TALKING TO THE ENEMY HOW ELSE CAN YOU UNDERSTAND THEM?

The author Scott Atran is an anthropologist and like most of us has heard descriptions of terrorists as religious or political fanatics.  What surprised him is that other factors turned out to be more critical.  If we start with wrong assumptions it will be more difficult to find a solution.

Evolution theory has focused on individual traits, but lately more attention is being paid to group dynamics--how did one group survive?  Co-operation and sacrifice for the common good has played a role.  In the early stages of human development relatively we had weak bodies, but big brains and a tendency to be gregarious.

In fact ideology and religion are forces that unite groups even as each believer may have different degrees of faith.  Trusting strangers is a very necessary factor for civilizations to develop.  Even so we are suspicious of people who do not look like us, do not express themselves the same way or who do not respect our sacred values.  We can affiliate with "strangers" more readily if they share some of our values.

Sacred values are personal and group priorities that we can identify (sometimes with help), but we don't always understand the sacred values of others.  Sacred values are often so strong with a group that they cannot be pushed away by mere material considerations.  One example might be Palestinians feel they have a right to the same land that some Jews feel they have a right to.  Offering cash and like considerations while ignoring their attachments to the values is an insult and can actually harden feelings.

Scott noticed that many of the terrorists went to the same school or played soccer together.  In some groups the heroes were sports celebrities and in others terrorists.  Some were admired and aspired to, not necessarily because of religious beliefs but because they stood up for the group.  What gives some of them meaning is publicity which he feels our media is complicit in giving them.  Publicity makes heroes.

What turns many people to terrorism (or sympathy for terrorists) is unemployment, poor schooling, and political marginalization.  He cites African Americans in the United States and Muslims in Europe.

In passing  there was an interesting quote from Andre Malraux as follows:  "The greatest mystery is not that we have been flung at random among the profusion of the earth and the galaxies, but that in this prism we can fashion images sufficiently powerful to deny our nothingness."  Realistic, but hopeful that there is some meaning in life.

A lot of critics of terrorism point out the religious content and wondering how the perpetrators could be so misled.  Scott contends that the critics are overlooking the social content.  Most religions, including Christianity have violence in their messages.  Again religion unites people.  The author is an atheist and thinks of religions as belief in the absurd, but points out that rituals that indicate our acceptance of the absurd bonds people together.

Terrorism should not be the priority it is because the average person has many more likely life threatening concerns (that they mostly ignore).  We need to get beyond the stereotypes and learn the root causes.  Many feel the outside world is against them.  In truth we do not understand a lot of foreign customs.  The author suggested one Afghan custom was underestimated and that is the importance they place on treating guests even if they do not see eye to eye with them.

Another recommendation from Fareed Zakaria.

OSAMA BIN LADEN AND THE QUESTION OF TORTURE

I had intended to write about something else, but with the death of Osama Bin Laden stirring all sorts of reaction I wanted to get my two cents worth in before it becomes yesterday's news.

Like most, I was caught off guard and surprised by some of the details. Three moral questions, at least have arisen that I would like to comment on.

First, does this justify torture? I think some of the people claiming that it does are trying to justify their own behaviour and/or take some of the credit. Their political concerns are mostly shameful.

We all can acknowledge that we have secrets that we don't want everyone or particular people to know. If we are sufficiently threatened we tend to acknowledge the simple ones. I recognize at some point I would tell you whatever you want to know if I thought it might end my suffering. Some people are tougher than others, some secrets are more critical than others and some would simply lie. In many cases they just don't know. The effectiveness of torturing is not the main reason why torturing was originally banned.

Two reasons to ban torture are still relevant. One is to discourage our enemies from torturing "our" side. It is argued our enemies are uncivilized and will torture anyway That may be so, but our example does have some impact, however small. The other reason is our image--are we the sort of people who torture.

Getting information can be very vital to our survival, but is torture the only or best way? There are some intelligent people that think that other methods can be more effective. I hope I am never in a position where it matters, but I will respect an honest judgment. What I don't respect is a ritual of torturing as the only solution.

The President, Barrack Obama has been criticized for not wanting to publish the photo of the dead Osama bin Laden. A photo would help assure me that he is no longer a threat, but I am reasonably certain that is the case. Bearing in mind the reaction to some Danish cartoons I can foresee the danger of inflaming some people. What is more important? I would say let things calm down before bringing up the subject again.

The third moral question is how do we treat Pakistan who many assert had to be actively hiding him. I don't doubt there are more people in Pakistan who sympathized with Osama Bin Laden than you find in most other parts of the world. It does seem almost impossible that some authorities would be unaware of his presence. We will never know all the intricate details, but I suspect the Pakistanis did help.

They are in a very tricky position. There is definitely strong anti-American feelings and they cannot be seen to co-operate too closely with their American allies. In very significant ways they are more victimized by terrorists than we are in North America. It is not in our interest to make the Pakistan government look bad to their people. It is not in our interests to further inflame their feelings. As Obama said this is not a time to "spike" it in their face. Most people can understand the American desire to revenge the death of so many Americans who also fear Osama would be plotting as he apparently was to kill more of us.

UPDATE:  Apparently the Americans used a vaccination program as a cover for pinpointing information on the location of Osama Bin Laden.  This has resulted in vaccination program employees being killed and others intimidated setting back their program.

I offer these opinions, but do not want to dwell on them.

An update on torture:  http://www.therealjohndavidson.com/2014/12/torture.html