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| Beau Grosscup Political Science (photo BA |
Beau Grosscup, Political Science, and Richard Holm, an ex-CIA officer, discussed terrorism and the United States at the International Forum on March 30. Grosscup was quick to state that the title, "The Vision of New World Order Terrorism: Jingoism Unrestrained," was his title and defined jingoism and patriotism as he used them.
Grosscup quoted the Random House Dictionary, which defines a patriot as "a person who loves, supports, and defends his or her country," and a jingoist as "a person who professes his or her patriotism loudly and excessively." A typical jingoist statement is "My country, right or wrong," he said
Grosscup explained that these definitions have been collapsed into the term "patriot" in the United States. Yet we often urge the citizens of other countries, such as Serbia and Iraq, to behave "patriotically." Grosscup said that we are asking the Serbian military, in particular, not to be jingoistic but to be patriotic, and we encourage their president and their leadership to do something that's different from "my country, right or wrong."
After examining the presentation of terrorism to citizens, Grosscup came to the conclusion that America's definition of terrorism is jingoistic. It identifies the enemies of the United States as engaged in terrorism while asserting that the United States and its allies do not engage in terrorism.
Grosscup illustrated the jingoistic presentations of New World Order terrorism with a presentation of photographs of Sadam Hussein and Osama bin Laden, currently identified as terrorists. Then he said, "I'm going to show you the two major freedom-fighters of the 1980s for the United States." He showed the same photographs of Hussein and bin Laden. He explained that these two men have not changed their behavior since the 1980s. What has changed are the strategic interests of the United States.
Grosscup's conclusion from this examination of terrorism? "Terrorism is an instrument of the weak and the strong, of the state and the non-state, of friend and foe." The United States has supported the Contras in Nicaragua, the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia, the genocide in East Timor. "If indeed we are going to take the high moral ground on terrorism, which we have here in the West, then we must do, I think, the patriotic duty," said Grosscup, who encouraged people to evaluate whether or not their country's policies are in the best interest of the country and then decide whether or not to support them.
Holm agreed with Grosscup that one group's terrorist is another group's freedom-fighter. Abdullah Ocalan, the Kurdish leader recently arrested in Europe and returned to Turkey, is considered a terrorist by the Turks and a freedom-fighter by the Kurds.
Holm said, "Terrorism as a subject in general is a murky one." He knows of about 200 different definitions, none of which are agreed upon by the international community. In the United States terrorism is a major concern, with the government proposing to spend over $10 billion during the next fiscal year to combat the threat. Since 1996, fewer than fifty Americans have been killed by terrorists. "Contrast this with the carnage on our roads where we lose thousands of people. The AIDs problem is killing thousands of people," said Holm.
How will the United States combat terrorism? "In the U.S. government, our standard operation is to throw resources at the problem," said Holm. "You have a problem, you throw a lot of money, people, and resources and try to solve the problem. It's the American way and it works a lot." Next year over forty government agencies, including the FBI, CIA, and Centers for Disease Control, will be combating terrorist threats.
While Holm may not have a precise definition of terrorism, he experienced it over his thirty-five year career. "I didn't try to sit down at the time and define it," he said."I saw what was violence for a political or social interest and that defined terrorism." He believes terrorism is "people operating against our interests."
The CIA's role is to dispute, disrupt, and stop the enemies of the U.S. Holm said, "The CIA operates in response to the government's direction. The president decides on a policy; we are asked to implement that policy. Without identifying any particular policy as problematic, he acknowledged that sometimes these policies do not work out well."
He insisted that, contrary to what several audience members expressed, the CIA never ran drugs, never had any sort of "hit list," and was subject to governmental oversight similar to that given other agencies.
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