The deadliest weapons
From Mr Alec Ryrie Sir: Let us suppose that Mark Steyn is right (They want to kill us all', 19 October). What should we do about it? How can a 'war' with al-Qa'eda be fought or won? In any war against an enemy who chooses to fight through terrorist, guerrilla or other irregular methods, the key weapon is propaganda. Military or police action can sometimes contain, but never destroy, such an enemy. A terrorist organisation that retains widespread sympathy among its host populations will not be short of recruits, protectors, money or munitions. That sympathy is its lifeline and should therefore be our target.
If the West listens to serious and reasonable criticisms of our role in the world, and acts accordingly. the terrorists will be unimpressed. So what? We are not trying to woo them but the populations that support them. Without that support, they become impotent. So if we are going to call this a 'war', let us remember that our deadliest weapons are conciliation, generosity and humility: all the more so as they are weapons this 'enemy' does not possess.
Alec Ryrie Department of Modern History.
University of Birmingham.
Birmingham
Previous page
