Lessons from Mumbai
As I am sure you know, Mumbai was recently attacked and while the number of people killed was smaller than on 9/11 (which was not as many believe the ‘worst terrorist attack ever’) comparisons have been drawn between the two incidents because of the iconic nature of the buildings involved. Because so many US officials think we are the center of the world, these are probably the same sort who refused to believe we live in a helio-centric vs. geo-centric solar system, many assumed this was really some kind of attack on either America or American values. It wasn’t.
1. The US is not the only country on earth. The Mumbai attacks had nothing to do with us. Tensions between India and Pakistan have been high since they split.
2. When we change our way of life because of terrorists’ actions, they win. I would rather die in a free society than live in a closed one. That seems to be the way a lot of people in Mumbai feel. I saw a quote from one Mumbai resident who said she refused to let the terrorists change the way she lived her life. We need to pay attention to that.
3. It’s really all about Allah. No, really it isn’t. We blame religion or ethnic conflict when bad things happen for a few reasons. Different groups use these as cover for their actions but at the end of the day, people don’t blow themselves up for religion or racism. They do it because they are poor and the targets they hit often are not. Mumbai provides the perfect example of this; India’s economy is growing rapidly, Pakistan is stuck somewhere in a different century. Thomas Friedman has talked about this a lot in terms of the Palestinians and Israelis; he has also said that no two countries that both have McDonalds have ever fought each other. India definitely has the chain.
4. Terrorism happens. D’uh, I know. Obvious right? The Mumbai attacks did not involve planes or highly advanced weaponry, though Blackberries and GPS were used. We are never going to end terrorism and we certainly aren’t going to be able to do it with the military or police.
It’s a hard pill to swallow, this world we live in. I don’t think the world changed on 9/11/01. I think it just came calling. If someone wants something badly enough, they will find a way to get it. That includes drugs, or an abortion, or a gun or if they just want to create chaos. We need to work on the whys and not the hows if we want to protect ourselves and our allies. That’s the real lesson from Mumbai.
AlysonChadwick.com 