Relevance : GS Paper III
Theme of the Article
The world needs to be united on the issue of terrorism and resolve contradictions.
Why has this issue cropped up?
The brutal attacks on Easter Sunday in Sri Lanka have reignited discussion on the global ‘War on Terror’.
A floundering war on terror
- The coalition of about 60 countries that sent troops and offered logistical support for ‘Operation Enduring Freedom’ failed to end terrorism in Afghanistan.
- 46 nations joined the ‘coalition of the willing’ to defeat Saddam Hussein in Iraq in 2003, and 19 were a part of the coalition that ousted Muammar Qaddafi from power in Libya in 2011.
- The U.S. and allied countries were sidetracked by the ‘Arab Spring’ in 2011, which led them to bolster anti-Bashar al-Assad groups in Syria. This eventually paved the way for the IS to establish a ‘Caliphate’ in territories in Syria and Iraq.
- The next coalition was formed to fight the terror of the IS. The number of global terror attacks per year went up from 1,000 in 2004 to 17,000 in 2014.
- It is clear that the countries in question — Afghanistan, Syria, Libya and Iraq — are far from free of the spectre of terrorism.
- Despite the defeat of the ‘Caliphate’ territorially, the IS or its franchises are appearing in new parts of the world. Sri Lanka is the latest on that list.
- Rather than helping fight pan-Islamist terror groups, the War on Terror appears to help the IS and al-Qaeda more, giving them a footprint far bigger than their actual abilities. This helps them recruit and radicalise Muslim youth from around the globe.
Approaches to fighting terror
- Comparing European states like the U.K., France and Belgium, where hundreds of immigrant Muslims have enlisted for the IS, to South Asian states like India, where Muslim populations are indigenous and only a few dozen are believed to have left for Syria, is akin to comparing apples and oranges.
- Indian officials have enlisted whole families, neighbourhoods and local Maulvis in their efforts. In Bangladesh too, after the 2016 attack on the Holey Artisan Bakery, government advertisements asked mothers to check on their children’s activities.
- This acknowledgement that radicalised terrorists are a part of a community is in stark contrast to the current debate in many European countries that are refusing to take IS returnees and their families back.
- Similarly, several Central Asian states propagate a much more hard-line approach on counter-radicalisation, by banning beards and hijabs, while China’s re-education internment camps in Xinjiang have raised questions about human rights.
Contradictions in Global war on Terror
- The world community must address contradictions in the War on Terror.
- For 20 years, the world has failed to agree on a common definition of terrorism at the United Nations.
- Despite the fact that Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Masood Azhar has been targeting Indians incessantly for years, the world must ask why China allowed his UN Security Council designation as a global terrorist only after mentions of his attacks in India were removed.
- They must ask why the U.S. is focused on billing Iran the “world’s biggest state sponsor of terrorism”, while states like Saudi Arabia and Pakistan that have funded and sheltered Islamist terror groups are still treated as “frontline allies” on terror.
- And why, despite all their resources and expertise, the alliance of the U.S., the U.K., Canada, Australia and New Zealand that share global intelligence was unable to see the impending threat in Sri Lanka.
Conclusion
Unless the world is truly united on the issue and resolves such contradictions, the global War on Terror will only be as strong as its weakest link.
