A Tangled Web

The Tactics of Terror



Last week I was talking with a colleague of mine during a break at work. The conversation finally turned to the fate of British hostage, Ken Bigley. She had a limited appreciation of terrorism and politics, and a rather sanguine take on the likelihood of his (Bigley's) release. I took very much the opposing viewpoint. The conversation went something like this: (her opinions are coloured red, my responses are in blue)



"It's been nearly two weeks and Ken Bigley is still alive. I think they will release him under pressure from the international community. What say you?"



"I disagree. They have not killed Bigley yet because they (the terrorists) see some advantage in using video footage of him as a means of entrenching opposition to the Iraqi war here in Britain. When they have used his image to its maximum effect, Bigley will have no further use as a propaganda tool. That is the time when they will kill him. You've got to remember that, whilst all terrorists are sub-human scum, they have a wily appreciation of how to manipulate public opinion - particularly the opinions of wish-washy liberals keen to blame each and every terrorist outrage on the lie of American imperialism."



"But surely, they will only handicap their own cause by creating a feeling of anger amongst the British people."



"Well, you're right in one respect. However, like all terrorists, they are not especially bothered about whether they have support for their so-called 'cause'. Terrorists - in my opinion - don't kill for a 'cause', they kill and maim because it gives them pleasure to see human suffering. Disguising their actions as necessary ingredients to further a 'cause' is simply a distraction designed to appeal to the mentally weak and the morally corrupt, and thus create divisions amongst the democratic majority. For the people holding Bigley, the issue is not winning elements of British society over to their aims, the issue is using the liberal media as a conduit to instigate and nurture hostility to the figures who wished to depose Saddam in the first place."



"So you think they'll definitely kill him then?"



"Absolutely. They are the ultimate in evil. I'm just sorry so many people are against the likes of George Bush: statesmen who realise that, after September 11, the world was not a place where democracy could afford to show supine deference to international legal niceties and cross-border consensus. Make no mistake, individuals such as Bush are simply articulating a fundamental truth: you fight the ultimate in evil with the ultimate in repression."



I am so sorry that my predictions have come to pass. Perhaps some would like to reflect on the above conversation as they pray tonight for the Bigley family.