The signatures of 51
Senators to a letter calling on President Bush to
Identify Hezbollah as a specially designated
terrorist organization is a step in the right
direction but it is barely a half hearted shuffle
in a hike on a trail that stretches further than
the eye can see. In a post 9-11 world, the time
to use democratic means to silence undemocratic
ends is over. Undeniably, irreversibly and
unequivocally over. Designating Al-Manar as a
special terrorist entity is cute, and kind of like
saying to an axe murderer; “you are a very naughty
boy”.
Allow me to explain. When
pressure is mounted to suspend Al-Manar s
broadcast on European and American satellites, all
that we are doing is validating their existence.
In this day of hating America and its allies,
Islamic militants hiding in western nations need
not venture far to find media that will satisfy
their frenzy be it on the internet, on DVD's or
through the preaching in mosques. None of these
guys, I can assure you, are watching MTV Cribs. By
banning Al-Manar from broadcasting in countries
that by and large are vehemently anti terrorism,
one has given this station the credibility as the
real deal among the militants who reside in
countries that are supportive of militants and
continue to air it. These nations will not ban
Al-Manar from broadcasting and even if they do, it
will further incite militants as a proof of
Americas meddling in Islamic nations' self
determination.
It is not that I believe
that Al-Manar should be allowed to broadcast
freely in all nations, but rather that I
passionately disagree with the method the world
and the US in particular has chosen to face this
threat.
Today there is no chicken
and egg with Islamic terror, but rather there is a
dilemma that surpasses this. How do we shut
terrorist down?
When 1.2 Million Lebanese
took to the streets and marched in the name of
freedom and democracy, the world had no choice but
to take notice, but the question remains; did they
really hear the message. Only days before that,
Hezbollah and their Syrian babysitters bussed
thousands of people with the crucial help of Al-Manar
’s coverage / incitement in a similar
demonstration designed to reject this call for
nationalism. It was a token of where pacifying
terrorists can get you. I do not digress.
Lebanon was probably the
first nation to experience the Islamists’ hatred
of freedom. From the late 70’s and early 80’s when
the A-list terror medusa (Hezbollah) was sprouting
its first snakes, the rest of the world was
sleeping. Even the loss of the US marines (241)
and French soldiers (60?) in a signature
simultaneous double suicide mission was not
enough to validate a war on terror. It took
successive slaps in the face including, the
hostages, Khobar, USS Cole, Kenya, and finally 911
to shake the world from its reverie.
Today, even as the civilized
world claims to be fighting terror, it shirks the
very first responsibility. Find the root and
remove it. Anyone who doubts that Hezbollah is one
of the original and oldest surviving mentors,
guides and tutors of global terror can spend some
time studying Lebanon’s decay during the
1976-2005.
It is a duty and a show of
force required of the US and its allies not just
to exact retribution but more symbolically tell
the militants “We know exactly how to deal with
you”. And the way to set an example is to uproot
the nerve centers and the organizations
responsible for exporting terror.
The Building Al-Manar
broadcasts from should be reduced to rubble
immediately if not sooner and that alone will send
the clearest message to anyone thinking of
broadcasting inciting venom. The next step would
be to hunt down and locate the people who bombed
the marine barracks, many of whom appear daily on
their very own global satellite TV station which
is still standing thumbing its nose at the world
in downtown Beirut.
If the call of the Lebanese
did not wake the world to the horror of accepting
and pacifying terrorists, then this letter will
probably do no better.
At least I don’t need 51
signatures to say: “we told you so”
