces for terrorism and destabilization around the world."

Phase 4 -- The U.S. military's has conducted a relentless bombing campaign against ISIS forces in Iraq and Syria without any great success.

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