Notes from First Proposition Speaker in KES Debating Society Motion, Oct 2004

Well firstly, I’m here to tell you that the war on terror can’t be won, because it doesn’t exist.

What is terror? Can you fight it? How do you fight it? Why do we face terror?

Why hasn’t anyone asked any of these questions?

Nope, they’re too difficult. The thing is, following the attacks of Sept. 11th. Everyone was just too shocked, too amazed, and too angry to ask logical, rational questions like that.

Questions with answers that might be difficult to face, questions that might make us reconsider our actions, questions that might change the way we live. Questions that make us feel uncomfortable as we realize its’ not black and white, that there are no easy answers.

So lets ask the questions.

What is terror? Terror is not a man. Terror is not an organization, terror is not an army. Terror is a verb. According to the Oxford English Dictionary, terror is simply ‘extreme fear’

Now, George W Bush, has at his command the most technically advanced military in history. He heads the most prosperous nation the world has ever seen. The United States military has the most sophisticated equipment, the largest navy, and the fastest aircraft.

With these, the United States (not forgetting its loyal allies of course) have the ability to attack and kill just about anyone, and anything on the face of the planet. The opposition in a few minutes time will stand up and tell you that Al Qada is on the run, that they’ve been chased out of Afghanistan, that this ‘apparatus of evil’, is in disarray.

That may be true, that may not be, but I believe that’s irrelevant. Bombing Al Qaeda, freezing their bank accounts, arresting their members is a pointless waste of time. Why? Because killing terrorists and destroying their bases isn’t killing and destroying terrorism, they’re merely the people that embody it.

Those members of the house who are familiar with Greek mythology will remember the Hydra, a fearsome monster with several heads. It was a threat! It wanted to kill us all! It must be confronted! Yep, that’s’ right, what they needed was a war on hydra! So along comes the hero Hercules with his sword, and hacks the hydra’s head off. Easy. Simple. Or is it? Because from that severed neck, sprouted a pair of new heads, with knashing teeth, beady eyes, and a nice big appetite. So he hacked those off. Along came some more, and he hacked those off. Needless to say, before long, Hercules was a dead man.
Today, ladies and gentlemen, we face a Hydra. We can hack its’ head off, we can destroy Al qaeda, we can kill bin laden, but for every terrorist you kill, there’ll be two more to take their place. The truth is, we can’t kill it. There are always going to be people that hate us, there is always going to be a threat, to kill every person that would ever take up arms against us, would be to defeat evil itself, a job I fear even the might of the United States is not up to.
Of course, that doesn’t change the fact that we do live in fear. We do suffer horrendous and barbaric attacks, and don’t think for one minute that I don’t deplore the deaths of any innocent person or for one minute exonerate those responsible. But the fact remains, there are people out there who hate us, and we’d be doing ourselves a severe disservice to assume that every single one of them is an unhinged religious radical.

When our leaders stand up and tell us that those that support terrorists hate freedom, liberty, and all the lofty ideals upon which our societies are based, he’s wrong. The people of Palestine who danced on the streets following the atrocities of 9/11- were they all evil terrorists? Their actions were wrong, misguided, and sicken us all, but we should not be so quick to assume that they hate these things. The thing is, the America they see stands for none of these things. To them, it is arrogant, selfish, self interested, even provocative, and the comments of many of our leaders support these ideas.

We must not forget that this is not a war between two nations, but one between nations and extremists. If we allow extremists on our side to take over, it will become even more destructive. While Al Jazerra broadcasts a tape from Osama Bin Laden claiming this is a war against Islam, CBS is interviewing men who say that ‘Islam is an evil religion’, and flouting their belief that ‘ Mohammed was a Terrorist’. Words such as these only galvanize the World against us. Tough rhetoric, bombs and destruction do not make people love nor sympathise with us.

We’re not a crusade, any more than they’re on a Jihad, and we should not forget this. The notion that America and it’s allies are against the Muslim world is furthered by the it’s continued support of Israel. No matter who is to blame for the bloodshed, it is American military aid that bulldozes Palestinian homes, and kills without trial alleged terrorists. There are terrorists among them, people whose frustration has boiled over to the point of using their lives in what they believe is the defense of their way of life, but for the Israelis to punish all Palestinians, with the perceived support of America, is wrong.

You cannot simply hack this hydra’s head off. You cannot treat the symptoms of this disease that blights the world, you cannot defeat terrorism by simply killing the terrorist.

A World free of terrorists but full of hatred for us will simply breed more terrorists. Do not think this outpouring of hatred against us can be cancelled out by more blood destruction and chaos. Do not let the legacy of the 3000 that died that day be the unleashing of a futile attempt to destroy evil itself.

Instead of living with the fear and suspicion of a nation at war, let us encourage our neighbours across the Atlantic and our own government to treat the World with respect and trust.

Instead of bombing nation after nation, destroying home after home in a global war of madness, let us support nations that struggle, let us build homes for those who have none, let us use the money we would have spent on missles, on earning the respect and admiration of the world.

Because guess what?
People with full stomachs don’t hate us for being prosperous.
People Educated don’t fall for the lies spread by terrorists.
People who have freedom in life do not seek freedom in death.
People who have the chance to change the world through peaceful means do not seek to change the world by making us live in fear.

that will result Remove the reasons for terrorism, remove this evil hatred of America and it’s allies, and you will remove the terrorists. Take away the causes, and the truly evil ones, who have no political or religious motives, will be isolated. They will have no desperate or disenfranchised young people to recruit, and terrorist organizations will wither and die. And then, and only then, we will have won the war against terrorism.

And so the next logical question is, If we live in fear, ‘in the shadow of terror’, then how can we fight it?

a person who uses violence and intimidation in the pursuit of political aims.
• noun 1 extreme fear. 2 a cause of terror. 3 the use of terror to intimidate people. 4 (also holy terror) informal a person causing trouble or annoyance.
Ladies and gentlemen, the opposition here are going to stand up in a minute and tell you that our lives are in danger. That there are people out there who will stop at nothing to kill us all. They’re gonna tell you that these men are inhuman, that they hate freedom, that terrorism is something that must be defeated at all costs. You’re gonna be told that the only way to defeat it is to fight it, that we’ve gotta confront this on all fronts.

They’re gonna tell you that to beat a killer, you’ve gotta kill them first. They’re gonna tell you that its’ ok for the government to bug my phone, track my computer, imprison me without trial, because at the end of the day, it’ll mean I don’t die in a terrorist attack.

Ladies and Gentlemen, the War on terror is a myth. It’s a smokescreen, its’ a sham. Its’ also a piece of political genius.