What We Do About Terrorism

Josey1 · April 2002

What We Do About Terrorismby R. Lee WrightsFear rules the day! The horrific events that unfolded before a global audience on September 11th shocked a nation and stunned the world. Even in countries where acts of terrorism are practically daily occurrences people were horrified at how far madmen will go to exploit one of the most powerful emotions instinctive in human beings - Fear of the unknown. So quite naturally, what we do about terrorism is determined in large part by the amount of fear produced by acts of extreme violence.Unfortunately, fear of the unknown causes people to believe, falsely of course, that the risk of extreme acts of violence can be radically reduced by surrendering some of their individual civil liberties. Subsequently, the trail to tyranny becomes downhill and smooth, paved with the freedoms already lost by generations gone before us. What we do about terrorism is blindly believe that the beast Bureaucracy, which is so bloated one hand rarely knows what the other is doing, can actually protect us from foreign madmen or domestic traitors. The State cannot protect us at the mall, and yet times of tragedy produce such fear that politicians can convince citizens that the State can some how protect them from lunatic terrorists they can't even find. What we do about terrorism is all the wrong things.So what should we do about the threat of terrorism? Americans do not have a lot of experience in dealing with zealots that believe a suicide bombing is a sacred religious rite. Therefore, Americans should seek advice from allies that have been dealing with terrorists on a daily basis for more than half a century. Israel, for example, has learned the hard way how to deal with hijackings, car bombings, suicide attacks and other forms of terrorist tactics. Perhaps there is something to be learned from a country that is in the heart of terrorist territory.Makes sense to me that we could learn a thing or two from the Israelis. After all, I can't remember the last time I heard about an Israeli airliner being hijacked, much less flown into one of the nation's tallest structures. They must be doing something right. How do they do it? Simple. They put armed passengers on all their flights. Now, no one knows which of the passengers are armed and this includes potential hijackers. I mean nothing spoils the forcible takeover of a jet-propelled aircraft quicker than a couple of trained citizens packing a little heat. Consequentially, hijackers have shifted their attention to other airlines that are easier targets because most of them train their employees to submit to, rather than resist, armed assailants. If you want to fly in the United States you are forced to do so without the benefit of any means to defend yourself. It is a risk that I consider too great and I remain unwilling to take.The Israelis have proven that armed civilians are a deterrent to terror in the skies. And, they are beginning to see that armed citizens on the ground are not such a bad idea either. In fact, in his March 15th NewsMax.com article titled "Israel is Arming its Citizens - Why Aren't We?" Richard Poe, author of The Seven Myths of Gun Control, poses the question, "How can private citizens with guns stop terrorism?" He then proceeds to explain how Israel is answering the query Poe says, "...is a question I often hear from skeptical radio talk show hosts - even from many who claim they support gun rights." He points out that according to a Washington Times report on March 7th Israel raised, by twenty-five percent, the number of citizens armed with guns when the government recently "...issued 60,000 new gun permits to civilians."The Times report quoted Israeli Police Inspector-General Shlomo Aharonisky who said:"There's no question that weapons in the hands of the public have prevented acts of terror or stopped them while they were in progress. Chance passers-by have killed terrorists in the midst of gun attacks."Richard Poe also related the following example from his research in his NewsMax.com commentary: "In 1984," Poe writes, "three terrorists opened fire on a Jerusalem crowd with machine guns. Half a dozen shopkeepers and pedestrians drew weapons and returned fire. One terrorist was shot dead by a jewelry store proprietor. The other two fled and were later captured. 'We didn't expect to find armed civilians,' one of the gunmen later admitted."No wonder the Israeli government is passing out so many new permits lately. They are not stupid. They have realized what President Bush and his administration have yet to learn - they need all the help they can get. The Israelis know that government cannot possibly protect all 6 million of its citizens from insane acts of extreme violence. How can Bush, Rumsfeld and Ashcroft delude themselves into believing they can protect 270 million Americans from the terrorists of the world? Bush and Congress should be looking at ways to get more guns into the hands of more civilians, instead of enacting unconstitutional legislation and encouraging sovereign individuals to sacrifice those sacred American siblings, Liberty and Freedom, upon the altar of Promised Security.We cannot allow what we do about terrorism to be determined by our fear of the unknown. We must confront terrorism with the determination to conquer the unknown fear. I know libertarians talk a lot about the founding fathers, but we have quite a bit to learn from the old boys. They taught us what we need to know to avoid extreme acts of violence. It is not all that complicated. Establish commerce with everyone that wishes to trade; do not become entangled in the affairs of foreign powers; establish and maintain a strong system for the common defense of our borders; and, base it all on the firm foundation of a well-armed citizenry by ensuring the right to keep and bear arms is never infringed. If we follow these simple guidelines the "what we do about terrorism" debate could very well become moot.R. Lee Wrights is a writer and political activist living in North Carolina. He is the co-founder and Editor-in-chief of the free speech online magazine Liberty For All; an Editor for Free-market.net and, a Contributing Editor for Rational ReviewHe may be reached at lfaeditor@aol.com.................... LFA Features CarolinusWhat We Do About Terrorismby R Lee Wrights

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