IT was former US President George W. Bush who coined the term “war on terror” following the destruction of the World Trade Centre in September 2001.That was some fourteen years ago but the war appeared to be far from over. The main objective of the war was to dismantle terrorist networks throughout the world in particular the al-Qaeda network which was blamed for the destruction of the World Trade Centre in which nearly 2000 persons perished including several Guyanese.

One of those who perished was a relative of mine whose workplace at that time was located at the World Trade Centre. I have vivid recollections of that Centre as I was taken on a visit to that imposing structure by my cousin who unfortunately perished in that inferno.

The war on terror led to regime change in two countries who it was believed aided and abetted terrorism and the terrorist attacks. The two countries were Iraq and Afghanistan both of which were actually invaded militarily by a US-led coalition.

The recent attack on a French newspaper by terrorists in which twelve persons died has once again brought to the surface the question of organised terrorism and the extent to which the terrorist network has been disabled by the US-led war on terrorism.

While there has been some success, the most notable of which was the killing of Osama Bin Laden, believed to have been the mastermind of the al-Qaeda terrorist network, there has been no letting up on terrorist activities globally. In fact, that terrorist grouping has openly and boldly claimed involvement in the Paris attack, according to media reports.

The attack is seen as the French version of September 11 and has attracted worldwide condemnation. Over a million people and several world leaders participated in a massive rally in Paris in solidarity with the fallen journalists, the biggest seen in France and Europe for decades.

Terrorism is evil and must be condemned and eradicated. The question is by what means. One thing is clear. There can be no military solution to a problem that is basically ideological, cultural and historical. The war on terror for all practical purposes has failed to obtain the desired results, despite the billions of dollars that have been spent since the destruction of the World Trade Centre in 2001.

One fact that cannot be dismissed is that the United States in particular and the western world in general is perceived by a significant body of opinion, especially in the Islamic world, as culturally biased against Islam. It is this dislike for the west that has given rise to extremist groups such as Boko Haram in Nigeria which is opposed to anything western, more particularly western education. Boko Haram continue to wreak havoc on Nigerian society the most dramatic of which was the kidnapping of over a hundred female students some months ago and who until this day remain in captivity.

Another worrying development has been the rise of ISIS (Islamic State) which has captured large swathes of territory in Syria and other neighbouring countries. The declared intention of this fundamentalist group is to establish an Islamic state in the Region.

As mentioned before, the solution to extremist actions among some segments of the Islamic community must go beyond military interventions which have proven so far to be ineffective in curbing the rise of extremism and violence in the world.

The United States need to seek new approaches to deal with this problem which should include new diplomatic initiatives to find a solution to the Palestinian issue which for decades have fuelled tension between itself and several Arab countries, some of whom at varying periods were even considered allies of the United States.

Indeed, it is this failure by the United States to take meaningful steps to support the recognition of Palestine as an independent state that has led to much scepticism if not animosity against the US administration which is perceived to be in support of the unjust actions taken by Israel against the Palestinian people.

The west also should avoid that tendency to view the world through the lens of western civilisation. There needs to be greater tolerance for ideological differences and for religious sensitivities. There is no need to be provocative which could hurt the religious sensitivities of people, however irrational these may be from a western perspective.

The recent publication of a cartoon depicting the Holy Prophet Mohamed by the very paper that was attacked by Muslim extremists is in my opinion unfortunate if not reckless and would not help the healing process.

One of the unintended consequence of the senseless slaughter of the Charlie Hebdo journalists is the possible rise in xenophobic tendencies especially against Muslims in France and other western countries with significant Muslim populations such as Britain and Germany.

Fortunately, in Guyana we have come a long way in terms of respect and tolerance for cultural and religious diversity, something which the more developed countries can learn from our experience.
HYDAR ALLY